Substack

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Substack

A curated collection of the 4 best self hosted alternatives to Substack.

Substack is a publishing platform that lets writers create email newsletters and web posts, build and manage free or paid subscriber lists, distribute content, and monetize through subscriptions and analytics.

Alternatives List

#1
Ghost

Ghost

Modern publishing platform for creators and teams, with a powerful editor, themes, memberships, and email newsletters via Ghost Admin and a headless API.

Ghost screenshot

Ghost is an open-source publishing platform for building and running blogs, magazines, and creator publications. It combines a writing-focused editor with theme-based websites, a headless content API, and tools for memberships and email newsletters.

Key Features

  • Content editor for posts and pages with Markdown support and rich embeds
  • Theme-based site building with Handlebars themes, routing, and dynamic templates
  • Built-in membership management (free and paid tiers) with signup/signin flows
  • Email newsletters: compose, schedule, and send to member segments
  • Payments via Stripe for subscriptions and one-time paid offerings (where supported)
  • Admin UI for managing content, staff, roles, tags, navigation, and site settings
  • Headless CMS capabilities via JSON REST Content API and Admin API
  • Integrations via webhooks, Zapier/automation hooks, and custom integrations using APIs
  • SEO features (metadata, canonical URLs, sitemaps) and performance-focused output

Use Cases

  • Run a company blog or product publication with editorial workflows and themes
  • Operate a paid newsletter or membership community with Stripe billing
  • Use Ghost as a headless CMS feeding a custom frontend via the Content API

Limitations and Considerations

  • Paid membership and subscription features depend on Stripe availability/region and require configuring email delivery for newsletters.
  • Theme customization requires knowledge of Ghost’s Handlebars theme system and routing configuration.

Ghost is suited to teams and creators who want a clean publishing workflow with first-class newsletters and memberships. It also works well as a headless CMS when paired with a custom frontend using the Content API.

51.5kstars
11.3kforks
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#2
listmonk

listmonk

Self-hosted newsletter and email list manager with templating, segmentation, campaigns, and PostgreSQL-backed performance.

listmonk screenshot

listmonk is a self-hosted mailing list manager and newsletter platform designed for high performance and simple operations. It provides a web UI and APIs to manage subscribers, lists, and campaigns, backed by PostgreSQL for scalable storage and querying.

Key Features

  • Subscriber management with custom attributes/fields and import/export (e.g., CSV)
  • List and segment-based targeting using PostgreSQL queries for flexible filtering
  • Campaign creation with HTML templates, previews, and personalization variables
  • Transactional email and newsletter sending via SMTP and third-party email gateways
  • Bounce handling and basic list hygiene workflows (depending on mail setup)
  • Built-in admin web UI plus REST-style APIs for automation and integrations
  • Metrics/reporting for campaigns (opens/clicks) via tracking mechanisms

Use Cases

  • Send periodic newsletters to product users, communities, or customers
  • Run segmented email campaigns (e.g., onboarding, announcements) from internal data
  • Operate a privacy-controlled mailing system for organizations that can’t use SaaS

Limitations and Considerations

  • Deliverability, bounce processing, and reputation management depend heavily on your SMTP/provider configuration
  • Email template building is developer-oriented compared to drag-and-drop marketing suites

listmonk is a solid fit for teams that want a fast, PostgreSQL-driven newsletter system with a clean UI and automatable APIs. It focuses on dependable list and campaign operations rather than heavyweight marketing-automation features.

18.7kstars
1.9kforks
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#3
WriteFreely

WriteFreely

Self-hosted, privacy-focused publishing platform for blogs and multi-user instances, with a distraction-free editor, optional federation, and theming.

WriteFreely screenshot

WriteFreely is a lightweight publishing platform for creating blogs or hosting a community of writers. It focuses on a clean reading and writing experience, while providing the essentials for running a modern publication—from multi-user instances to optional federation.

Key Features

  • Distraction-free editor with Markdown support
  • Single-user blogs or multi-user “instance” mode with admin controls
  • Optional federation support (ActivityPub) to follow and be followed from the fediverse
  • Customizable themes and branding (including custom domains)
  • Draft/publish workflow with post organization (collections/blogs)
  • Import/export and API/CLI tooling for administration and automation

Use Cases

  • Personal blog with a minimal UI and Markdown-first writing
  • Community writing instance for a team, group, or small publication
  • Federated “micro-publication” that can interact with fediverse accounts

Limitations and Considerations

  • Designed for minimalism; advanced CMS workflows (page builders, complex roles, rich plugins) are intentionally limited

WriteFreely is well-suited for writers and small communities that want a focused publishing experience without a full traditional CMS. It balances simplicity with practical admin features and optional federation for broader reach.

5kstars
368forks
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#4
Keila

Keila

Keila is a self-hosted newsletter tool for creating campaigns, managing audiences, and automating email sends with templates, segmentation, and analytics.

Keila screenshot

Keila is an open-source, self-hosted email newsletter and marketing email platform. It helps teams and creators build mailing lists, design email campaigns, schedule/automate sending, and track engagement.

Key Features

  • Audience management with lists and subscriber attributes (including imports)
  • Campaign editor with reusable templates and drag-and-drop style blocks (email builder)
  • Segmentation to target subsets of subscribers based on attributes/filters
  • Automations for triggered or scheduled sends (e.g., onboarding/drip sequences)
  • Email delivery via SMTP and support for transactional sending flows
  • Analytics for campaign performance (e.g., opens/clicks) and delivery status
  • Multi-user/team oriented workflows (accounts/projects) suitable for organizations

Use Cases

  • Publish recurring newsletters for communities, products, or internal updates
  • Run lifecycle email sequences (welcome/onboarding/drip campaigns)
  • Replace hosted email marketing tools where data/control must remain in-house

Limitations and Considerations

  • Email analytics accuracy depends on client-side tracking behavior (e.g., image blocking/privacy features)
  • Deliverability depends heavily on correct DNS (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) and SMTP provider configuration

Keila is a practical alternative to hosted newsletter tools for organizations that need list management, campaign creation, and automation in one place. It focuses on the core newsletter workflow—create, segment, send, and measure—while keeping operations under your control.

1.9kstars
134forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running