News & Media · head to head
Feedly vs Substack
Substack
News & Media
The newsletter platform for writers and publishers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Feedly a Feedly account is required before the app can be used at all; Substack substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue (writers keep 90%), plus separate credit card processing fees
- They diverge on capability: Feedly covers RSS feed aggregation, Substack covers Newsletter publishing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Feedly and Substack actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (News & Media).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Feedly
- RSS feed aggregation
- AI-powered filtering
- Content organization
- Article highlights
- Power search
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Zapier
Only in Substack
- Newsletter publishing
- Subscriber management
- Paid subscriptions
- Email analytics
- Post scheduling
- Archive creation
- Free/paid tier split
- Comments & discussion
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Feedly
- Following newspapers, blogs, YouTube channels and Reddit feeds in one readernot Substack
- Tracking competitor and industry keywords across sourcesnot Substack
- Sharing curated intelligence with a team through automated newslettersnot Substack
Substack
- Newsletter distributionnot Feedly
- Reader monetizationnot Feedly
- Community buildingnot Feedly
- Subscriber managementnot Feedly
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Feedly
- A Feedly account is required before the app can be used at all
- Tracking keywords, brands and companies requires Feedly Pro
- Searching within your own feeds requires Feedly Pro
- Integrations with LinkedIn, Buffer, Zapier and IFTTT require Feedly Pro
- You cannot sign up for a Market Intelligence or Threat Intelligence trial or account from the mobile app; that must be done on feedly.com
Substack
- Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue (writers keep 90%), plus separate credit card processing fees
Pricing, plan by plan
Feedly
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Feedly review.
Substack
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited newsletters
- Basic design
- Archive access
- Pro$12/month
- Custom domain
- Advanced analytics
- Member chat
Which should you pick?
Choose Feedly if
- You need rss feed aggregation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want ai-powered filtering.
Choose Substack if
- You need newsletter publishing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile.
- You also want subscriber management.
Questions people ask
- Is Feedly or Substack better?
- Neither clearly leads. Feedly starts at Free and Substack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Feedly or Substack?
- Feedly starts at Free and Substack at Free.
- Does Feedly or Substack run on more platforms?
- Feedly runs on Web, Ios, Android. Substack runs on Web, Mobile.
- Can I use Feedly for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Feedly best used for?
- Feedly is most often used for following newspapers, blogs, youtube channels and reddit feeds in one reader, tracking competitor and industry keywords across sources, sharing curated intelligence with a team through automated newsletters. Of those, following newspapers, blogs, youtube channels and reddit feeds in one reader and tracking competitor and industry keywords across sources are not what Substack is typically brought in for.
- What can Feedly do that Substack cannot?
- Feedly covers RSS feed aggregation, AI-powered filtering, Content organization, Article highlights. Substack covers Newsletter publishing, Subscriber management, Paid subscriptions, Email analytics. Both handle Web support.