Substack vs Ultimate Member
Substack
substack.comUltimate Member
ultimatemember.comSide by side
| Figure | Substack | Ultimate Member |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $23/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 3 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 9.4 (#2) | 8.2 (#36) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Official integrations include RSS, podcast distribution to Apple and Spotify, Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, X and Facebook pixels, Google site verification, YouTube and LinkedIn account connections. | Listed integrations include MailChimp, myCRED, Unsplash, ForumWP, Zapier, Stripe, WooCommerce, JobBoardWP, and Google reCAPTCHA. |
| Support | Substack directs users to its Help Center for FAQs and walkthroughs and handles subscriber support questions on behalf of writers. | Standard and Pro include one year of email support; the maker says expired licenses no longer receive support or updates. |
Plans
Substack
- Free publishingFree
- Free to startFree
- Custom domain$50, paid once
- Paid subscriptionsPrice not published
In their own words
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.
Ultimate Member
Ultimate Member has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.