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CompareVerified 2026-11-07

MemberPad vs Substack

Substack is a publishing network with genuinely good writing tools, full podcast hosting with private subscriber feeds, native live streaming and an audience that finds you. MemberPad is a place members gather, with courses, video and audio rooms, and a point less taken from every payment.

The short version

Choose Substack if

  • Writing is the product. Substack’s editor has footnotes, LaTeX, pull quotes, version history, post templates, headline testing and a paywall you can drop mid article, and MemberPad has nothing approaching that.2
  • You want a network working for you. Substack readers discover publications through Substack itself, through recommendations and cross posting, on a scale that MemberPad’s public directory and creator recommendations do not come close to.2
  • Your podcast needs to reach Spotify. Substack distributes to Apple Podcasts and Spotify automatically and gives each paid subscriber a unique private feed, where our one tap subscribe stops at Apple Podcasts and Overcast.2
  • You send a lot of email to a lot of people. Substack states no subscriber limit and no send cap, and MemberPad meters sends against a monthly allowance.1

It is a tie on

  • Neither charges anything monthly. Both are free to run until a reader pays you, and both then take a percentage rather than a subscription.1
  • Both host podcast audio and issue paid subscribers a private RSS feed, and both host video themselves rather than embedding it from somewhere else.2
  • Both let you run the whole thing on a domain you own, and both give paid members and free readers different levels of access to the same body of work.2

Choose MemberPad if

  • You teach. Substack has no course product at all, and MemberPad has modules, lessons, graded quizzes, reviewed assignments and certificates.2
  • Members need to meet each other. Substack chat is threads attached to a publication, and MemberPad has chat rooms with presence, direct messages, two way video rooms and audio rooms.2
  • You sell more than a subscription. Digital products, one time content purchases, coupons, trials and an affiliate program for members are all standard on MemberPad and absent from Substack.2
  • You want to keep a point more. Substack takes 10% of each transaction and MemberPad takes 9%, with the same Stripe fees sitting on top of both.1

At a glance

One row per category. The full table, with every row and every source, is further down.

The eight categories at a glance. Every row here also appears in the full table below.
CapabilitySubstackMemberPad
Real time chatThe difference between a forum people check weekly and a room they sit in.PartialPublication chat threads, plus real time chat during a live stream2YesLive rooms with typing and presence, free on every community6
Build courses inside the platformA course hosted somewhere else is a second login and a second bill.NoNo course product appears on the features page2YesCourses, modules and lessons, with video uploaded here or linked from YouTube6
Private member only podcast feedA private feed puts your paid show in the app people already listen in.YesPaid subscribers each get a unique private RSS URL2YesAn RSS feed unique to each member, authenticated per person6
Broadcast to an audienceOne to many video, where the audience watches rather than joins.YesNative live streaming with no paid tier requirement2YesAny audience size, but the community needs one paid tier6
What the platform takesThe number that decides how much of every membership actually reaches you.Different10% of each transaction, plus Stripe card and billing fees1Different9% of what a member pays, and nothing at all before that5
Desktop appA window that stays open is very different from a tab that gets closed.NoNo desktop application for readers or writers2YesWindows and macOS installers that update themselves7
On demand video libraryA back catalog people can browse is worth more than the same videos buried in a feed.DifferentNative video published as posts rather than a browsable library2YesUploads or YouTube links, browsable, with progress, bookmarks and comments6
Start without paying anythingWhat you owe in the months before the community is earning anything at all.YesPublishing is free however many subscribers you have1YesNothing. There is no MemberPad subscription to buy5

What each one costs

Substack takes 10% of each transaction and MemberPad takes 9%, and neither charges anything monthly. Both then carry Stripe on top, and because both run recurring subscriptions through Stripe, the card fee and the billing fee land on each of them the same way.1

That leaves a single point between them, which on a thousand dollars a month is ten dollars. Nobody should move a publication for that, and a comparison page from us that pretended otherwise would deserve to be ignored.3

The cost that actually differs is not on either invoice. Substack sends you readers through its own network, where MemberPad’s directory and creator recommendations bring far fewer, so most growth there is yours to find. Whatever that traffic is worth to you belongs in this calculation.2

