Substack, Newsbreak, or Ghost?

If you’ve found yourself reading this article you’re probably either 1. An avid Newsletter creator wondering if you’re using the right platform 2. Starting your first-ever newsletter (likewise!) 3. Just plain old-curious! 

*If none of the above are correct- comment below and share what brings you here.

Now, let’s get into it!

I’m going to break down and compare these 3 sites in the following categories:

• Cost
• What They Offer
• Ease of Use
• Risk Mitigation/Ownership

COST

Substack: Publishing via Substack is free, until you start to add paid subscriptions- usually this process begins once you’ve gained a consistent reader audience! From that point onwards, Substack takes 10% of any paid subscribers. There is also the possibility of a credit card fee by Stripe*

Newsbreak: For newsbreak, publishing is also free. In contrast to Substack, you are required to have 200 followers and 10 published articles BEFORE you are eligible for any payment. Once you’ve reached this following you receive $25 per article, this payment can increase depending on the algorithm it receives/how many people see and read the article.

Ghost: Ghost has varying prices which I’ll try and break down in the easiest way possible… (don’t say I didn’t try!!)

1. $9 PM (Per Month) if billed annually / $15 billed monthly: Maximum 25k views, 1 staff user, 1,000 members, SSL & CDN included. 

2.  $29 PM billed annually / $ 36 billed monthly: Maximum 100k views, 2 staff users, custom themes, custom integrations.

3. $ 79 PM billed annually /$99 billed monthly: Maximum 500k views, 5 staff users, 5,000 members, priority support.

4.  $ 199 PM billed annually/ $249 billed monthly:  Maximum 1m views (pretty huge!!), 15 staff users, 35,000 members.

It’s worth noting, though there is an initial monthly cost unlike Substack, you pay the monthly fee and it takes 0% of any revenue you make from subscriptions. On top of that, they also offer a 14-day free trial. 

WHAT THEY OFFER

SUBSTACK

• Website formats for content
• Community features
• Audio, video, images GIFs + 
• Personal email list

NEWSBREAK

• Large audience reach
• Contractual per-article income salary
• Stats and Insights on articles 

GHOST

• Website formats for content
• Custom email address
• Stats and Insights on articles 
• A core focus on sharing content onto all other socials easily/no fuss 

EASE OF USE

From looking at reviews of all three platforms online it seems both Substack and Ghost equally trump Newsbreak which is critiqued for its slightly old school format. Substack offers easy post-conversion from other platforms such as Mailchimp, WordPress, and Medium. Similarly, Ghost offers an easy transfer from Substack to Ghost. 

OWNERSHIP

One big green tick for all three platforms is you as the writer and creator maintain complete ownership of your work and are protected by copyright. 

Final Thoughts…

From this research, the main takeaway I’ve learnt is to ask yourself the following 2 questions

1. Where am I in the journey of subscription-based writing and newsletter work 

2. What style of work do I want to be sharing?

From answering these questions, I believe it makes the decision on what platform you should use way easier. Newsbreak provides the opportunity of a large audience, regular pay per-article with a good chance of this price increasing depending on the articles traction. Though of course there is the initial task of gaining the right amount of readers in the first place. If you’re a beginner and just starting, Substack seems like a great way to jump on board the Newsletter train and though Ghost offers the 14-day free trial, if your financial situation fluctuates, it seems to be the perfect platform to transition to once your business is booming and more support and team members are needed to help run the work you’re creating.

So there we have it! I hope this article provides some useful insights and perspectives for you to make the right decision for YOU.

I personally really enjoy setting up and creating Newsletters and am happy to share any more advice and tips that you need. 

Drop me an email if you want to dive further into this conversation.

As always, just keep swimming!