Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Mailgun VS Substack

Compare Mailgun VS Substack and see what are their differences

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Mailgun logo Mailgun

A set of powerful APIs that enable you to send, receive and track email from your app effortlessly whether you use Python, Ruby, PHP, C#, Node.js or Java.

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.
  • Mailgun Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-16
  • Substack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-26

Mailgun features and specs

  • Scalability
    Mailgun can handle high volumes of emails efficiently, making it ideal for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.
  • API Flexibility
    Mailgun offers a robust and flexible API that is developer-friendly, allowing for easy integration and customization to fit specific needs.
  • Deliverability
    Mailgun has strong email deliverability rates due to its reputation and infrastructure, which helps ensure emails reach recipients' inboxes as intended.
  • Analytics and Tracking
    It provides comprehensive email analytics and tracking features, allowing businesses to monitor open rates, click-through rates, and other vital statistics.
  • SMTP Relay
    Mailgun supports SMTP Relay, making it versatile for sending emails from a variety of applications and systems.
  • Support and Documentation
    Mailgun offers extensive support and documentation, which helps in troubleshooting and enhances the user experience.

Possible disadvantages of Mailgun

  • Cost
    Mailgun pricing can become expensive for high-volume email senders, especially when compared to some other email service providers.
  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration of Mailgun can be complex, particularly for users who are not very technical.
  • Spam and Bounce Management
    While deliverability is generally strong, some users have reported challenges with spam and bounce management, which can affect email performance metrics.
  • Learning Curve
    For those new to email APIs or less tech-savvy, there might be a steep learning curve to effectively use all of Mailgun's features.
  • Customer Support Response Time
    Some users have reported slower response times from customer support, which can be a drawback if immediate assistance is needed.

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 Mailgun

Overall verdict

  • Mailgun is a solid choice for businesses looking for a dependable and scalable email service provider. Its feature-rich platform and ease of integration make it stand out in the industry.

Why this product is good

  • Mailgun is considered a reliable choice for email delivery due to its robust set of features tailored for transactional and marketing emails. It offers powerful APIs for easy integration, high deliverability rates, detailed analytics, and comprehensive logging. Its scalability meets the needs of both small startups and large enterprises. Mailgun also provides excellent support and documentation, making it accessible for developers.

Recommended for

  • Developers and tech startups requiring programmable email solutions
  • Companies seeking reliable transactional email services
  • Organizations looking for detailed analytics and reporting on email performance
  • Businesses requiring scalable solutions for sending both small and large volumes of emails
  • Users who need robust APIs for seamless email service integration

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

Mailgun videos

Introducing the new Mailgun

More videos:

  • Review - Why Emails are sent to Spam! Even with Premium Services Like Amazon SES, Sendgrid, Gsuite, Mailgun
  • Review - Getting Started with Mailgun

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 Mailgun and Substack)
Email Marketing
100 100%
0% 0
Blogging
0 0%
100% 100
Email Marketing Platforms
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 Mailgun and Substack

Mailgun Reviews

Transactional email providers for indie businesses 2020
Mailgunโ€™s one dedicated IP address starts with the Foundation plan ($35) for 100k emails and up ($75). You might consider going for the growth plan ($80) already with 1000 email address validations included.
10 Top Mailgun Alternatives | Most Affordable Competitors 2019
Mailgun SMTP is receiving 5 star reviews from people around the world. They are showering all the love, and support on Mailgun for their excellent service, features and usability.
Source: www.formget.com
The 36 Best Marketing Automation Tools to Use in 2020
Mailgun is an email infrastructure and transactional email platform built for developers that need a simple email API integration to send, receive, and track email with their app regardless of what programming language they use. Mailgun offers a flexible pricing model that starts at as low as $5/month for 10,000 emails.
Source: encharge.io
8 Most Reliable Mandrill Alternative SMTP Relays
Mailgun can push a webhook to the userโ€™s app ( like EasySendy Pro), whenever an action takes place on the sent emails. The MailGun API offers much more than just sending the emails. Users can send up to a thousand personalized email messages with a single API call, making it effortless to send out bulk mailings from an app. Moreover, users can use tags to segregate their...
Source: easysendy.com
7 Best Transactional Email Services: Sendgrid vs. Mandrill & More
Hi, I use Mailgun for sending transactional mails and send around 2k mails per week and we are on shared IP and so, I am facing some issues like ESP throttling issues, because of the others who are using the same as I do. I have to get my shared IP changed every time I ran into these kind of issues. Mailgun recommends to use a dedicated IP when you send more than 5k mails...

