Spotify for Podcasters vs. Substack

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Spotify for Podcasters
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Spotify for Podcasters, formerly Anchor, is a podcasting platform, enabling the user to create, distribute, and monetize a podcast. It is available via a free plan. It features built-in uploading, recording, and editing tools so the can easily create and publish episodes.N/A
Substack
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Substack is a subscription-based newsletter publishing platform.N/A
Pricing
Spotify for PodcastersSubstack
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Spotify for PodcastersSubstack
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Spotify for PodcastersSubstack
Considered Both Products
Spotify for Podcasters
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
PodBean is a little more old school and rudimentary - Spotify for podcasters was recommended to me as a better option, so I tried it and liked it better than when I used to use PodBean years ago. It could have changed since I used it last and improved, but I’m not sure.
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
These are the tools I use for my online Spanish classes. I write the podcast scripts in Notion, proofread them in ChatGPT, store them in Google Drive, and validate them in my Zoom classes. I also discuss the episodes in my Telegram and Discord communities. I create the cover …
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
We selected Anchor because of the known branding with Spotify and the built-in audience. It was also one of the first search results when trying to learn about producing a podcast, which made it easy to find and get started. We don't even need to use GarageBand to capture audio …
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
Anchor is less expensive and, in my opinion, much easier to use than SoundCloud for podcasting. Anchor makes syndication easy, and their recording and editing interfaces are clean and intuitive. SoundCloud seemed somewhat cumbersome to use, and I didn't care for its UI. …
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
Anchor gets the job done. It's free and with the direct ownership of Spotify, there is the ability to have the backing of that large stable organization. Anchor also supports video podcasts - not many of the other podcast platforms support this functionality just yet - a HUGE …
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
I did not research any other products.
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
Anchor by Spotify, in terms of branding, have greater branding because Spotify also delivers results.
Chose Spotify for Podcasters
We only tested Applause a bit but it did not cover what we were looking for, we actually are not using a lot of options for digital releases. We only use it for in-house support, and our audio files are not available for the general public and we do not use any releasing options.
Substack
Chose Substack
Medium is not so good for running newsletter. I find the mail that a user gets is very easily readable. Also as a creator it's very easy for me to track the analytics and monetise my blogs unlike Medium.

Blogger is a very old technology. The kind of integrations and the support …
Chose Substack
Substack is like a simple Medium that you can also set up as a paid subscription so you can monetize. Mailchimp has been around for a while so its features are pretty well thought out, but the feature set might be a bit too much for a less experienced email marketer. Substack …
Chose Substack
I believe Substack seemed to offer a monetising solution to a very time consuming, labour of love blog, but it turned out to be just another dead end. The interface and ease of use is great, but it’s not as chunky with as detailed UX as other newsletter platforms I’ve …
Chose Substack
Substack is the DTC version of traditional blogging sites - you own everything, both upside, and risk, which appeals to me more. Compared to Blogger, the ability to monetize and site interface is night and day better. Compared to Medium, which I think has a better interface and …
Chose Substack
Substack is simpler and a lot easier to use than either of the above. Automattic is perpetually trying to sell you on "upgrading" their basic WordPress blogging product which is a pain to work with because of their obsession with "Blocks". It has more SEO and multimedia …
Best Alternatives
Spotify for PodcastersSubstack
Small Businesses
Descript
Descript
Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium
Medium
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium
Medium
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Audition
Adobe Audition
Score 9.0 out of 10
Quora Blogs / Spaces (discontinued)
Quora Blogs / Spaces (discontinued)
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Spotify for PodcastersSubstack
Likelihood to Recommend
9.5
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Spotify for PodcastersSubstack
Likelihood to Recommend
Anchor is great for getting started with podcasting. It makes getting started in the space really accessible to anyone with a smartphone. It seems to work great for individuals and small businesses. There are probably better options for more established brands out there, as Anchor does limit some of your options, but for those getting started or those that don't have needs beyond Anchor's limitations, I would highly recommend it over the competition.
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It's well-suited for a creative writer who is comfortable writing essays or short fiction. It's especially well-suited for writers who are focused on writing essays based on personal experiences. I'm not sure it has the tools at this point for someone who wants to serialize a novel or long-form non-fiction book. I'd like to see better multi-media tools for writers/content creators who are fluent in written and audio-visual methods of communicating.
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Pros
  • Podcasting Hosting and Distribution Solution: Anchor offers a great solution for hosting and distributing podcasts to various platforms and provides you with the RSS Feed which you can add to supported platforms.
  • Recording Facility: Anchor has features to help you record podcast episodes without any special equipment or much technical knowledge. It even allows guests to record together remotely.
  • Editing: Anchor has a workflow available that allows arranging various parts and recordings of the podcast and allows adding elements like advertisements, music, sound effects, etc.
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  • Content organization/discovery - really easy to search.
  • Newsletter/email integration - by far better at previewing and delivering content than any other site.
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Cons
  • The editor has a lot of room for improvement, especially in terms of adding effects, modifying the sound, etc.
  • It would be useful to have A/B testing for cover art, similar to what YouTube offers.
  • I miss a clear system for content positioning through keywords.
  • It would be great if they added a cleaner way to highlight links, for example, to the website, a lead magnet, etc. The current links are hidden in the episode descriptions.
  • El editor tiene mucho margen de mejora, especialmente en cuanto a añadir efectos, modificar el sonido, etc.
  • Sería útil tener pruebas A/B para las portadas, igual que ofrece Youtube
  • Echo de menos un sistema claro de posicionamiento de contenidos a través de palabras clave
  • Sería interesante que añadan una forma más limpia de destacar los enlaces, por ejemplo hacia la web, un lead magnet, etc. Los enlaces actuales quedan invisibilizados en la descripción de los episodios.
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  • It's really difficult when multiple people are editing the blog at same time. Some things change or get overwritten due to which have to reload the page multiple times. Would like to see an experience just like in Google docs.
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Usability
It's intuitive from the moment you log in until you publish. The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because some sections aren't translated into Spanish, and while it's not a problem for me, it's something that could be improved. Furthermore, the design is very clean and doesn't feel overwhelming with options. Everything is where it should be, and the process for publishing episodes is clear. Es intuitivo desde el momento que entras hasta que publicas. Si no le pongo un 10 es porque hay ciertas secciones que no aparecen traducidas al español, y aunque no me supone un problema, es algo mejorable. Además, el diseño es muy limpio y no da sensación de "saturación" de opciones. Todo está donde debe estar y el proceso para publicar los episodios es claro.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
We selected Anchor because of the known branding with Spotify and the built-in audience. It was also one of the first search results when trying to learn about producing a podcast, which made it easy to find and get started. We don't even need to use GarageBand to capture audio with the Anchor app and other resources for getting podcast content ready to go.
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Substack is the DTC version of traditional blogging sites - you own everything, both upside, and risk, which appeals to me more. Compared to Blogger, the ability to monetize and site interface is night and day better. Compared to Medium, which I think has a better interface and content curation abilities, Substack's advertising and promotion of your work are much better because they don't rely on premium members like Medium - it can get very click-baity there.
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Return on Investment
  • Minimize the time our clients require to find the resources and help they are looking for.
  • Maximize my support teams' time by having users self serve themselves with the information in our audio files.
  • Free usage of the service, via both web and mobile apps.
  • Excellent audio quality and streaming support.
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  • Takes much much less time to produce content that you can charge for. This wasn't doable before, or you'd have to build it yourself
  • Substack has made it much easier for me to stay on top of ex-customer communications. I get repeat business more easily now.
  • Substack's speed & ease mean I can offload content writing & distribution to others
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