# Substack 87 Hacker News commenters recommended Substack and 161 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 3 years (5 owners). **Verdict:** Lets writers publish free newsletters and charge subscribers, with built-in discovery and email distribution. Common caveat: its fees and push toward a social-feed design. ## Why people recommend it - Easy paid subscriptions for writers (5 comments): "The tool gives writers a low-friction mechanism to charge for premium content, and works on most people's devices." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48323873)) "they make it super easy to pay $8-15/mo which the best readers won't even miss" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48851215)) "substack gives a large percent of the value directly to content creators" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45782592)) - Built-in discovery brings new readers (4 comments): "Substack discovery does carry some value - about 65% of my new subscribers come via the various Substack mechanisms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49087784)) "In Substack I often get recommendations from other writers, and you can also refer to people you respect as well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49088404)) "Substack gives a really nice exposure though, unlike medium and other platforms." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49087338)) - Neutral platform, open to publishers (4 comments): "Substack is not in the business of censoring or deciding who gets to publish on their platform according to one group's political preferences" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49095739)) "Substack gives you a way to push content to your subscribers without an intermediary deciding what they get to read." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49087178)) "Substack was one of the first "mainstreamish" platforms to go "against the grain" and try to be neutral" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48093428)) - Free to start, no hosting (3 comments): "Substack is free - so there are no hosting costs. Everything is managed for you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49094864)) "Substack will do it for you for free, and it also lowers the friction" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46163459)) "substack is probably the easiest starting point, no algorithm to fight" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47906093)) ## What people warn about - Drifting toward a social network (3 comments): "Substack's social media side is very Twitter-esque. Writers you follow "restack" publications (some of which are full of AI slop, unbeknownst to the restacker)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48256498)) "Sub stack is trying to turn itself into a social network, so comments on substack posts by other substack bloggers let people find other blogs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49094909)) "substack has devolved into the same thing. opening the app first thing you see if a infinite scroll of twitter like takes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49347634)) - Pushy popups, ads and app promotion (2 comments): "The moment I get those popups on Substack or similar, to login to continue reading, those writers have lost a reader." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49093944)) "They plaster your emails with ads to download their app and will even email your list whenever they feel like it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49095338)) - Weak data export options (2 comments): "It would be nice if services like Substack supported exportability, so when a writer eventually becomes successful enough to migrate away" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49088005)) "Substack allows for exporting posts (which would be good to do regularly just for backups in case of (account) compromise)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49088117)) - Unproven long-term business model (2 comments): "Slapping a Stripe integration on the backend hasn't led to Substack becoming a sustainable business not propped up by VC cash." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48201098)) "whatever anti-creator changes Substack is forced to make in the future to live up to its valuation we won't be affected by" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48092248)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Leaflet (leaflet.pub)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/leaflet.md): 22 recommend - [Ghost CMS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ghost.md): 21 recommend - [Bear Blog](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bear-blog.md): 18 recommend - [TextLog](https://hackerapproved.com/p/textlog.md): 16 recommend - [Medium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/medium.md): 11 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://substack.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Substack", https://hackerapproved.com/p/substack/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).