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 the age of podcasts, social, art and films, and the only one that builds your site from the work you already publish. Nothing else compares, and once your channels are connected it is the only builder you will need.

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Setup and preview are free, with no card required. You pay only when you go live.

Already on Substack? Podspun builds from your public feeds, not your old pages: connect your channels and preview the whole site free behind a password before you point your domain.

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.
Already on Substack? Connect it to Podspun as a channel and your posts feed your site's search and News. Starting fresh, Podspun's own posts and memberships cover the newsletter, so you do not need two platforms.

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.

What you get

What you get that Substack cannot

Only Podspun does this

The newsletter lives on your own podcast website, on your domain, next to your episodes.
Posts drafted from your episode transcripts, so the writing starts done.
Post ideas from what your audience actually searches for on your site.
Links that jump to the exact moment in an episode.
Episode pages, transcripts, and word-level search behind every post.
A smaller share of each paid subscription than Substack's published cut.

And everything Substack does

Paid and free subscriptions, with payments through Stripe.
Posts delivered by email to your list.

Substack keeps one thing: its reader network and recommendations, which can put a newsletter in front of strangers.

As seen on

WGN 9PIX11Detroit Free PressThe Arizona RepublicIndyStarThe TennesseanJournal SentinelThe Columbus DispatchNational Law Review

Forensic Files now runs on Podspun!

forensicfiles.com

The official site for the true crime classic, live now.

Forensic Files is the number one all-time favorite TV show for true crime followers, with millions of devoted fans.

We connected the show and the Dataweaver built the rest: episode pages, transcripts, playlists, search to the exact second, and an AI that answers from the catalog. It is also built to be a true crime hub, joining many channels together, weaving tens-of-thousands of episodes into our Dataweaver. New shows and insights flow in automatically.

Every Podspun Full plan comes with the same builder.

Visit forensicfiles.comarrow_forward Build your own

More sites on Podspun

Podcast, video, and social archives published as websites.

The Diary Of A CEO

Bad Friends

All-In Podcast

Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade

WVFRM Podcast

Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway

Clever Minds Hub

AmusingLuis

Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors

Grit in the Boardroom

Dom Harvey

Polina Galkina

Forensic Files True Crime Hub

Ex-Homeschoolers Club

Knowledge at Wharton

The old way, the Podspun way

The website is built from your content

A general website builder hands you a blank template to fill. Podspun reads what you already publish and builds the pages from it.

The old way

You set up and maintain every tool by hand, with little to no automated help.

Start from a blank template.
Paste in each episode or post by hand, every week.
Transcripts, search, and clips come from separate apps.
Pay for hosting, a theme, and plugins on top.
Separate tools for managing email campaigns, a store, donations, and paid posts.
The site is as current as your last editing session.

Built from your content

The Podspun way

Everything you would do by hand in a website builder is here too: pages, themes, blocks, forms, your own domain. Plus:

Start from your own content: connect your podcast and social channels.
Every episode and post gets its own page, built from the content itself.
Transcripts, search, clips, and AI answers come from the same catalog.
Hosting, SSL, themes, your custom domain, forms, and the rest are included.
Email campaigns, a store, donations, and paid posts run from the same account.
New work appears on the site on its own.

Pricing

Simple, predictable pricing

Monthly billing includes 800 episodes, videos, and posts across your connected channels. Yearly billing is 10% off the fixed plan.

Podspun Light

Host your channels on podspun, no domain included or needed.

$29/ month

The Dataweaver imports, transcribes, and indexes your podcast and social channels, with 800 episodes, videos, and posts included.

Get Started

Recommended

Podspun Full

Custom domain, full feature set, complete control

$49/ month

Everything in Podspun Light, plus a website on your own domain. Visitors see the people, subjects, changes, and moments across every connected channel and published news, with each finding linked to its source. Episode pages, social posts, search, and SEO are included. Automatic website translation is included at no additional charge for now.

Get Started

Enterprise

White glove service, domain setup, and volume pricing.

Let's talk

For networks, agencies, and big catalogs, priced for the volume. Or go done for you: we build the website and the content for you. Tell us what you have and we will scope it.

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How Can Podspun Help Me

Audit My Podcast

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Audit Me!

We'll display results instantly and also email you a link.

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.

Can I use Podspun and keep my Substack?

Yes. Add your Substack as a channel in your Podspun account. Podspun imports the posts you have published, uses them in your website's search and article ideas, and can list them in your site's News with links back to Substack. Your readers and sign-ups stay on Substack.

Do I need both Substack and Podspun?

No. If you are starting a newsletter, Podspun's own posts and memberships do the same job on your website: free and paid members, posts on the web and by email, and payments through your own Stripe account. One platform covers the website and the newsletter.

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.

See all FAQ

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