Brevo vs Substack Comparison
Compare Brevo vs Substack features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Brevo
6.9/10
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is a multichannel marketing platform for email, SMS, WhatsApp, automation and transactional messaging, with a built-in sales CRM for small and mid-sized businesses.
Substack
4.9/10
Newsletter publishing platform where writers, creators and small media businesses send free and paid email newsletters, podcasts and video to subscribers.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 4.9/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Cost | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 3/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 2/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 2/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $9/mo Starter | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $499/mo Professional | Free Free |
| Features | ||
| A/B Testing | ||
| Segmentation | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| Landing Pages | ||
| E-commerce Features | Not listed | |
| SMS Marketing | Not listed | |
Brevo vs Substack cost by team size
Brevo and Substack cost the same at 1 user; Substack costs less from 5 to 10 users.
| Team size | Brevo | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | FreeFree |
| 5 users | $499/moProfessional | FreeFree |
| 10 users | $499/moProfessional | FreeFree |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Brevo
- Higher Integration score (7/10 vs 2/10)
- Higher Customization score (6/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (7/10 vs 2/10)
- Better fit for small business (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Includes A/B Testing, which Substack lacks
Why choose Substack
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $499/mo
- Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 8/10)
Pros & Cons
Brevo
Pros
- The free plan sends 300 emails a day and allows up to 100,000 contacts, which is generous for testing the product or for very small lists.
- Pricing is based mainly on how many emails you send, so businesses with large lists that email rarely can keep costs low.
- Transactional email through an API and SMTP, outbound webhooks and a Zapier connector are included on every plan, including Free.
- Email, SMS, WhatsApp, push, live chat and a sales CRM are available from one vendor.
Cons
- On Starter and Standard, the lowest send tiers cap contacts at 500 to 2,500, which can force earlier upgrades.
- Pop-ups, contact scoring, WhatsApp, inbound webhooks and phone support all require Professional, which starts at $499 a month.
- Many reviewers on Capterra and Trustpilot report sudden account suspensions with unclear reasons and slow reinstatement.
- SMS and WhatsApp are billed as prepaid credits on top of the plan price, and the CRM is a separate purchase.
Substack
Pros
- Publishing and sending are free regardless of list size, so building an audience before charging costs nothing.
- The recommendations network and Notes feed help new writers find readers without paid acquisition.
- Paid subscriptions are built in, and writers keep ownership of their content and subscriber list.
- Newsletters, podcasts, video and livestreams can all be published from one account.
Cons
- The 10% revenue cut never decreases, so large paid publications pay far more than they would on a flat-fee tool.
- Independent reviews report no segmentation, no A/B testing and no automation beyond welcome emails.
- Reviews also report no API or Zapier integrations.
- Support is largely a chatbot, and Trustpilot reviews are very poor.
- In February 2026, Substack disclosed an October 2025 breach that exposed user emails and phone numbers.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Brevo scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.9/10 against 4.9/10 for Substack. The largest gap is in Integration: 7/10 for Brevo and 2/10 for Substack.
Substack costs less for 10 users: free on its Free plan, against about $499/mo on its Professional plan for Brevo, billed monthly.
Yes, both Brevo and Substack have a free plan.
Brevo is the better fit for marketing teams: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 2/10 for Substack.
Brevo has A/B Testing and Segmentation, which Substack lacks.
