Newsletter LedgerMailerLite vs Substack: which costs less at your size
Substack costs nothing until readers pay, then keeps 10% of every subscription. MailerLite charges a plan price from 251 subscribers and takes 0% of subscription revenue. So for a free newsletter Substack is cheaper at every size, and for a paid newsletter MailerLite is cheaper at every size in our example, costing about half as much as Substack from 5,000 subscribers up. Prices checked .
Quick answer
- Free newsletter: Substack is $0 at any size. MailerLite is free only up to 250 subscribers.
- Paid newsletter: MailerLite Comfort costs less at every size we checked, and about half of Substack's cost from 5,000 subscribers.
- Fees on paid revenue: Substack keeps 10%; MailerLite takes 0%. Both add Stripe's card fees.
Monthly cost side by side
| Subscribers | MailerLite, free newsletter | Substack, free newsletter | MailerLite, paid newsletter | Substack, paid newsletter | Cheaper (paid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $17.10 Comfort | $0.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $43.70 Comfort | $66.60 Substack (no plan fee) | MailerLite |
| 2,500 | $29.70 Comfort | $0.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $96.20 Comfort | $166.50 Substack (no plan fee) | MailerLite |
| 5,000 | $44.10 Comfort | $0.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $177.10 Comfort | $333.00 Substack (no plan fee) | MailerLite |
| 10,000 | $80.10 Comfort | $0.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $346.10 Comfort | $666.00 Substack (no plan fee) | MailerLite |
| 25,000 | $161.10 Comfort | $0.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $826.10 Comfort | $1,665.00 Substack (no plan fee) | MailerLite |
| 50,000 | $287.10 Comfort | $0.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $1,617.10 Comfort | $3,330.00 Substack (no plan fee) | MailerLite |
| 100,000 | $395.10 Comfort | $0.00 Substack (no plan fee) | $3,055.10 Comfort | $6,660.00 Substack (no plan fee) | MailerLite |
Per month, US dollars, plans billed yearly where the platform offers it, otherwise month-to-month. "Free newsletter" is the plan price only. "Paid newsletter" assumes 5% of the list pays $8/month and includes the plan, the platform's fee and Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per charge. "Same" means within $1. * = includes a figure not yet confirmed on the vendor's own page. Try your own numbers in the cost calculator.
Disclosure: links to platforms go through /go/ redirects. Some are affiliate links (currently beehiiv, Systeme.io and Buttondown): if you sign up and pay, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. That never changes the numbers or the order of results. Full disclosure.
Visit MailerLite (opens in a new tab) · Visit Substack (opens in a new tab)
What each charges, from their own pages
MailerLite
- Free plan up to 250 subscribers, without paid newsletters.
- Comfort is priced by list size and sells paid subscriptions with 0% commission; only Stripe fees apply.
- Paying yearly saves 10%.
- A general email marketing tool, not only a newsletter platform.
Official pricing source (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-10-19)
Substack
- Free to publish at any list size: there is no plan price.
- Keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue, on top of Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per card charge. Its help center also lists Stripe Billing at 0.7% of recurring payments.
- A custom domain is an optional one-time $50.
Official pricing source (opens in a new tab) (checked 2026-10-19)
Who each suits, on cost
MailerLite
Paid newsletters that want a flat plan price instead of a revenue share, and writers who also send marketing email with automations and landing pages.
Substack
Free newsletters of any size, and writers who value Substack's app and recommendation network more than the 10%.
Questions
Is MailerLite cheaper than Substack?
For a paid newsletter, yes, at every size in our example (5% of readers paying $8/month): MailerLite takes 0% of revenue while Substack keeps 10%. For a free newsletter, no: Substack is $0 at any size and MailerLite charges from 251 subscribers.
Can MailerLite sell paid newsletter subscriptions?
Yes, on paid plans such as Comfort, through Stripe, with 0% commission from MailerLite. The Free plan (up to 250 subscribers) does not include paid newsletters.
Does MailerLite have a network like Substack?
No. MailerLite is an email marketing tool; readers come from your own site, forms and promotion. Substack's app and recommendations can bring readers, which is part of what its 10% pays for.
We have not used either product as a publisher; this page compares published prices and plan limits only. See the methodology.