Substack

$0/moplus 10% of each sale

  • Publishing is free
  • Stripe 2.9% plus 30 cents on top
  • Stripe Billing 0.7% on recurring

MemberPad

$0/moplus 9% of each sale

  • No plans and no tiers
  • Stripe charged separately
  • No feature behind a higher plan

What each one takes on top

Where a percentage is shown above, Substack charges it on top of card processing, which Stripe bills separately, so what a sale really costs is the two added together. MemberPad takes 9% of what a member actually pays you, and card processing sits on top of ours as well, billed by Stripe on your own account. There is one plan, nothing is held back behind a higher one, and a month where nobody pays you costs nothing.

There is no crossover to find, and this time it runs our way. On fees alone Substack costs the same or more than MemberPad at every level of revenue, so whatever the reason to choose them is, it is not the cut they take.

Community

Comments under an article are not the same as a room

Substack has more community than people give it credit for. Publication chat threads, access controls that separate free, paid and founding readers, threaded comments, contributor permissions, and a reader profile that works across the whole network.2

What it does not have is the sense of a place that is busier on some evenings than others. Chat threads hang off a publication, and readers arrive to read something rather than to see who is around.2

MemberPad is built the other way round. Rooms with presence and typing, direct messages, video rooms and audio rooms, and a feed that is a place rather than a mailing. Whether that is worth anything depends entirely on whether you want readers or members.

Courses

The clearest absence on an otherwise deep product

Substack has no course product. Not a limited one, not a course shaped section of the editor, nothing. A writer teaching something there is publishing a sequence of posts and letting readers work through them however they like.2

Post scheduling and republishing get part of the way, and polls and survey buttons let you ask questions. What none of that does is track who finished, hold lesson four shut until lesson three is passed, or hand anybody a certificate.2

MemberPad does all three, and the assignment flow goes further by letting a creator read submitted work and send it back for another attempt. For a publication that teaches rather than informs, this is the reason to look elsewhere.

Podcasting

Both do this well, and Substack reaches further

This deserves stating plainly because it goes against us. Substack has full podcast hosting, per section feeds, episode import from another host, download analytics by player and country, and a unique private RSS URL for every paid subscriber.2

It also distributes automatically to Apple Podcasts and Spotify. MemberPad gives every member a private authenticated feed too, and our one tap subscribe covers Apple Podcasts and Overcast, with every other player needing a member to paste a URL.2

So on podcasting alone, Substack is ahead on reach and roughly level on mechanism. What MemberPad adds is everything the feed sits next to: courses, a video library, live rooms and files behind the same membership.

Live

Substack streams, MemberPad also gathers

Substack live streaming is native, has real time chat beside the video, records itself into a post draft afterwards, and carries no published hour or viewer cap. For broadcasting to an audience it is better than what a new MemberPad community gets.2

MemberPad gates live behind having at least one paid tier and then meters a pool of participant minutes, starting at roughly three hours of broadcasting a month and growing as revenue does. On day one that is plainly worse.

The formats are where it turns. Substack streams one to many and stops there. MemberPad adds two way video rooms for coaching and office hours, and audio rooms, which are the format people actually show up to because nobody has to look presentable.2

Money

One point apart, and one of them brings an audience

Substack takes 10% and MemberPad takes 9%. Neither charges monthly, both add Stripe on top, and both run subscriptions through Stripe Billing, so the fee comparison comes down to a single point of difference.1

What Substack sells you beyond the tooling is distribution. Recommendations between publications, cross posting, a reader app people already have, and a network that puts you in front of readers who never searched for you.2

MemberPad sells the opposite proposition, which is that everything belongs to you. A public directory lists communities and creators recommend each other, but that is a small fraction of what Substack’s network sends. Whether that trade is worth one point of fee depends on how much of your growth currently arrives from inside Substack.

Access

Their reader app is the real advantage here

The Substack app is a genuinely good reader that people already have installed, holding every publication somebody subscribes to. A new subscriber usually does not need to download anything, which matters more than any feature comparison.2

MemberPad matches on iPhone and Android with a shared app, and adds Windows and macOS desktop applications, which Substack does not offer. That is the one access row where we are ahead, and only for audiences who sit at a desk.

