Is Cardel an alternative to Mailchimp or Substack?

Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Mailchimp or Substack when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Mailchimp and Substack are marked.

Can I use Cardel with Mailchimp or Substack?

Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Mailchimp or Substack for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.

How much does Cardel cost compared with Mailchimp and Substack?

You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Mailchimp and Substack set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.

How do I switch from Mailchimp or Substack to Cardel?

Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.

Compare

MailchimpvsSubstack

Mailchimp is the small-business email standard with templates, automations, and reporting. Substack is the simplest way to write a newsletter, grow it through its network, and get paid.

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How Mailchimp and Substack compare

Mailchimp is the name most small businesses say first. Templates, a drag-and-drop editor, segmentation, customer journeys, A/B testing, reporting, forms and landing pages, and integrations with nearly everything make it a dependable marketing hub. The AI tools and Intuit's ecosystem keep it moving.

Substack made paid newsletters normal. You write, it sends, and readers can subscribe or pay in one click. The network effects are real: recommendations, Notes, the app, and discovery bring new readers you did not have to find. There is no monthly fee, and for a writer who wants to write rather than run software, that is a gift.

Where they are different

Mailchimp

Mailchimp pages capture leads.
Mailchimp sends.
Mailchimp has no shop or bookings.

Substack

Substack is a network you publish into.
Substack takes a percentage of paid subscriptions.
Substack chat and comments live in its app.

Choose Mailchimp when you want a mature email marketing hub with integrations into everything else you use.

Choose Substack when you want to write, get paid, and be discovered with the least possible setup.

Compare features

What's on Mailchimp and Substack

A check means that capability is available. Mailchimp and Substack are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.

Site and brand

Workspace site
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included
Custom domain
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included
Theme and fonts
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included

Public content

Blog
Mailchimp: Not included
Substack: Included

Reach and quality

SEO
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included

Audience and email

Audience
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included
Marketing emails
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included
Campaign workflows
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Not included

Team

Admin users
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included
Per-admin permissions
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Included
AI Assistant
Mailchimp: Included
Substack: Not included

Feature comparison for Mailchimp and Substack
Feature	Mailchimp	Substack
Site and brand
Workspace site	Included	Included
Custom domain	Included	Included
Theme and fonts	Included	Included
Public content
Blog	Not included	Included
Reach and quality
SEO	Included	Included
Audience and email
Audience	Included	Included
Marketing emails	Included	Included
Campaign workflows	Included	Not included
Team
Admin users	Included	Included
Per-admin permissions	Included	Included
AI Assistant	Included	Not included

* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Mailchimp or Substack, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Mailchimp or Substack may add or remove features that are not shown here.