Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Feedly VS Substack

Compare Feedly VS Substack and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Feedly logo Feedly

The content you need to accelerate your research, marketing, and sales.

Substack logo Substack

With Substack, anyone can start a publication that combines a personal website, blog, and email newsletter or podcast. It's quick and simple.
  • Feedly Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-30
  • Substack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-26

Feedly

Website
feedly.com
$ Details
freemium $72 / Annually (1000 sources)

Substack

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Startup details
Country
United States

Feedly features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Feedly offers a clean, intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to navigate through their feeds, discover new content, and customize their reading experience.
  • Content Organization
    Feedly provides robust organizational tools, such as folders, tags, and feeds, allowing users to categorize and manage large amounts of content efficiently.
  • Integration with Other Apps
    Feedly integrates seamlessly with a variety of third-party applications, including Evernote, Pocket, and various social media platforms, making it easier to share and save content.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    Feedly is available on multiple platforms, including web, iOS, and Android, ensuring users can access their feeds from any device.
  • Customizable Layouts
    Users can tailor the look and feel of their Feedly dashboard with customizable themes and layout options, enhancing the overall reading experience.
  • Advanced Search and Filtering
    Feedly provides powerful search and filtering options, enabling users to quickly find specific articles or topics within their feeds.

Possible disadvantages of Feedly

  • Premium Subscription Costs
    Some advanced features and integrations are only available through Feedly's paid subscription plans, which may not be affordable for all users.
  • Learning Curve for New Users
    While Feedly is designed to be user-friendly, new users may initially find it overwhelming due to the extensive customization and feature options.
  • Occasional Sync Issues
    Some users have reported occasional issues with feed synchronization, leading to delays in content updates or duplicates.
  • Limited Offline Access
    Feedly's offline access capabilities are somewhat limited, requiring a premium subscription for more robust offline reading options.
  • Ad Presence
    Free tier users might encounter ads within the app, which can disrupt the reading experience.

Substack features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Substack offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for writers to publish and monetize their newsletters.
  • Built-in Monetization
    Writers can easily charge readers for subscriptions, allowing for straightforward monetization.
  • Direct Audience Connection
    Substack allows writers to build a direct relationship with their audience via email, which can lead to a more engaged readership.
  • Discovery and Community
    Features like staff picks and recommendations help writers get discovered by new readers.
  • No Upfront Costs
    Substack does not charge upfront fees; instead, it takes a percentage of subscription revenues, making it easier to start.
  • Content Ownership
    Writers retain full ownership of their content, giving them more control over their work.

Possible disadvantages of Substack

  • Revenue Share
    Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenues, which can add up for writers with a large subscriber base.
  • Limited Customization
    The platform has limited customization options compared to building a custom website or using more flexible CMS options.
  • Dependency on Platform
    Relying on Substack means depending on its policies and infrastructure, which could pose risks if the platform changes its terms or features.
  • Competition
    As more writers join Substack, it can become challenging to stand out amidst the growing competition.
  • Email Deliverability
    Writers may face issues with email deliverability, as some newsletters may end up in spam folders.
  • Payment Processing Fees
    Besides Substack's fee, payment processors like Stripe also take a percentage, further reducing net earnings for writers.

Analysis of Feedly

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Feedly is a robust and reliable RSS feed aggregator that suits both casual users and professionals looking for a streamlined way to consume and manage large volumes of digital content.

Why this product is good

  • Feedly is considered good by many users due to its clean interface, customizable features, and integration capabilities. It allows users to aggregate content from various sources into one easily accessible platform, making it convenient to keep up with news, blogs, and other web content. Additionally, Feedly's AI tool, Leo, helps in efficiently filtering content to deliver personalized and relevant information.

Recommended for

  • Readers who want a centralized platform for news and blog updates.
  • Professionals and researchers needing to track industry-specific information.
  • Users who appreciate integration with other productivity tools, like Evernote or Pocket.
  • Individuals looking for content filtering and personalization options.