The Substack app is a reader rather than a community app, and that shapes what it is good at. Somebody subscribed to eleven publications opens it to read, which is exactly right for a newsletter and less useful for a place people are meant to talk to each other in.

Content

The best writing tools here, against the widest set of places

The Substack editor is the strongest in this comparison and it is not close. Footnotes, LaTeX, code blocks with highlighting, pull quotes, callouts, galleries, recipe blocks with structured data, version history, templates, headline testing, and a paywall you can place anywhere in a post.2

MemberPad posts are plainer, and code blocks have no syntax highlighting at all. What we have instead is more places for things to live: a video library with progress, a file library, photo albums, notebooks, events, and a shop.

The editor is the better tool and the archive is the weaker one. Substack gives you a superb way to make a single piece and the same chronological list to put it in, so a body of work meant to be worked through rather than read once needs structure it does not provide.

Value

Readers or members, and the fee barely enters into it

A point of fee is not the story here and should not be sold as one. These two products are aimed at different verbs: Substack is for publishing something people read, and MemberPad is for running somewhere people go.1

If your work is writing and a podcast and the occasional live stream, Substack does all of it well, brings readers with it, and has better tools for the writing itself. There is no honest argument for moving.2

The argument appears when you want to teach a course with marked work, sell something that is not a subscription, or give members rooms to meet each other in. Substack has none of those, and that is the whole case rather than the fee.

Everything we checked

Every row carries a note rather than a tick, and every claim about Substack links to the page it came from.

