News & Media · head to head
Substack vs Feedly
Substack
News & Media
The newsletter platform for writers and publishers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Substack substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue (writers keep 90%), plus separate credit card processing fees; Feedly a Feedly account is required before the app can be used at all
- They diverge on capability: Substack covers Newsletter publishing, Feedly covers RSS feed aggregation.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Substack and Feedly 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 Substack
- Newsletter publishing
- Subscriber management
- Paid subscriptions
- Email analytics
- Post scheduling
- Archive creation
- Free/paid tier split
- Comments & discussion
Only in Feedly
- RSS feed aggregation
- AI-powered filtering
- Content organization
- Article highlights
- Power search
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Zapier
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Substack
- Newsletter distributionnot Feedly
- Reader monetizationnot Feedly
- Community buildingnot Feedly
- Subscriber managementnot Feedly
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
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Substack
- Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue (writers keep 90%), plus separate credit card processing fees
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Substack
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited newsletters
- Basic design
- Archive access
- Pro$12/month
- Custom domain
- Advanced analytics
- Member chat
Feedly
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Feedly review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Substack if
- You need newsletter publishing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile.
- You also want subscriber management.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Substack or Feedly better?
- Neither clearly leads. Substack starts at Free and Feedly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Substack or Feedly?
- Substack starts at Free and Feedly at Free.
- Does Substack or Feedly run on more platforms?
- Substack runs on Web, Mobile. Feedly runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Substack for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Substack best used for?
- Substack is most often used for newsletter distribution, reader monetization, community building, subscriber management. Of those, newsletter distribution and reader monetization are not what Feedly is typically brought in for.
- What can Substack do that Feedly cannot?
- Substack covers Newsletter publishing, Subscriber management, Paid subscriptions, Email analytics. Feedly covers RSS feed aggregation, AI-powered filtering, Content organization, Article highlights. Both handle Web support.