Analysis of Substack

Overall verdict

  • Substack is a good choice for writers seeking autonomy and a straightforward way to monetize their content. However, it may not be the best fit for those who prefer working within the framework of a larger publication or those unfamiliar with the challenges of building and maintaining a subscriber base.

Why this product is good

  • Substack is a platform that allows writers, journalists, and content creators to publish and monetize their newsletters. It is praised for its ease of use, built-in subscription system, and direct-to-consumer model which enables writers to retain control over their audience and content. The platform has attracted both independent writers and established journalists seeking the freedom to monetize their work without traditional media constraints.

Recommended for

  • Independent writers and journalists
  • Content creators looking to monetize their work
  • Individuals seeking a direct relationship with their audience
  • Those who appreciate simplicity in publishing

Feedly videos

Best RSS Reader App for iOS?!?! Feedly Review

More videos:

  • Review - Feedly | The best news curation app!
  • Tutorial - Feedly Tutorial - Free Version 2019

Substack videos

Monetizing Podcasts and Newsletters - Chris Best of Substack and Jonathan Gill of Backtracks

More videos:

  • Review - E1016 Substack CEO Chris Best empowers writers via email newsletter platform, raised $15M from a16z
  • Review - Why EVERYONE should be on Substack | What it is, How it Works, $$$
  • Review - Beehiiv vs Substack (2024) - Which is Better?
  • Review - My Experience with SUBSTACK: An Honest Review of Substack

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Feedly and Substack)
RSS
100 100%
0% 0
Blogging
0 0%
100% 100
RSS Reader
100 100%
0% 0
CMS
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Feedly and Substack

Feedly Reviews

Compare news apps, honestly
Feedly gives you total controlโ€”and total maintenance. Here are the alternatives for readers who want the signal without managing feeds and unread counts.
Build Own Feed: Best Tools in 2024
Feedly stands out as a versatile platform for content aggregation, offering a user-friendly interface and robust features for organizing and consuming content. With Feedly, users can seamlessly subscribe to RSS feeds from their favorite sources and categorize them into customizable collections. Its magazine-style layout and intuitive design make it easy to browse and...
Source: medium.com
19 Best Feedly Alternatives To Track Insights Across The Web
Itโ€™s up to the user to decide whether Feedly Pro is worth the money. Feedly Pro is easily worth the $5 per month youโ€™ll be paying if you use tools like Evernote religiously, continuously hunt for past content, want a stable user experience, and love being at the top of the line at customer service.
17 Best RSS Feed Reader And News Aggregation Apps
The free plan allows for casual browsing with up to 100 sources and even the ability to watch YouTube videos. The pro plan is available for more advanced features like content curation, keyword alerts, and note-taking. Streamline your reading experience with Feedly.
The Best RSS Feed Readers for Streamlining the Internet
Feedly is probably the most popular RSS reader on the web, for good reason. It's well-designed and easy to use, and it offers great search options so it's easy to add all your favorite sites. It lacks one thing that makes Inoreader slightly better for my useโ€”the YouTube syncingโ€”but otherwise Feedly is an excellent choice.
Source: www.wired.com

Substack Reviews

25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
Substack offers writers of all experience levels the ability to write an email newsletter thatโ€™s profitable through subscriptions. Substack provides purpose-built web and newsletter publishing tools to enable writers to monetize their newsletters. It is a service often favoured by readers because itโ€™s a convenient all-in-one solution for writing a successful podcast that...
Source: forgefusion.io
10 Best Medium Alternatives for Reading and Publishing
What sะตts Substack apart is its sะตamlะตss intะตgration of contะตnt crะตation and subscription-basะตd monะตtization. Substackโ€™s usะตr-friะตndly intะตrfacะต, distribution tools, and support for various contะตnt formats make it a popular choice for indะตpะตndะตnt crะตators looking to connะตct dirะตctly with thะตir audiะตncะต and turn thะตir passion into a sustainablะต incomะต strะตam.
9 Best Medium Alternatives for Making Money With Your Writing in 2023
Substack and Medium differ primarily in their monetization methods. Medium pays creators based on reader engagement, while Substack enables writers to monetize directly through paid subscriptions to their newsletters. This business model allows Substack users to build a direct relationship with their readers via their email inboxes, whereas Medium interactions primarily...
11 Patreon Alternatives for Audience Monetization in 2023
Like a few of the other platforms weโ€™ve looked at, Substack takes a cut of your earnings rather than charging a 10% platform fee.
Source: www.uscreen.tv
Any good Mailchimp alternatives?
My question for you is, what is keeping you from making $31 per month from your list? Are you using any feature that Substack (free until you get paid) can't handle?

