Paid Members App vs Substack
Paid Members App
paidmembersapp.com
Substack
substack.comSide by side
| Figure | Paid Members App | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $29.97/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 4 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 8.2 (#39) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Company legal name | The website identifies the operator as Zendo Apps Inc. doing business as Paid Members App. | Crunchbase lists the legal name as Substack Inc. |
| Company size | LinkedIn lists Zendo Apps Inc. as having one employee. | LinkedIn lists 51–200 employees, while Crunchbase lists headcount in the 101–250 range. |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Support | The Starter plan includes email support with Loom, while Entrepreneur includes premium one-on-one Zoom support subject to revenue restrictions. | Substack directs users to its Help Center for FAQs and walkthroughs and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers. |
| What it does | Paid Members App adds Stripe-powered payments, member login, paywalled content and subscription management to websites without requiring a developer. | Substack is a publishing and subscription platform for writers, podcasters, video creators and media companies, combining content creation, email distribution, payments, community and analytics. |
Plans
Substack
- Free publishingFree
- Free to startFree
- Custom domain$50, paid once
- Paid subscriptionsPrice not published
In their own words
Paid Members App
Paid Members App has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Substack
Substack is a publishing platform for writers, creators, and subscribers, bringing posts, newsletters, podcasts, video, live streams, and pages into one publishing flow. Its editor supports scheduling, autosaved drafts, version history, templates, SEO metadata, and headline A/B testing. Creators can offer free or paid posts, subscriptions, trials, gifts, and group plans. Discovery tools include recommendations, Notes, leaderboards, referrals, and search; audience segmentation and email automation are also available. Podcast episodes can be distributed automatically to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, while video can go automatically to YouTube and LinkedIn. Publishing is free. When creators enable paid subscriptions, Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and Stripe charges payment processing fees. Creators own their intellectual property and mailing list and can export their data. Substack serves writers, journalists, podcasters, video creators, experts, educators, and media companies. It is available on the web, Android, and iOS. Substack directs users to its Help Center and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers.