Substack vs Mailchimp

Trying to pick between Substack and Mailchimp? Yeah, it’s a tough one. They’re super different, but both are popular for a reason.

Substack is clean and simple. Mailchimp is packed with features. So… which one is right for you?

If you’re a writer who just wants to hit publish, Substack feels like home. But if you love automation, lists, and data—Mailchimp’s got your back. Let’s break it all down, step by step.

Keep reading. You’ll know exactly which one fits your style by the end. Let’s go!

Who is Substack for?

Substack is designed for creators who write. Think journalists, essayists, niche bloggers, and independent thinkers who want a direct, uncluttered connection with their readers. If you’re someone who values storytelling and audience loyalty over marketing funnels and list segmentation, Substack might feel like home.

Unlike traditional email platforms, Substack doesn’t expect you to become a marketing expert overnight. You can start publishing instantly, build a free or paid subscriber base, and even monetize your writing through subscriptions—all without a website, tech team, or automation setup. Everything is centered around you, your voice, and your readers.

What’s powerful is that you own your content and mailing list. Substack is built on the belief that creators should control their platform, not rent space in someone else’s sandbox.

Who is Mailchimp for?

Mailchimp is a broader tool made for marketers, business owners, and teams who want to do more than just send newsletters. It’s built for structured email campaigns, complex automations, segmenting large lists, and tracking user behavior across digital channels. If your focus is on marketing performance, e-commerce, or funnel optimization, Mailchimp delivers a robust toolkit.

It started as a newsletter platform in 2001 but has since evolved into a full-fledged marketing platform. Today, Mailchimp supports landing pages, paid ads, social posts, and CRM functions. The trade-off? A steeper learning curve, especially if you’re not familiar with email marketing workflows.

For small businesses, agencies, and scaling teams, Mailchimp offers flexibility and power. But for solo writers or creators focused on publishing and building community, the feature set can feel bloated or overwhelming.

How do Substack and Mailchimp compare?

The biggest difference comes down to intent and complexity.
Substack is for writers. Mailchimp is for marketers.

Substack strips away the noise—no landing pages, no drip campaigns, no analytics dashboards cluttered with graphs. You get a blank page, a publish button, and direct access to your readers’ inboxes. Mailchimp, on the other hand, opens the door to A/B testing, automation workflows, e-commerce tracking, and campaign scheduling—at the cost of added complexity.

Email marketing and automation

When it comes to email automation, Mailchimp is clearly ahead—because Substack intentionally avoids it.

Substack believes in authenticity over automation. You write an email, hit publish, and it goes out. No delays. No scheduling. No “drip funnel.” If you want to automate welcome emails or segment people based on behavior, Substack isn’t for you.

Mailchimp, on the other hand, was practically built for automation. Whether you’re setting up an abandoned cart sequence for an online store, a welcome series for new subscribers, or re-engagement emails based on clicks, Mailchimp gives you a powerful automation builder with triggers, logic, and conditionals. It’s robust—but also requires time and setup.

If you’re a creator who values spontaneity, direct publishing, and creative control, Substack wins.
If you’re a marketer who wants automated nurture sequences and behavioral targeting, Mailchimp is the clear choice.

Content creation and publishing

Substack is a publishing-first platform. Mailchimp is campaign-first.

In Substack, your newsletter is your blog. Every email you send is automatically published on your public Substack site, building a searchable archive and SEO-friendly content base. You can write long-form essays, embed media, create series, and even publish podcasts. It’s made to feel like Medium or WordPress with email baked in.

Mailchimp treats your content as a campaign. It’s designed around shorter promotional emails, newsletters, announcements, and transactional content. There’s no native blog or public content archive. You can publish to a landing page, but the content mostly lives in inboxes.

If writing and publishing are your business, Substack gives you a more natural workflow.
If content is just part of your marketing funnel, Mailchimp fits the mold.

Audience management and segmentation

This is where Mailchimp pulls ahead—because it’s built to help businesses track, organize, and segment their audience with precision.

Mailchimp lets you slice your list using custom fields, tags, behavioral triggers, location data, purchase history, and more. You can create complex segments, run targeted campaigns, and even use predictive demographics to send personalized messages to the right people at the right time.

Substack, by contrast, keeps it simple. Your audience is divided into two groups: free and paid subscribers. That’s it. There are no segmentation filters, no tags, no custom fields. If you want to treat all your readers the same and prioritize simplicity over targeting, that’s the trade-off Substack makes.

Bottom line?
Use Substack if you want to write and send without worrying about segments.
Use Mailchimp if you want to build tailored campaigns for different audience groups.

Design and customization

If visual branding matters to you, Mailchimp offers far more flexibility.

Mailchimp gives you 100+ email templates, plus a drag-and-drop email builder with image blocks, CTAs, banners, spacers, social icons, and full HTML access. You can craft pixel-perfect emails and align every element with your brand guidelines.

Substack keeps things intentionally minimal. Your emails follow a clean, simple layout with limited formatting. You can bold, italicize, insert links or images, and add section breaks—but that’s about it. There are no email templates, no design blocks, no advanced branding options.

While Substack’s clean aesthetic appeals to minimalist writers, it may feel restrictive to marketers who rely on visual storytelling.

If design flexibility is crucial, Mailchimp is the better pick.
If you want to just write and publish—without fiddling with layouts—Substack delivers.

Forms and lead capture

Mailchimp has the upper hand when it comes to list-building tools. It offers embeddable forms, pop-ups, landing pages, and integrations with platforms like Shopify, WordPress, and Facebook. You can customize the fields, trigger automations on sign-up, and track conversions with ease.

Substack keeps things incredibly basic. Each newsletter includes a “Subscribe” link, and you can embed a simple sign-up form on your website. No pop-ups. No form builder. No additional custom fields beyond email address. The focus is on growing your audience organically through your content.

If forms and list-building are critical to your growth strategy, Mailchimp is the clear winner.
If you’re growing by word-of-mouth or referrals, Substack’s simplicity may be enough.

Analytics and reporting

Mailchimp gives you professional-grade analytics. Substack offers creator-focused simplicity.

With Mailchimp, you’ll get deep reporting: open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, geo-data, heat maps, and campaign comparisons. You can track performance over time, run A/B tests, and generate detailed reports to guide your strategy.

Substack gives you a dashboard that shows opens, click rates, subscriber growth, and top referrers. That’s it. No filters, no campaign comparisons, and no exportable reports. The goal is clarity without overwhelm—but it might not be enough for marketers who need robust data to optimize campaigns.

If you’re a data-driven business, Mailchimp gives you more power.
If you just want to know “Did people open and read it?”, Substack does the job.

Monetization

This is where Substack shines. Monetization is built-in—right from the start.

You can offer paid subscriptions, set monthly or yearly prices, and even enable free trials. Substack handles payments via Stripe, and you get a dashboard to manage subscribers and revenue. No third-party tools needed.

Mailchimp, on the other hand, doesn’t offer native monetization. You’ll need to connect it with a membership platform, e-commerce tool, or use your own checkout system to charge for access. It’s flexible—but not as turnkey.

Want to get paid for your writing without cobbling together tools? Substack is the easiest path.
If monetization isn’t your main goal, Mailchimp offers more marketing versatility.

Pricing breakdown

Substack and Mailchimp operate on entirely different pricing models—one focuses on creator earnings, the other on contact-based tiers.

Substack pricing

Substack is free to use. You don’t pay to start a newsletter, build a subscriber list, or publish posts. Instead, Substack takes 10% of your paid subscription revenue, plus Stripe’s processing fee (~2.9%).

This means you only pay when you earn, making it a great option for creators just starting out or transitioning from free to paid.

There are no upgrade tiers, no contact limits, and no hidden features behind paywalls. Every creator, regardless of size, gets access to the same features.

Mailchimp pricing

Mailchimp offers a freemium model with tiered plans based on the number of contacts in your list. The more contacts you have, the higher the monthly fee.

Once you pass 500 contacts, expect these prices to increase. While Mailchimp offers advanced marketing tools, many features (like dynamic content, analytics, and higher send limits) are only available on paid tiers.

Why do people switch from Mailchimp to Substack?

A lot of creators start with Mailchimp—but switch to Substack when they realize they just want to write.

Here’s what we hear again and again:

• “I was overwhelmed by Mailchimp’s interface. I just wanted to hit publish.”
• “I didn’t need landing pages or automations—I needed a clean way to write and get paid.”
• “Substack made it easy to focus on writing. No friction, no tech headaches.”

Substack offers a leaner, creator-friendly platform that lets you build an audience without the bloat. It’s especially popular among solo writers, indie journalists, and niche experts who want to simplify their workflow and get closer to their readers.

That said, teams, e-commerce brands, and marketing pros still find great value in Mailchimp’s powerful integrations and automation features. It all comes down to your goals.

Real user reviews

What are people saying about Substack and Mailchimp?

“Substack helped me grow from 200 to 2,000 readers in six months. I didn’t need to know anything about email marketing—I just wrote and hit send.”
– Niche newsletter writer on Substack

“Mailchimp gave me the tools I needed to automate my e-commerce emails, boost conversions, and grow my list with proper segmentation.”
– Small business owner on Mailchimp

“I switched to Substack because I wanted fewer tools and more writing. Mailchimp felt like too much for what I needed.”
– Freelance journalist

“Mailchimp’s reporting and integrations helped me turn a simple newsletter into a full marketing funnel.”
– Marketing manager at a SaaS startup

FAQ

What is Substack best used for?

Substack is ideal for writers, bloggers, and creators who want to build a direct relationship with their audience through long-form content and email. It’s especially useful if you plan to monetize via paid subscriptions.

What is Mailchimp best used for?

Mailchimp is best for small businesses, startups, and marketers who need robust email marketing, automation, landing pages, and segmentation tools. It’s a strong fit for multi-channel marketing campaigns.

Can I move my Mailchimp list to Substack?

Yes, you can export your contacts from Mailchimp and import them into Substack. Just make sure your list is opted in and follows Substack’s import guidelines to avoid deliverability issues.

Can I use both platforms?

Yes. Some creators use Mailchimp for their main business communications and Substack for personal or paid newsletters. However, managing two lists can be time-consuming, so it’s best if your goals are clearly separated.

Final verdict: Which one is right for you?

• Choose Substack if: you’re a writer who values simplicity, publishing speed, and built-in monetization. It’s perfect for solo creators, personal brands, and paid newsletters.
• Choose Mailchimp if: you need a marketing powerhouse with automation, segmentation, and integration tools. It’s built for teams, product launches, e-commerce, and data-driven strategy.

No matter your path, the platform you choose should match your goals—not the other way around.