Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

SST VS Substack

Compare SST VS Substack and see what are their differences

SST logo SST

Work on your serverless apps live

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.
  • SST Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-27
  • Substack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-26

SST features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    SST is designed to simplify the process of building serverless applications, providing developers with higher-level abstractions and tools that streamline development.
  • Integration with AWS
    SST is well-integrated with AWS services, allowing developers to leverage the full power of AWS infrastructure while maintaining a focus on serverless architecture.
  • Live Lambda Development
    SST supports live Lambda development, enabling developers to make real-time changes and see them reflected immediately without the need for lengthy deployment processes.
  • Infrastructure as Code
    With SST, developers can define their infrastructure programmatically, which promotes version control, scalability, and collaboration among team members.
  • Flexibility
    SST provides flexibility to developers, allowing them to use popular libraries and frameworks alongside serverless components, thus accommodating various use cases.

Possible disadvantages of SST

  • Learning Curve
    Developers unfamiliar with SST and its abstractions may face a learning curve in understanding how to effectively use the toolkit and take full advantage of its features.
  • AWS Lock-in
    As SST is tightly integrated with AWS services, it can lead to vendor lock-in, making it challenging for organizations to switch to other cloud providers in the future.
  • Complexity for Small Projects
    For smaller projects, the overhead introduced by SST's abstractions and tooling might be unnecessary, adding complexity without significant benefits.
  • Dependency on Community Support
    SST relies on community support for maintenance and feature development, which could pose a risk if the community's interest wanes or if support does not keep pace with AWS innovations.

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 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

SST videos

Performix sst review fat burner

More videos:

  • Review - Hornady 129gr SST Recovered Bullet Review: 6.5 Creedmoor Deer Load ๐ŸฆŒ
  • Review - SST Energy Seltzer Review; The Energy Drink by Performix.

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 SST and Substack)
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Blogging
0 0%
100% 100
Open Source
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 SST and Substack

SST Reviews

We have no reviews of SST yet.
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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 SST. 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.

SST mentions (31)

  • Best/low maintenance devops toolchain for basic sass?
    After researching all night, https://github.com/serverless-stack/sst seems like a good trade off between flexibility, simplicity and features. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Dynamodb design with Appsync
    I use https://github.com/serverless-stack/serverless-stack โ€” not the serverless project. This one is far better. Source: over 4 years ago
  • A magical AWS serverless developer experience
    That said: SST is open source, so you could maybe somehow reimplement their debug stack which is the websockets magic + the Lambda shim in terraform to get it working... Source: over 4 years ago
  • Anti-Patterns to Avoid in Lambda Based Apps
    If you are using CDK then check out SST: https://github.com/serverless-stack/serverless-stack It's based on CDK and has a great local development environment for Lambda. It allows you to set breakpoints and test it locally: https://serverless-stack.com/examples/how-to-debug-lambda-functions-with-visual-studio-code.html. - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
  • Introducing Serverless Cloud: AWS Serverless Power for Back-Endsโ€”Without the Complexity
    I'll just plug what we built, SST: https://github.com/serverless-stack/serverless-stack. Source: over 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 / 28 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 / about 1 month 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 2 months 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 / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

Netlify - Build, deploy and host your static site or app with a drag and drop interface and automatic delpoys from GitHub or Bitbucket

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

Coolify - An open-source, hassle-free, self-hostable Heroku & Netlify alternative.

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.

Vercel - Vercel is the platform for frontend developers, providing the speed and reliability innovators need to create at the moment of inspiration.

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