Substack and MemberPad compared. Every claim about Substack is sourced, and was last checked on 2026-11-07.
CapabilitySubstackMemberPad
Community Whether people actually talk to each other, and what happens when the room gets busy.
Separate spaces for separate topicsOne undifferentiated feed is where a growing community starts to feel noisy.PartialChat threads on a publication rather than separate spaces2YesChat rooms grouped into sections, beside one community feed6
Real time chatThe difference between a forum people check weekly and a room they sit in.PartialPublication chat threads, plus real time chat during a live stream2YesLive rooms with typing and presence, free on every community6
Direct messages between membersMembers who can reach each other privately stay for each other, not only for you.PartialReader messaging exists in the app, not as a creator tool2PartialOne to one or groups of up to 10, but starting one needs a paid tier6
Member profilesA face and a history is what turns an account into a person other members recognize.YesEvery reader has a profile across the whole network2YesPublic profiles with follows, blocks and private member notes6
Moderation toolsWhoever helps you run the place needs powers that stop short of your own.YesComment controls and contributor permissions per publication2YesPick each moderator's powers: moderate messages, time out, ban6
Points, levels or a leaderboardVisible progress is one of the few things that reliably brings people back daily.NoNo points, levels or badges of any kind2YesPoints, levels, streaks, badges, celebrations, and a leaderboard the creator switches on6
Courses Whether you can teach something and check that it landed, not just publish videos.
Build courses inside the platformA course hosted somewhere else is a second login and a second bill.NoNo course product appears on the features page2YesCourses, modules and lessons, with video uploaded here or linked from YouTube6
Course video hosted for youEmbedding from YouTube means your paid lessons live on someone else’s player.DifferentNative video hosting, but published as posts not lessons2YesHosted and streamed by us, uploads capped at 1080p6
Quizzes and graded assessmentsChecking that someone learned it is the difference between a course and a playlist.DifferentPolls and survey buttons in posts, with no grading2YesGraded quizzes that hold the next lesson shut until passed6
Assignments you reviewWork handed in and marked up is what cohort programs are built on.NoNothing for a reader to submit and you to mark2YesAssignments a creator reviews, approves or sends back6
Certificates on completionA certificate is the thing a member posts, which is free marketing for you.NoNo completion to certify, since nothing tracks progress2YesGenerated on completion, in the community accent color6
Release lessons on a scheduleDrip keeps a cohort together and stops a member finishing in a weekend and leaving.DifferentPost scheduling and republishing, which sequences but does not gate2YesOn a fixed date, or a number of days after each member starts6
Courses that unlock by taking partEarning your way into the next course is a reason to show up that a paywall never gives anybody.NoPaid and free are the only two levels of access2YesA course can open at a level, showing the climb rather than a paywall6
Podcasting Whether a paid show reaches members in the app they already listen in.
Host podcast audioPodcast hosting is otherwise a separate product and a separate monthly bill.YesFull native hosting, with episode management and analytics2YesAudio hosted here, organized into shows and episodes6
Private member only podcast feedA private feed puts your paid show in the app people already listen in.YesPaid subscribers each get a unique private RSS URL2YesAn RSS feed unique to each member, authenticated per person6
Plays in normal podcast appsAudio that only plays on the website is not really a podcast.YesAutomatic distribution to Apple Podcasts and Spotify2PartialOne tap subscribe covers Apple Podcasts and Overcast only6
Lock a show to a paid tierAudio is one of the easiest things to charge for, if the platform lets you.YesEpisodes gate by free, paid or founding member access2YesA whole show can be held to a paid tier6
Live experiences What you can run live, and whether the platform runs it or points at something else.
Broadcast to an audienceOne to many video, where the audience watches rather than joins.YesNative live streaming with no paid tier requirement2YesAny audience size, but the community needs one paid tier6
Two way video roomsOffice hours, coaching calls and cohort sessions all need faces on both sides.NoStreaming is one to many, with no two way room2YesTwo way rooms, and again a paid tier is required6
Audio only roomsFar lower effort to show up to than video, so far more people do.NoNo audio only room format is offered here2YesAudio only rooms with a stage, paid tier required6
Replays saved automaticallyMost of a live session’s value is watched by people who missed it.YesA live stream automatically becomes a post draft2YesSaved automatically and publishable to the video library6
How live time is meteredEvery platform meters live somehow, and the shape of the limit decides what you can run.DifferentNo published hour or viewer cap on live streaming2DifferentA monthly minute pool that grows with your own revenue5
Monetization How money gets from a member to you, and how much of it survives the trip.
Recurring paid membershipsRecurring revenue is the reason most creators move onto a platform at all.YesMonthly, annual and founding member tiers, plus group plans2YesMonthly and yearly tiers, charged on your own Stripe account5
One time purchasesNot everything should be a subscription, and not every buyer wants one.PartialGifting exists, but not one time purchase of a single piece2YesAny piece of content can be sold once instead of gated6
Digital products and downloadsA template pack or a preset is often the first thing a member ever buys.NoNothing to sell as a standalone downloadable product2YesDownloads or external links, sold from a shop tab6
Sell physical merch you shipA shirt, a record or a print is something a fan will buy long before a membership.NoNo native way to sell merch, only a link out to another shop4YesVariants, stock and shipping rates. You ship within the US, and buyers need no account6
Coupons and promo codesA launch or a seasonal offer needs a code you can hand out and expire.PartialDiscounted offers exist without a full coupon system2YesPercent or amount, once, repeating or forever, scoped per tier6
Free trials on a paid tierA trial is the cheapest way to show someone what is behind the wall.YesFree trials on a paid subscription are supported2YesUp to 365 days, with the card taken up front6
Affiliate program for membersMembers who earn for referring are the cheapest growth channel there is.NoNo member facing affiliate or referral commission program2YesMembers earn a commission on referrals at a rate you set6
What the platform takesThe number that decides how much of every membership actually reaches you.Different10% of each transaction, plus Stripe card and billing fees1Different9% of what a member pays, and nothing at all before that5
Access Every screen a member might open it on, and whether it feels native there.
Web appWhere most members will actually read, and the only surface search engines see.YesThe web publication is the primary reading surface2YesA full web app, server rendered for speed and search7
iPhone appPush notifications and a home screen icon are what make a community a habit.YesThe Substack app, carrying every publication you read2YesPublished on the App Store as a native app7
Android appHalf the phones in most audiences, and often the majority outside the US.YesThe same shared reader app on Android2YesPublished on Google Play as a native app7
Desktop appA window that stays open is very different from a tab that gets closed.NoNo desktop application for readers or writers2YesWindows and macOS installers that update themselves7
Your own domainThe address decides whether the community reads as yours or as rented.YesConnect a domain you own, or buy one through Substack2YesYour own domain on any community, with no upgrade6
Content What else can live alongside the conversation without a second product.
Posts with mediaThe everyday surface. Whatever is awkward to post here will simply not get posted.YesThe strongest post editor in this whole comparison2YesCreators and admins post text, sixteen images, video and polls, and members comment and react6
On demand video libraryA back catalog people can browse is worth more than the same videos buried in a feed.DifferentNative video published as posts rather than a browsable library2YesUploads or YouTube links, browsable, with progress, bookmarks and comments6
Events and a calendarAnything recurring needs a place members can see it coming.PartialLive streams can be scheduled, with no member calendar2YesRepeating events with timezones, RSVPs, a waitlist, and reminders to everyone going6
File libraryTemplates, worksheets and swipe files are what members quietly value most.PartialFiles attach to posts rather than forming a library2YesA file library, 50 MB a file, folders one level deep6
PollsThe lowest effort thing a quiet member will ever do, and often their first.YesPoll embeds in posts and notes, plus survey buttons2YesIn posts and in chat rooms, results hidden until you vote6
A public page that sells the communityThe page a stranger lands on decides whether they ever become a member.YesA public publication with custom static pages and branding2YesA public page by default, a block builder, and a link in bio page6
Value What the whole arrangement costs you, including the parts that are not the fee.
Start without paying anythingWhat you owe in the months before the community is earning anything at all.YesPublishing is free however many subscribers you have1YesNothing. There is no MemberPad subscription to buy5
Members without a capA member cap turns your own growth into a bill you did not plan for.YesNo subscriber limit is stated anywhere in the fees1YesMembers, communities, posts, courses and tiers are all uncapped5
Email your membersEmail is the only channel you keep if the platform ever goes away.YesEmail is the product, with no send cap published1Partial5,000 sends a month to start, growing with your revenue5
API and webhooksThe difference between a platform you can build around and one you cannot.PartialNo public API is named on the features page2YesA documented public API and outbound webhooks6
Remove the platform brandingWhether the product reads as entirely yours, or visibly built on someone else.PartialCustom domain and branding, still inside the Substack network2NoA Powered by MemberPad link always sits on the public page6

