Steady vs Substack
Steady
steady.page
Substack
substack.comSide by side
| Figure | Steady | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 8.3 (#29) | 9.4 (#2) |
| Spec score · Publishing and Subscriptions Software | 7.8 (#11) | 8.7 (#5) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Security reporting | Steady accepts good-faith vulnerability reports, offers no bounty and says it will not pursue legal action for testing that follows its policy. | The vulnerability program covers substack.com, reader.substack.com and the iOS app, asks researchers to email [email protected], and promises acknowledgement within 72 hours; it offers no monetary bounty. |
| Support | The creator success team helps creators price membership tiers, plan launches and maintain momentum after launch. | Substack directs users to its Help Center for FAQs and walkthroughs and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers. |
| What it does | Steady helps independent media makers build newsletters and memberships to earn directly from their audiences. | 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
Steady
Steady is a web and API platform for independent media makers, including magazines, newsletters, podcasts and video channels. It helps creators publish newsletters and memberships and earn directly from audiences. Newsletter sending is free without audience limits or escalating costs. Memberships use recurring billing, with monthly or annual charges, and Steady takes a 10% commission on membership revenue once earning begins; payment-provider fees and VAT also apply. The service supports full-site content gating, flexible paywalls, embedded buttons and supporter prompts. Newsletter tools can welcome readers automatically, resurface selected work and re-engage quiet subscribers. Externally hosted podcasts can be gated by membership tier and distributed through Spotify or private RSS. Steady Code adds website layers and embeds regardless of a site’s CMS. Creator income is transferred in lump sums, and failed payments are retried automatically. The Free plan is free. Custom domains are not supported.
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.