If you’re looking to move off Substack, you have options. Real ones. Here are the 3 open-source, self-hostable alternatives I’ve tested, with honest notes on what each does well and where each falls short.
Why leave Substack?
- Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue.
- You don’t own the subscriber relationship — they own your list.
- Editorial controversies over which content is allowed.
The 3 best self-hosted alternatives to Substack
Ghost
Ghost self-hosted matches Substack feature for feature. Newsletters, paid tiers, Stripe integration.
Visit Ghost website →WriteFreely
Minimalist federated blogging (ActivityPub). Great for writers who want simplicity.
Visit WriteFreely website →Quick comparison
| Alternative | Difficulty | License |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Medium | MIT |
| WriteFreely | Easy | AGPL-3.0 |
| Listmonk | Medium | AGPL-3.0 |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Substack?
Yes. Every tool listed above is free and open source. Some, like Ghost, also have optional paid hosted tiers if you don’t want to run the server yourself. Everything else is genuinely free to self-host — you pay only for your own hardware and time.
Which one should I pick if I’ve never self-hosted anything before?
Start with WriteFreely. It’s the lowest-friction option here — realistic to have running in an afternoon on a small server or Raspberry Pi. If it doesn’t fit your workflow, WriteFreely is a good second try.
Can I run these on a Raspberry Pi?
Most of them, yes — the tools marked Easy here will comfortably run on a Pi 4 or Pi 5 with 4GB+ of RAM. The Medium tools may work but appreciate a mini PC or a spare desktop. Hard-tagged tools generally want real server hardware.
What about mobile apps?
It varies. Tools like Vaultwarden and Immich have native iOS/Android apps that connect to your server. Others rely on the web UI through your phone browser — fine for occasional use, not a full app experience.