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 Mailgun. It has been mentiond 98 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.

Mailgun mentions (11)

  • The 7 best transactional email services for developers in 2023
    Mailgun from Sinch is a well-established, developer-focused email service that's been in business since 2010. It powers email delivery for some large, well-known companies including Lyft, American Express, and Wikipedia. As a developer-focused tool, Mailgun is fast to get started with and integrate into your product. It's an excellent offering if you're looking for a reliable, easy-to-use product. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Mailgun REST API integration from serverless node.js
    In this Mailgun integration example we'll show how easy it is to create and deploy a complete serverless backend that integrates with the Mailgun SaaS API for sending email messages to your users. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Self-hosted email is the hardest it's ever been, but also the easiest
    Another solution to this problem is relaying through services which will do the heavy lifting for you (this was been discussed in the original thread, here and in the article I wrote). So far people have suggested - ImprovMX (https://improvmx.com) - Mailgun (https://mailgun.com) As any others come in I will update this comment (until I can't, anyway) and the article as a reference. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
  • Anyone else getting bombarded with invoice spam emails? Iโ€™m using a custom domain. These have been relentless for months.
    Sure. I have an account with mailgun, though I have heard good things about sendgrid as well. It costs me $35/mo, but I use the account as part of the management of a phpbb forum I host, but I have a patreon for that that covers the expenses. If I didn't have that patreon, I would have to think pretty hard about how to proceed. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • SWBC wants to spoof emails in our domain to our customers, and wants us to add them to our SPF records
    As you can see, "mailgun.com" the "leading email delivery service for companies around the world" is included in their SPF despite not being them, precisely so they can spoof being Edward Jones, presumably in some marketing effort:. Source: about 4 years ago
View more

Substack mentions (98)

  • 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 / 18 days ago
  • AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible
    Yes, it's much different in other countries. See https://substack.com/@doks/p-198191751. - Source: Hacker News / 24 days ago
  • Show HN: Playing with genomics foundation model tutorial/explainer article
    Hi folks, I got curious about how genomics foundation models work and wrote an article explaining how they are trained + can be used. Feel free to use the following as learning resources if you wish to jump into ML for comp bio stuff, it may help: - Code: https://github.com/dillondesilva/nt-promoter-region-classification - Article/Tutorial:... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • CBP Directive 3340-049B: Border Search of Electronic Devices
    The vast majority of people from the developed world have no problems going through any border in the developed world. Your experience is probably representative, but that's not what we're talking about. My understanding is that de facto you have no rights at all in China. The Americans take this sort of thing very seriously, which is why it's in the news and talked about. Some guy gets imprisoned for 37... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • GitHub โ€“ DOS 1.0: Transcription of Tim Paterson's DOS Printouts
    There was never a serious claim DOS copied CP/M code. The controversy was mostly about legality of reimplementation of the API, plus some pretty vague claims about copying the design: https://substack.com/@nemanjatrifunovic/note/p-178321556. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

MailChimp - MailChimp is the best way to design, send, and share email newsletters.

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

Twilio - Brings voice and messaging to your web and mobile applications.

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.

Brevo - Innovative online Email Marketing solution to manage your contacts, create & send your newsletters and track your results. More than 80 000 clients. Best prices and attractive features.

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