Software Alternatives & Startups

Sections by Substack VS MailBluster

Compare Sections by Substack VS MailBluster and see what are their differences

Sections by Substack logo Sections by Substack

Build your media offerings by creating multiple newsletters and podcasts under 1 main publication.

MailBluster logo MailBluster

Thrive with MailBluster: A powerful and affordable email marketing platform. Perfect for sending unlimited emails seamlessly using Pro features like automation, segmentation, email templates, etc.
  • Sections by Substack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-11
  • MailBluster MailBluster - Bulk email marketing tool
    MailBluster - Bulk email marketing tool //
    2026-07-07
  • MailBluster MailBluster - Drag and drop email builder
    MailBluster - Drag and drop email builder //
    2026-07-07
  • MailBluster MailBluster - Email automation
    MailBluster - Email automation //
    2026-07-07
  • MailBluster MailBluster - Unlimited leads
    MailBluster - Unlimited leads //
    2026-07-07
  • MailBluster MailBluster - Real-time tracking and report
    MailBluster - Real-time tracking and report //
    2026-07-07
  • MailBluster MailBluster - Multi SMTP providers
    MailBluster - Multi SMTP providers //
    2026-07-07
  • MailBluster MailBluster - Managed SMTP
    MailBluster - Managed SMTP //
    2026-09-02

MailBluster is an email marketing platform designed to help businesses communicate more effectively with their audiences. It supports unlimited leads and provides practical tools for creating, automating, sending, and tracking email campaigns.

MailBluster serves more than 50,000 businesses, including digital agencies, ecommerce brands, and large organizations with high-volume sending requirements. Its flexible features help teams manage campaigns efficiently as their marketing needs grow.

Multi SMTP lets you connect multiple preferred SMTP providers to improve deliverability, reliability, and sending performance. MailBluster SMTP provides a fully managed alternative for sending campaigns directly through MailBluster with zero SMTP configuration. You send campaigns. We handle everything else.

Build automated workflows, organize leads with segmentation, and use A/B testing to compare campaign variations. Create responsive emails with the drag-and-drop editor or customize ready-made templates. Inline and pop-up forms help you collect leads, while double opt-in supports list quality and deliverability. Real-time tracking and reports provide insights into campaign performance and subscriber activity.

Support is available 24/7 for questions and assistance. Contact MailBluster at https://mailbluster.com/contact

Sections by Substack

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

MailBluster

$ Details
freemium $5 / Annually (+ email costs from $0.60 per 1,000 emails, based on usage)
Platforms
AWS Web Browser Cloud
Release Date
2015 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
Delaware
City
Delaware

Sections by Substack features and specs

  • Content Organization
    Sections allow creators to organize their content more effectively, enabling subscribers to easily navigate and find specific topics or categories they are interested in.
  • Enhanced User Experience
    By dividing content into sections, readers can have a more tailored experience as they can choose which sections to follow, making their engagement with the platform more personalized.
  • Increased Engagement
    Sections can lead to increased reader engagement by providing a more structured way to consume content, which may encourage more interaction and sharing of specific sections.
  • Monetization Opportunities
    Creators can offer exclusive or premium sections to paying subscribers, providing additional monetization opportunities and incentivizing subscriptions.

Possible disadvantages of Sections by Substack

  • Complex Setup
    Setting up and managing multiple sections could be complex and time-consuming for creators, especially for those who produce a high volume of content.
  • Subscriber Overwhelm
    If not implemented carefully, having too many sections might overwhelm subscribers, leading to decision fatigue in choosing which sections to follow.
  • Fragmented Audience
    With content divided into sections, there is a risk of fragmenting the audience, which could dilute community engagement if subscribers only interact within specific sections.
  • Limited to Platform
    As this feature is specific to Substack, creators who are also distributing their content on other platforms may find it challenging to maintain consistent organization across their broader content ecosystem.

MailBluster features and specs

  • Automation
    Save time with automated workflows that send the right emails at the right moment.
  • Email templates
    Pick from stunning, ready-made templates or create your own from scratch.
  • Drag & drop email composer
    Create responsive and professional emails in minutes. No coding needed!
  • List segmentation
    Target and re-target the right audience by grouping subscribers based on opens, clicks, or purchase history.
  • A/B testing
    Test two versions of your campaign to see which one drives more opens, clicks, or conversions.
  • Real-time tracking & report
    Track opens, clicks, bounces, complaints, and eCommerce conversions with charts & data.
  • Double opt-in
    Grow a high-quality list, build trust, and boost email deliverability with verified sign-ups.

Analysis of Sections by Substack

Overall verdict

  • Substack's Sections feature is a solid, low-friction way for writers to organize different content streams under one publication, making it a good choice for creators who want flexibility without managing multiple newsletters.

Why this product is good

  • Lets you segment your publication into distinct topics or content types while keeping everything under one brand
  • Readers can subscribe only to the sections they care about, improving relevance and reducing unsubscribes
  • No additional cost since it's built into the existing Substack platform
  • Simplifies management compared to running several separate newsletters
  • Maintains a unified subscriber base and analytics dashboard

Recommended for

  • Writers who cover multiple topics and want to organize them cleanly
  • Publications wanting to offer readers granular subscription choices
  • Creators looking to expand content variety without splitting their audience
  • Newsletter operators already invested in the Substack ecosystem
  • Teams or individuals wanting to test new content verticals with minimal overhead

Sections by Substack videos

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MailBluster videos

Send Your First Email Campaign (MailBluster)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Sections by Substack and MailBluster)
Email Newsletters
27 27%
73% 73
Email Marketing
18 18%
82% 82
Email Marketing Platforms
Email
100 100%
0% 0

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Sections by Substack and MailBluster.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

MailBluster's answer:

MailBluster's primary audiences are startups and small businesses. Mainly, the companies that are looking for more affordable email marketing solutions. Such as agencies managing campaigns for numerous clients, organizations sending millions of emails, and e-commerce firms focused on automation-driven growth.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

MailBluster's answer:

Some of the biggest customers of MailBluster include Alphaniti, Omakase, Oldflix, eCareerPoint, Circlebloom, Instituto de Direito Real, Phamify, and Codeanywhere, among others.

