Buffer vs Substack
| Buffer | Substack | |
|---|---|---|
| What it says it does | Use Buffer to manage your social media so that you can create and share your content everywhere, consistently. Try our forever free plan or upgrade for more. | The app for independent voices |
| Pricing | Free (up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel, AI Assistant); Essentials $5/mo per channel billed yearly; Team $10/mo per channel billed yearly; 14-day free trial (official) | Free to publish; on paid subscriptions writers keep 90% of revenue, minus card processing fees (official) |
| Website | https://buffer.com/ | https://substack.com |
Which to use
Buffer wins when you post to a few channels and want straightforward scheduling that starts free and costs $5 a channel after that. Substack wins when you want a free public publication with built-in reader discovery and are fine giving up 10% of paid subscription revenue.
- Choose Buffer if you want a simple, cheap social scheduler with a real free plan.
- Choose Substack if you want to publish in public and turn on paid subscriptions with no upfront cost.
This is an editorial fit note from each vendor's public site and docs, not a sponsored ranking and not a price quote. Descriptions in the table come from those sites. Confirm current prices there. How we review tools.
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