Moving from Substack to MemberPad

  1. Export your subscriber list first

    Substack lets you take your list with you, which is one of the better things about it. Do this before anything else and before you announce a move anywhere.

  2. Decide what becomes a course

    Most publications that want to leave Substack want to teach. Work out which back catalog posts become course lessons and which stay as posts, because that decision shapes everything else.

  3. Migrate the podcast feed carefully

    Both platforms issue private feeds, so every listener has to subscribe again at a new URL. Substack can import episodes from another host, which means the audio moves easily and the listeners do not.

  4. Set up tiers to match your existing plans

    Keep monthly, annual and any founding member pricing identical for the first month so readers recognize what they are re subscribing to rather than reading it as a price rise.

  5. Move the domain and keep publishing throughout

    If you already use a custom domain on Substack, it can point at MemberPad instead. The risky part of any move is going quiet during it, so keep the usual rhythm while the plumbing changes.

What does not come across

The network does not come with you. Recommendations from other publications, cross posting and readers browsing Substack all stop the day you leave, and for many publications that is a larger number than the fee difference is.2

The editor is a real downgrade. Footnotes, LaTeX, syntax highlighted code, version history, templates and headline testing have no equivalent on MemberPad, and if your posts use those regularly you will feel it on the first one you write.2

MemberPad imports the subscriber list you export from Substack and emails each person a one tap invitation to join, so that side is no longer manual. Paid subscriptions and podcast feeds are the parts that cannot be moved for someone, because payment methods and private feed URLs never transfer between platforms.

Questions people actually ask

Is MemberPad cheaper than Substack?

By one point. Substack takes 10% of each transaction and MemberPad takes 9%, neither charges a monthly fee, and both carry Stripe card and billing fees on top. On a thousand dollars a month that is a ten dollar difference, which is not on its own a reason to move.

Does Substack support private podcast feeds?

Yes, and properly. Substack includes native podcast hosting, gives every paid subscriber a unique private RSS URL, supports separate feeds per section, and distributes automatically to Apple Podcasts and Spotify. On podcast reach specifically it is ahead of MemberPad, whose one tap subscribe covers Apple Podcasts and Overcast.

