Pick Substack if
- Writing is the main act and the podcast is a side dish to the newsletter.
- You want Substack's reader network and recommendations to help strangers find you.
- You want zero setup and don't mind the newsletter living on their platform.
Podspun vs Substack
Podspun vs Substack for a podcast paid newsletter
Substack made the model everyone knows: free and paid subscribers, posts on the web and by email, you set the price. If your show is the center of what you make, the question is where that newsletter should live and who helps you write it. Podspun runs the same model on your own podcast website, next to your episodes, transcripts, and search, and it drafts posts from what was actually said on the show.
Podspun is the #1 website builder for creators, and the only one that builds your site from your podcast and social feeds together.
In short
The short version
- Both run free and paid subscriptions with posts on the web and by email, at prices you set.
- Substack is its own platform with its own network. Podspun's Off Mic (Posts) live on your own website, with your episodes and your brand.
- Podspun drafts companion posts from your episode transcripts and suggests topics from what your audience searches. On Substack the page starts blank.
- Podspun takes 1.5% of each paid subscription and no monthly fee. Substack publishes its own share; check their site for the current number.
Side by side
Side by side
What you get
Podspun
Substack
Free and paid subscriber tiers
Posts delivered by email
Lives on your own podcast website
Posts drafted from your episode transcripts
Post ideas from your audience's searches
Links that jump to the exact moment in an episode
Episode pages, transcripts, and word-level search
Share of each paid subscription
1.5%
Their published cut
A reader network with recommendations
Both handle payments through Stripe and deliver posts by email. The difference is where the newsletter lives and how much of the writing starts done.
An honest fit
Which one fits you
Pick Podspun if
- The show is the center, and the newsletter should live where your episodes, transcripts, and search already do.
- You want help writing: drafts from your transcripts and ideas from what your audience actually looks for.
- You want to keep more of each subscription and build on your own domain instead of someone else's.
Pricing
What Podspun costs
Off Mic (Posts) comes with your website and has no monthly fee of its own: Podspun takes 1.5% of each paid subscription, and payouts land in your own Stripe account.
News Memberships1.5% per subscriptionMembers-only and paid posts on your website, like a Substack that lives on your own domain. No extra monthly fee: Podspun takes 1.5% of each paid subscription, and the money settles in your own Stripe account.
Base plan$29 / monthImport, transcription, indexing, and AI search, with 800 total items included across all your channels.
FAQ
Podspun vs Substack questions
Is Substack good for podcasters?
Substack can host a podcast and attach it to a newsletter, and its network helps writers get discovered. What it doesn't do is treat the show as the center: there are no episode pages built from your catalog, no transcripts you can search to the second, and no help writing posts from what was said on air.
What does Podspun do that Substack cannot?
Podspun's newsletter lives on your own podcast website, next to every episode, its transcript, and word-level search. It drafts companion posts from each new episode's transcript, suggests topics from what your visitors actually search, and links readers to the exact moment of the episode being quoted.
How do the fees compare?
Podspun takes 1.5% of each paid subscription and charges no monthly fee for Off Mic (Posts). Substack also takes a share of paid subscriptions; they publish the current number on their site. Stripe's card processing applies on both.
Can I move my Substack to Podspun?
Your posts can be recreated as Off Mic (Posts) on your site, and your free subscriber list can be imported into Podspun's email contacts. Paid subscribers are Stripe subscriptions on your own Stripe account, so they re-subscribe once at your new home; the join card on any paid post walks them through it.
Do my readers need a Podspun account?
No. Readers get an account on your website: they join with an email link, a password, or Google, and manage their plan through Stripe's own billing portal.
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