Is HARO or Substack better?

Neither clearly leads. HARO 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, HARO or Substack?

HARO starts at Free and Substack at Free.

Does HARO or Substack run on more platforms?

HARO runs on Web, Email. Substack runs on Web, Mobile.

Can I use HARO for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is HARO best used for?

HARO is most often used for finding expert sources, press coverage, expert positioning, media relations. Of those, finding expert sources and press coverage are not what Substack is typically brought in for.

What can HARO do that Substack cannot?

HARO covers Daily journalist queries, Source submissions, Query archives, Response tracking. Substack covers Newsletter publishing, Subscriber management, Paid subscriptions, Email analytics. Both handle Web support.

News · head to head

HARO vs Substack

HARO

News

Help A Reporter Out - connecting journalists with expert sources

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Substack

News

The newsletter platform for writers and publishers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: HARO hARO was rebranded and phased out by Cision in favor of Connectively (www.connectively.us) starting early 2024, per the vendor's own helpareporter.com notice (Internet Archive capture, 2023); Substack substack does not publish pricing on its public pricing page
They diverge on capability: HARO covers Daily journalist queries, Substack covers Newsletter publishing.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HARO and Substack actually diverge.

Attributes where HARO and Substack differ
Attribute	HARO	Substack
Platforms	Web, Email	Web, Mobile
Founded	2008	2017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (News).

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 HARO

Daily journalist queries
Source submissions
Query archives
Response tracking
Source directory
Email matching
Profile management
Email

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.

HARO

Finding expert sourcesnot Substack
Press coveragenot Substack
Expert positioningnot Substack
Media relationsnot Substack

Substack

Newsletter distributionnot HARO
Reader monetizationnot HARO
Community buildingnot HARO
Subscriber managementnot HARO

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

HARO

HARO was rebranded and phased out by Cision in favor of Connectively (www.connectively.us) starting early 2024, per the vendor's own helpareporter.com notice (Internet Archive capture, 2023)

Substack

Substack does not publish pricing on its public pricing page

Pricing, plan by plan

HARO

Free

FreeFree
- Daily email alerts
- Query submissions
- Source directory
Pro$19.99/month
- Advanced features
- Priority support
- Analytics

Substack

Free

FreeFree
- Unlimited newsletters
- Basic design
- Archive access
Pro$12/month
- Custom domain
- Advanced analytics
- Member chat

Which should you pick?

Choose HARO if

You need daily journalist queries.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Email.
You also want source submissions.

HARO review

Choose Substack if

You need newsletter publishing.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Mobile.
You also want subscriber management.

Substack review

Questions people ask

Is HARO or Substack better?: Neither clearly leads. HARO 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, HARO or Substack?: HARO starts at Free and Substack at Free.
Does HARO or Substack run on more platforms?: HARO runs on Web, Email. Substack runs on Web, Mobile.
Can I use HARO for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is HARO best used for?: HARO is most often used for finding expert sources, press coverage, expert positioning, media relations. Of those, finding expert sources and press coverage are not what Substack is typically brought in for.
What can HARO do that Substack cannot?: HARO covers Daily journalist queries, Source submissions, Query archives, Response tracking. Substack covers Newsletter publishing, Subscriber management, Paid subscriptions, Email analytics. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Substack: How much does Substack cost?

Substack does not publish rates on its pricing page. The site emphasizes earning potential for writers with the tagline Make money doing the work you believe in.

Source

HARO vs Substack

HARO

Substack

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in HARO

Only in Substack

Both cover

What people use each for

HARO

Substack

Where each one falls short

HARO

Substack

Pricing, plan by plan

HARO

Substack

Which should you pick?

Choose HARO if

Choose Substack if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on HARO

More on Substack

Keep looking

Other head to heads