What makes your product unique?

MailBluster's answer:

The highly affordable pricing plans and easy-to-use email marketing features, such as automation, segmentation, and scalability to manage email campaigns, are what make MailBluster unique.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

MailBluster's answer:

Compared to the other email marketing tools, MailBluster is extremely cost-effective with a pay-as-you-go pricing model. It offers multiple SMTP providers and offers enterprise-grade features at only a fraction of the cost.

What's the story behind your product?

MailBluster's answer:

Back in early 2015, when we reached 100,000 users on one of our startups, ThemeWagon, we needed a more affordable way to send newsletters without compromising the quality of the sending. We made an MVP and sent out a couple of million emails, and 99.8% of them got delivered. At that point, ThemeWagon was saving more than $2,150 a month on email marketing software subscription fees. After that, we didn’t want to keep this to ourselves and decided to share this sweet deal with everyone else. And so we did and made MailBluster.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

MailBluster's answer:

MailBluster uses Amazon Web Services (AWS), specifically EC2 and Lambda, to host microservices and manage the platform's infrastructure, enabling scalable and controlled resource utilization. MailBluster's core technology comprises AWS services, Terraform for infrastructure management, and multiple microservices that operate on EC2 and Lambda. It also features a modern drag-and-drop email editor, as well as campaign and list management automations, along with many more essential ones.

User comments

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Reviews

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

Sections by Substack Reviews

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MailBluster Reviews

  1. israt
    · technical writer at technext ·
    Lowest Cost Email Marketing Tool Ever

    It is a Handy and Classy Looked with the easiest features. Drag and drop of mailbluster were interesting. it was easy and smooth handling.

    Competitors: EmailOctopus, MailChimp, Sendy
  2. The best email sending service I have ever used!!

    MailBluster is saving thousands of dollars every month from last year. We have switched to MailBluster after spending with 'expensive' email sending software. Right now we are the most happy organization with the service of MailBluster. Definitely, it is providing excellent service at the most cheapest price. It is cost effective and a rapid answering support team is just WOW! Overall, I would recommend, use MailBluster and feel the difference!

    Pros:    List segmentation|Timewarp delivery|Drag & drop email builder|Cost effective|62k free emails/m|A/b testing|Realtime tracking & report|Best customer support
    Cons:    No custom smtp|No other smtp other than amazon ses
  3. Ashraful Prium
    · CEO at ThemeWagon Inc. ·
    The Best EmailMarketing Software I've used for ThemeWagon.com

    For the last couple of years, from MailBluster's "alpha" phase, it is saving our company thousands of dollars every month on email marketing. I definitely love this software. You can see more here at Themewagon's blog

    Pros:    Unlimited contacts|Low price|Timewarp delivery|Drag and drop email builder|Outstanding customer support
    Cons:    No custom smtp options|Only amazonses is supported

10 Best Campaign Monitor Alternatives You Can Find
Note: MailBluster pricing includes a $60 annual subscription cost for the Pro plan. Before sending emails with MailBluster, you must connect an AWS account that has been confirmed, approved, and removed from the sandbox environment. Keep in mind that the prices for Amazon SES and MailBluster differ. A valid AWS account is required for both MailBluster’s Starter and Pro...
Source: mailbluster.com
Ditch Your Expensive Email Platform for MailBluster
Ultimately, I chose to make the move to MailBluster when discovering how much money I’d save by using SES to deliver emails to my audience. It’s also important to note that I wouldn’t have switched if MailBluster didn’t have the following features.
MailBluster vs EmailOctopus
Both MailBluster and EmailOctopus provides bulk newsletter sending service via AmazonSES. They offer many identical sounding features, and up to a certain threshold they both are free. In this article, we will make a detailed comparison of the following key features of MailBluster and EmailOctopus:

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, MailBluster seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 3 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.

Sections by Substack mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Sections by Substack yet. Tracking of Sections by Substack recommendations started around Sep 2021.

MailBluster mentions (3)

  • Illustration Trends to Dominate Over the Web at 2022
    MailBluster is an email marketing tool that embraces some of the aforementioned illustration trends while getting on board with any illustration. Look at how they use hand-drawn illustrations, nature-inspired patterns and soft backgrounds with thick and prominent outlines to express what they want to. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
  • Best solution for one-time sending 7000 emails
    I would check out MailBluster. It should only cost you $0.70 in total to send the 7,000 emails. You do have to sign up for an AWS account and there is some setup involved, but once you have everything configured it works well and is super cheap. Source: almost 5 years ago
  • The Best ever Low-cost Email Marketing software - MailBluster
    On top of all these, you will get our top-notch customer support if you face any issues. If you have questions, please visit http://mailbluster.com/. Also, you can see our FAQ here: https://mailbluster.com/faq/. - Source: dev.to / over 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Sections by Substack and MailBluster, you can also consider the following products

WriteSparkle AI - Chat with your documents and let your content sparkle.

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

Post Scheduler - Schedule posts for static site generators (Jekyll, etc.)

EmailOctopus - Email marketing for less, via Amazon SES

Postcards - Create, edit and manage awesome email newsletters 😻

Sendy - Sendy is a self hosted newsletter app that sends emails 100x cheaper via Amazon SES