Curated vs Substack Comparison 2026
Curated charges by subscriber count for a very specific format: a weekly roundup of links with a line of commentary under each, free to 1,500 subscribers. Substack charges nothing upfront and takes 10 percent of subscription revenue instead, built for long-form writing sold to paying readers, with Notes and recommendations doing real distribution work. One prices the list. The other prices what the list pays you.
A link newsletter that stays free to 1,500 readers
Paid subscriptions with a reader network attached
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
- Curated takes no share of what you earn. Substack takes 10%.
Side by side
Curated | Substack | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $39 | Free |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing (they differ) | Monthly or annual | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
Curated
A link newsletter that stays free to 1,500 readers
Curated is built for the link-roundup newsletter specifically, so collecting items through the week, writing a line under each and having the issue assemble itself is the main path rather than a workaround. Every feature including sending is on the free tier, which runs to 1,500 subscribers. Pricing then moves in published subscriber bands rather than on a quote. Anybody writing long-form essays rather than curating links will find the whole editor shaped around a job they are not doing.
Our note
Take this over a general newsletter tool only if your format really is curation, because the collection workflow is the product and everything else here is ordinary. The band table is worth reading before you grow: the jump from free to $39 arrives at 1,501 subscribers, which is sooner than most people plan for.
Only on this side
- Covers email marketing & automation
Substack
Paid subscriptions with a reader network attached
Why people weigh these two
- Substack instead of Curated
- Substack is free, with paid subscriptions and a reader network attached, and fits prose newsletters more naturally than assembled link digests.
- Curated instead of Substack
- Curated is built specifically for a link-and-recommendations newsletter, not general writing, and stays free until the list passes 1,500 readers.
Which one should you pick
Pick Substack if you are writing essays rather than picking out links to share, and you have no list yet to justify a monthly bill. There is no plan to choose and nothing owed until a reader actually pays, just 10 percent of that revenue plus Stripe processing, and the built-in network of Notes and recommendations is where much of the growth comes from.
Pick Curated if the format really is a roundup of links, since its collection workflow has no equivalent on Substack and every feature including sending is free to 1,500 subscribers. The bill then follows subscriber count regardless of whether the newsletter earns anything, moving to $39 a month past that point, so a free list that never makes money still eventually pays.
Common questions
- Which one is cheaper for a newsletter that does not make money yet?
- Substack costs nothing until a reader actually pays for a subscription, since it takes 10 percent of revenue rather than a flat fee. Curated is free only up to 1,500 subscribers regardless of revenue, then charges $39 a month whether or not the list makes money.
- Is Curated built for essay-style writing like Substack?
- No. Its editor is built around collecting links through the week and assembling them into an issue, and an essayist fighting that workflow is better served writing long-form prose on Substack instead.
- How does Substack's 10 percent compare to Curated's flat fee at scale?
- It depends entirely on whether the publication charges readers. A large free list costs nothing on Substack but $399 a month on Curated at 50,000 subscribers. A publication earning well from paid subscriptions can end up paying Substack far more than a flat monthly fee would ever cost.
- Does Substack help a new publication find readers?
- Yes, through Notes and recommendations from other writers on the platform, which is where most Substack growth actually comes from. Curated has no equivalent built-in network and relies on the list you already bring or build yourself.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.