Can I build a course on Substack?

No. Substack names no course product, so teaching there means publishing a sequence of posts and trusting readers to work through them. Nothing tracks completion, nothing holds a later lesson shut until an earlier one is passed, and no certificate is issued at the end.

Does Substack have live video?

Yes. Substack supports native live streaming with real time chat beside the video, automatically turns a stream into a post draft afterwards, and publishes no hour or viewer cap. MemberPad requires a paid tier before any live feature starts and then meters a monthly pool of participant minutes.

What is the best Substack alternative for a paid community?

If what you want is members meeting each other rather than readers, MemberPad, Circle and Skool are all closer fits than Substack, which is built around publishing. MemberPad is the one of those three that also keeps the podcast feed and adds courses with assessment.

Can I use my own domain on both?

Yes. Substack supports connecting a domain you already own and will also sell you one directly through the platform. MemberPad does not gate custom domains at all, so any community can sit on an address you own from the day it is created, with no upgrade involved.

What is the best Substack alternative for a paid podcast?

Substack is genuinely hard to beat on that one job, since it hosts the audio, gives each paid subscriber a private feed and pushes to Apple Podcasts and Spotify automatically. MemberPad matches the private feed and adds courses and live rooms around it, which is the reason to move rather than the feed itself.

Does Substack take 10% forever?

Yes. Substack charges 10% of each transaction with no monthly fee and no cap, so the amount grows with your revenue indefinitely, and Stripe's card and billing fees sit on top. MemberPad works the same shape at 9%, so both get more expensive in absolute terms as you grow rather than less.

Can I move my Substack subscribers to MemberPad?

You can export the list, which is one of the better things about Substack, and paid subscriptions still have to be recreated by each subscriber on the new platform. You also give up recommendations from other publications and readers browsing Substack itself, which for many publications is a larger number than the fee difference.

How this was checked

Every figure about another platform on these pages came from that platform’s own published pricing, feature or documentation pages, and each one is listed with the date it was read. Where a company does not publish an answer, the page says that rather than guessing at one.

Nothing here is based on testing a competitor’s product hands on, and no page claims otherwise. Claims about MemberPad are checked against the code that ships rather than against our own marketing, which is why several of them are unflattering.

Fee comparisons put both sides on the same footing. Some platforms quote a percentage that already covers card processing and some quote one that sits on top of it, and treating those two numbers as the same thing is the most common way a comparison like this misleads.

Last verified

Who published it

This comparison was written and published by MemberPad, so read it knowing we make one of the two products in it. We have tried to earn your trust the only way that works, which is by being specific about what the other platform does better and where ours falls short.

Competitor pricing and features change. If you find something here that is out of date or wrong, the sources and the date we checked them are listed on every page so you can see exactly what we were looking at, and we would rather hear about it than have it sit here.

Drew AumanFounder, MemberPad

Sources

  1. 1How much does Substack cost?Substack · support.substack.com · checked 2026-11-07
  2. 2Substack features: publish, grow, and earn in one placeSubstack · substack.com · checked 2026-09-17
  3. 3PricingStripe · stripe.com · checked 2026-11-07
  4. 4How do I organize the navigation bar on my Substack publication?Substack · support.substack.com · checked 2026-10-20
  5. 5PricingMemberPad · memberpad.com · checked 2026-11-07
  6. 6FeaturesMemberPad · memberpad.com · checked 2026-11-07
  7. 7AppsMemberPad · memberpad.com · checked 2026-11-07

Other comparisons

MemberPad vs PatreonThe name your audience already knows, with the smoothest path from a casual fan to a paying one. What it is not is a place to teach, and your members belong a little to Patreon as well as to you.MemberPad vs CircleThe most polished community product in this comparison, with a real website builder and automations. You pay for it every month whether the community earns or not.MemberPad vs PodiaThe friendliest all in one storefront here, with courses, downloads, a website and email in one calm product. Its email subscriber caps are the lowest in this comparison and it has no mobile app at all.All comparisonsEvery platform in one table, with the sources behind each row.

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