Side by side
| Buttondown | Substack | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. Free for the first 100 subscribers, with a rich text or markdown editor, a custom sending domain and hosted archives. | Yes. It is free to start. Charges apply only when a writer takes payments. |
| Starting price | No base paid plan price is published. The lowest price is $9 a month per add-on, billed monthly. | Not published. |
| How it charges | By active subscribers, plus monthly add-ons at $9, $29 or $79 each. Prices assume sending at most one email a day to the whole list. Buttondown takes no fees from paid subscribers. | A share of revenue. Writers keep 90% of their revenue minus credit card fees, so Substack's share is 10%. |
| Works with | Discord, Memberful and YouTube, plus an API and RSS. More integrations exist. | Podcasts can be published to Substack, Apple, Spotify and YouTube. |
Prices and plans change. We checked these figures on October 10, 2026, so confirm them before you buy.
What Buttondown is
Buttondown is an email newsletter platform that does not aim to become a social network.
A newsletter operator can write in a rich text or markdown editor, send from a custom domain, run automations, keep archives, and import a list with a concierge migration.
Its feature list includes an API with a CLI tool, RSS, comments, surveys, sponsorships, attachments, unlimited newsletters and unlimited contributors.
What Substack is
Substack puts writers, creators and subscribers in charge of a new media model. It is free to start and free to leave.
A newsletter operator can publish posts, mark each post free or paid-only, host podcasts, and grow through recommendations, Notes and the Substack app.
Creators own their content and subscriber list.
Which one fits
Both start free, but the limits differ. Buttondown is free for the first 100 subscribers, then charges by active subscribers plus monthly add-ons at $9, $29 or $79 each. Substack is free to start, and charges apply only when a writer takes payments.
On paid subscriptions, Buttondown takes no fees from paid subscribers. Substack keeps 10% of revenue, minus card fees. If you want podcasts, Notes and subscriber chats in the same place, Substack offers those. If you want RSS publishing, an API and a custom sending domain on the free plan, Buttondown offers those.
Is Buttondown free?
Nothing is charged for the first 100 subscribers. That tier includes a rich text or markdown editor, a custom sending domain and hosted archives.
What do the add-ons cost?
$9 a month each for features such as tagging and segmentation, paid subscriptions, analytics, RSS-to-email and sponsorships. Custom-domain archives, multiple newsletters and automations are $29 each, and whitelabeling and teams are $79 each.
How much does Substack take?
Writers keep 90% of their revenue minus credit card fees. That makes Substack's share 10%, with card fees taken on top.
Do I own my subscriber list?
Yes. Writers own their content and their subscriber list, and Substack is free to leave.