---
title: "SendHQ vs Substack for Newsletters: Price and Features"
description: A weekly newsletter to 10,000 subscribers costs $0 a month on Substack and $19 on SendHQ (checked October 2026). Prices at every list size, what Substack does better, and how to move your list.
canonical: https://sendhq.cc/compare/substack
last-updated: 2026-10-29
updated: 2026-10-29
---
# SendHQ vs Substack for newsletters

Substack is free to publish and takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue, plus card fees. SendHQ charges a flat monthly price by emails sent and takes nothing from your revenue, but it has no paid subscriptions, reader app or discovery network of its own.

[Start for $19 a month](https://sendhq.cc/app?plan=indie_hackers_marketing&price=19) [See SendHQ for newsletters](https://sendhq.cc/newsletter.md)

## Price at every list size

| Subscribers | Emails a month | Substack | SendHQ | Difference |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1,000 | 4,334 | $0 Free publishing | $19 Starter | $19 more |
| 2,500 | 10,834 | $0 Free publishing | $19 Starter | $19 more |
| 5,000 | 21,667 | $0 Free publishing | $19 Starter | $19 more |
| 10,000 | 43,334 | $0 Free publishing | $19 Starter | $19 more |
| 25,000 | 108,334 | $0 Free publishing | $39 Scale | $39 more |

Substack fees: 10% of paid-subscription revenue, plus card processing fees (Stripe lists 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment, plus 0.7% for recurring billing).

Substack free plan: Publishing free; no subscriber or send limits stated. SendHQ has no free plan.

## Where Substack does more

- Hosted publication website with visual theme editor
- Reader apps for iOS and Android
- Substack Network recommendations, leaderboards, explore and search discovery
- Notes (built-in social feed) and subscriber chat
- Free podcast hosting with RSS distribution, native video, live streaming
- Paid subscriptions with founding tiers, trials and gift subs
- Reader referral program with milestone rewards

If any of these is central to how you grow, Substack is likely the better fit, and that is fine.

## Where SendHQ fits better

- **You pay for what you send.** 50,000 emails for $19 a month, however many subscribers you keep between issues.
- **Your own domain and inbox.** Issues go out from your verified domain, and replies can land in a SendHQ inbox on that domain.
- **Built for developers and agents.** The same lists and broadcasts work from the REST API, the CLI and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor.
- **Consent and guardrails built in.** Double opt-in forms, a consent basis on every import, automatic suppression and published pause rules.

## Moving from Substack

1. Subscribers page > All subscribers > three-dot menu > Export (all columns or visible columns; filtered or full list) > Download last export. Settings > Exports also creates a ZIP of posts, subscriber lists and stats.
2. In SendHQ, add and verify your sending domain.
3. Create a list, then import the CSV with a consent basis such as "Subscribed to our newsletter on Substack".
4. Write your issue with merge tags such as `{{first_name | there}}` and send it.

New workspaces start at 100 emails a day and ramp up with healthy sending, so a large list's first issues go out over a few days.

## Questions

**Is SendHQ cheaper than Substack for a newsletter?**

For a weekly newsletter to 10,000 subscribers, Substack lists $0 a month (Free publishing) and SendHQ Starter Marketing is $19 a month for 50,000 emails, checked October 2026. SendHQ charges by emails sent, so the gap is largest for big lists sent weekly or less.

**How do I move my subscribers from Substack to SendHQ?**

Subscribers page > All subscribers > three-dot menu > Export (all columns or visible columns; filtered or full list) > Download last export. Settings > Exports also creates a ZIP of posts, subscriber lists and stats. Then import the CSV into a SendHQ list with a consent basis such as 'Subscribed on our Substack newsletter', verify your sending domain, and send.

**What does Substack do that SendHQ does not?**

Hosted publication website with visual theme editor; Reader apps for iOS and Android; Substack Network recommendations, leaderboards, explore and search discovery; Notes (built-in social feed) and subscriber chat; Free podcast hosting with RSS distribution, native video, live streaming; Paid subscriptions with founding tiers, trials and gift subs; Reader referral program with milestone rewards.

**Will my first issue go out to the whole list at once?**

New SendHQ workspaces start at 100 emails a day and climb as healthy sending builds trust, up to 50,000 a day. A larger broadcast keeps sending as the limit allows, so plan the first issues of a large list over a few days.

## Sources

- [https://substack.com/going-paid](https://substack.com/going-paid)
- [https://substack.com/features](https://substack.com/features)
- [https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost](https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost)
- [https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/6314498343700-How-do-I-export-my-email-list-on-Substack](https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/6314498343700-How-do-I-export-my-email-list-on-Substack)
- [SendHQ pricing](https://sendhq.cc/pricing.md)

Checked 2026-10-29. Prices change; tell us at [/contact](https://sendhq.cc/contact.md) if one is out of date and we will correct it.