Substack alternative: earn from your newsletter without giving up 10%
Smartletter is a Substack alternative for people who earn by selling their products or affiliate links, not paid subscriptions. Substack is free to publish but takes 10% of paid subscriptions, plus card fees. Smartletter takes 0% of your sales, but doesn't handle paid subscriptions.
The more you earn, the more Substack takes. 10% of every paid subscription, plus card fees.
| Criteria | Smartletter | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | €0 (Free). Starter €19/month. Pro €49/month. Scale €99/month. Excl. VAT. | Free to publish. |
| Free plan | 500 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month. Hard cap. Sent from @mail.smartletter.ai. | Publishing is free. |
| Quotas | Starter: 5,000 subscribers, 10,000 emails/month. Pro: 25,000 subscribers, 50,000 emails/month. Scale: 100,000 subscribers, 200,000 emails/month. Past that: €1 per 1,000 emails, never blocked. | Not checked for this comparison. |
| Where emails are sent from | Sent through Amazon SES in Paris (eu-west-3). | Not checked for this comparison. |
| Key features | AI writing, selling your products, affiliate catalog, your own sending domain (Pro: 5 domains), Substack CSV import. | Paid subscriptions. |
| Commission on your sales | 0% on your product sales and on your own affiliate links. No paid subscriptions. | 10% of paid subscriptions, plus card fees. |
Sources: https://substack.com/going-paid. Prices checked on Oct 17, 2026. Smartletter: prices in euros, excluding VAT. Substack: prices in dollars, as on its site.
What you get
- 0% commission on your sales, which means what you sell stays yours.
- Your own sending domain (Pro: 5 domains), which means readers see your name, not ours.
- AI writes a first draft from your site, which means you start from a text, not a blank page.
- CSV import that reads the Substack export, which means you switch tools without rebuilding your list.
The platform's deliverability stats are public and live. See the live stats
How long it takes to switch
- 01You export your list from Substack as a CSV.
- 02You import it into Smartletter. The Substack columns are detected on their own.
- 03The activity history in the export is kept.
- 04You confirm your subscribers gave their consent. Depending on the list, the import may go through a check before the first send.
Choose Substack if…
- You want to live off paid subscriptions. Smartletter doesn't handle them.
- You want to publish for free and your list is over 500 subscribers.
Choose Smartletter if…
- You earn from your products or affiliate links.
- You want to send from your own domain.
- You want AI to write the first draft.
- You want your emails to go out from Paris.
FAQ
- Is there a Substack alternative with no commission?
- Yes, if you sell products or affiliate links. Smartletter takes 0% of those sales. It doesn't handle paid subscriptions.
- Does Smartletter support paid subscriptions?
- No, not today. To live off paid subscriptions, stay on Substack or on a platform that handles them.
- Can I import my Substack subscribers?
- Yes. You import your Substack CSV export as is. The columns are detected on their own.
- Does Smartletter take a cut of my sales?
- No. Smartletter takes 0% of your product sales and of your own affiliate links. You pay your plan, plus extra emails if you go over your quota.
- How much does Smartletter cost?
- €0 for 500 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month. Then €19, €49 or €99/month excl. VAT. Product sales and affiliate links are in the Pro plan, at €49/month excl. VAT.
0% commission on your sales.
Sell your products and affiliate links right inside your newsletter.
Launch offer: the first 25 signups get 40% off paid plans, for life.