Free, open-source alternatives to Substack
Paid newsletters and blogs. 4 apps you can run yourself instead of Substack, sorted by how well they replace it. Each one is open source, so your data stays with you.
Listmonk
High performance, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager with a modern dashboard.
Keila
Reliable and easy-to-use newsletter tool (alternative to Mailchimp and Sendinblue).
WriteFreely
Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.
Side by side
| App | Stars | License | Activity | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost | 55,524 | MIT | Node.js | |
| Listmonk | 23,768 | AGPL-3.0 | Go, Docker | |
| Keila | 2,233 | AGPL-3.0 | Docker | |
| WriteFreely | 5,269 | AGPL-3.0 | Go |
Why replace Substack?
Substack works, but your data lives in someone else's account, the price can change at any time, and features can disappear. An open-source app you run yourself is yours: you choose where it runs, who can see the data, and when to update.
Questions
What is the best free alternative to Substack?
Ghost is the closest open-source replacement for Substack in our list. Listmonk and Keila are worth a look too, depending on what you need.
Can I self-host an alternative to Substack?
Yes. All 4 apps on this page are open source and can run on your own server, usually with Docker, or on a managed host that installs them for you.