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Substack should be more popular than Feedly. It has been mentiond 102 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Feedly mentions (29)

  • How I Built a $2,400/Month Passive Income Stream Using AI to Automate Niche Newsletter Curation
    Use Feedly or self-host FreshRSS to pull from 40-60 niche sources. Export the feed data as JSON via their API. - Source: dev.to / 18 days ago
  • I Built a Self-Hosted RSS Reader with AI Summarization, Translation, and an MCP Server
    This runs every 30 minutes, automatically bookmarking articles matching your interests. It's similar to the AI filtering feature that Feedly offers in Pro+ ($12.99/month), achieved here with MCP + /loop. Feedly's Leo AI is a Pro+ feature, and translation requires Enterprise ($1,600/month+). - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • I Stopped Reading Newsletters. Here's What I Use Instead.
    RSS didn't die, though. Feedly picked up 8 million new users in the weeks after Reader shut down. Inoreader, Miniflux, FreshRSS, NewsBlur, and dozens of others filled the gap. Feedly alone now has over 15 million registered users. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • 10 Best Google Alerts Alternatives in 2026 (Free and Paid)
    Feedly is the most popular RSS reader with over 14 million registered users. Its AI assistant "Leo" can prioritize, summarize, and deduplicate articles based on your interests. If your goal is staying on top of industry news from trusted sources, Feedly with Leo is powerful. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Essential RSS Feeds for Mobile Developers
    Feedly Https://feedly.com/ One of the most popular RSS readers. Available on web, iOS, and Android. Easy to use and great for organizing feeds into folders. The free plan is more than enough for most developers. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
View more

Substack mentions (102)

  • Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
    It's ironic that the article that caused him to write this post (https://substack.com/@justindeschamps/note/c-261265212?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=7y05q) is written by AI. I see this style of informational writing all over the place now. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Ask HN: What are your favorite blogs not about AI?
    Https://substack.com/@yelluwcomedy. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Kids (With Phones) Are Alright
    Sure there was basically a cartel in social media. You saw coordinated censorship campaigns to ban the former president of the United States for example. But I wouldn't discount the amount of political interference there as well. The last administration admitted to flagging individual posts for the social media companies. But it's also true there is a lot of coordinated censorship even without state interference.... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Financing the AI boom: from cash flows to debt [pdf]
    Manhattan Project: $36B, 5 years โ–ซ Apollo Program: $257B, 14 years โ–ซ Interstate Highway System: $620B, 37 years โ–ซ AI data centers: $930B, 6 years and still accelerating From: https://substack.com/@rubendominguez/note/c-244929068. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • SpaceX to buy Cursor AI coding agent operator Anysphere for $60B
    The thing is, even the center of the road academics who refrain from such comparisons are noting the similarity. The MAGA movement meets the traditional defining characteristics of fascio. We can be rigid and say that only Mussoliniโ€˜s political movement can be properly be called fascist. But if we call Hitler and the Nazis fascists as well, then we open the door to any movement that meets the criteria. And Trump... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Feedly and Substack, you can also consider the following products

Inoreader - Dive into your favorite content. The content reader for power users who want to save time.

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

NewsBlur - NewsBlur is a personal news reader that brings people together to talk about the world.

Medium - Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

Flipboard - Your Personal Magazine. Find, follow and flip stories that change your world.

Buttondown - Buttondown is the best way to start and run your newsletter