Free blog platforms compared
Outrank Blogs vs Substack
Substack is a newsletter platform: every post can go to your subscribers’ inbox, and paid subscriptions are built in, with Substack keeping 10%. Outrank Blogs is a blog first: free hosting on your own domain or subfolder, SEO set up for you, and sign-up forms that send subscribers to the email tool you already use.
Side by side
Free plans compared
Based on both products’ public pages. Last checked October 2026.
| Feature | Outrank Blogs | Substack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free up to 10,000 visits a month. Autopilot plan $99/month | Free; Substack keeps 10% of paid subscriptions |
| Address on the free plan | yourbrand.outrankblog.com, not indexed by search engines until you connect your own domain | yourname.substack.com |
| Your own domain | Free: blog.yourbrand.com or a domain used only for the blog | One-time $50 fee |
| Blog in a subfolder (yourbrand.com/blog) | Free, with Next.js, Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare or nginx | Not available |
| Ads on the free plan | No ads. A small “Published with Outrank” badge in the footer | No ads |
| SEO controls | Sitemap, RSS, structured data, canonical tags, 301 redirects, IndexNow and llms.txt, set up for you | Per-post SEO title, description and URL |
| Email subscribers | Sign-up forms, subscriber list, CSV export and webhooks. You send emails from your own email tool | Every post can go out as a newsletter, with paid subscriptions |
| Analytics | Built-in analytics without cookies, plus Google Analytics 4 or Tag Manager | Subscriber and post stats |
| Free plan limits | 10,000 visits a month. Two months in a row over it pauses new posts; the blog stays online | Newsletter-first design with limited layout options |
Honest take
Where each one is better
Where Outrank Blogs is better
- Your own domain or a subfolder of your website for free
- No revenue cut
- A full website blog: homepage sections, categories, authors, pages and calls to action
- SEO files and structured data set up for you, plus IndexNow
- Outrank can write and publish SEO articles to bring in search traffic
Where Substack is better
- Sends every post by email without another tool
- Paid subscriptions built in
- Substack’s network and app help readers discover you
Choose Outrank Blogs if
- Search traffic to your website matters more than a paid newsletter
- You already use an email tool and want sign-ups sent to it
- You want the blog on your company’s domain
Choose Substack if
- The newsletter is the product and you want paid subscriptions
- You do not have an email tool and want sending built in
- You want discovery inside the Substack app
Switching
How to move from Substack
- 1Create your free blog and connect your own domain.
- 2Export your subscribers from Substack and import them into your email tool.
- 3Bring your posts over to the editor, or let Outrank write new ones.
- 4Connect your blog’s sign-up form to your email tool with a webhook, so new subscribers flow in automatically.
Compare and set up
Moving from another platform?
See how Outrank Blogs compares with the platforms you know, and how to add it to the website you already have.
FAQ
Outrank Blogs vs Substack: questions
Short answers to what people ask most.
Can Outrank Blogs send my newsletter?
Outrank Blogs collects subscribers with sign-up forms and sends them to your email tool with webhooks or a CSV export. The emails themselves go out from that tool, such as Mailchimp, Kit or Beehiiv.
Does Outrank Blogs take a cut like Substack?
No. The blog is free up to 10,000 visits a month and Outrank takes no share of your revenue. Substack keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue, plus payment processing fees.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, for free, as a subdomain like blog.yourbrand.com or a subfolder like yourbrand.com/blog. Substack charges a one-time $50 fee for a custom domain.
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