Project Broadsheet next to Substack
Substack is a hosted service built around paid email newsletters. Project Broadsheet is something you run yourself. Two different shapes, solving different problems.
The short version
| Project Broadsheet | Substack | |
|---|---|---|
| How it runs | Files you keep, hosted on a free service | A hosted account, only on Substack |
| Starting cost | Nothing | Nothing |
| Ongoing cost | Hosting only, usually free | 10% of any paid subscription income |
| Where the writing lives | Plain text files on your computer | On Substack's servers |
| Discovery | Whatever you bring | Substack recommends you to others |
| Reader features | Lots, on by default | Minimal |
| Portability | Trivial — copy the folder | Possible, but takes work |
| Licence | Open-source | Substack's own |
The money
Substack is free until you start charging. Once you do, they take 10% of whatever readers pay, plus credit-card fees. On $10,000 a year of subscriptions, Substack's share is $1,000.
Project Broadsheet doesn't touch subscription income. Paid subscriptions aren't built in, but you can set them up through Buttondown (which has flat pricing), Memberful, or Stripe directly. The site itself is free to host on most free static services.
What you actually own
Substack owns the platform, the recommendations that surface your work to new readers, and the sign-up flow. You own your subscriber list and can export it, but the network that brings you new readers stays with them.
Project Broadsheet has no central company. Your writing is in a folder on your computer and online somewhere you control, your subscriber list is in your own Buttondown account, and readers come through search, links, and word of mouth. That's a real trade-off — you give up Substack's built-in audience in exchange for not being on anyone's platform.
Finding readers
The strongest thing about Substack, operationally, is the way publications recommend each other. Readers of one find others; small publications get amplified by the network. If you're starting from zero, that shortens the climb a lot.
Project Broadsheet has none of that. Readers come via search, RSS, direct links, and word of mouth. Fine for an established publication, slower for a brand-new one.
Getting your work out
Substack exports a folder with each post as a spreadsheet row and an HTML file. Images stay on Substack's own servers, which keeps working indefinitely. Turning that into something another platform can read takes some work.
Project Broadsheet's articles are plain text files in a folder. Moving them somewhere else is copying the folder.
How the reading feels
Substack's article pages are clean and consistent, but there isn't much beyond the words — no dark mode toggle, no save-for-later, and no highlights.
Project Broadsheet has all of those on by default. Whether your readers will use them depends on your audience.
When Substack is the better fit
- You want email, payments, and the archive all in one sign-up.
- The built-in recommendations are meaningful for your growth.
- You're fine trading 10% of subscription income for that simplicity.
- You're one writer with a mailing list, not running a team.
When Project Broadsheet is the better fit
- The archive and the site matter as much as the newsletter.
- You'd rather keep all of the subscription income.
- You want sections, reviews, a library, or other structured bits beyond plain posts.
- You want the design and layout to be yours.
- You'd rather your work didn't live on someone else's platform.
Where to next
- Moving an archive from Substack if that's where you are now.
- Getting started to try Project Broadsheet yourself.
- All the comparisons for Ghost, WordPress, and Superdesk.