Substack vs Acast for podcasters
Acast is a podcast hosting platform built around selling ads. Its free plan stops at 5 episodes, its terms allow a paywall only through Acast or its partners, and it closed its own subscriptions product. Substack is built around your audience: free hosting, direct paid subscriptions, and a community you own.
Substack is the only podcast hosting platform with a subscriber community, a companion newsletter, an independent website, a growth network, and complete ownership of your audience, all built in for free. Payments run through your own Stripe account and you keep 90% of what you earn less credit card fees.
By Zach Taylor · Last updated Oct 21, 2026
Which is better for podcasts, Substack or Acast?
Substack is better as a podcast host if you want to earn from your listeners and not just from ads. Acast's free plan stops at 5 episodes and its terms restrict paywalls to Acast's partners, while Substack hosting is free and you keep 90% of paid subscriptions, less credit card processing fees. Substack also gives you an independent website, a companion newsletter, community chat, and every subscriber's email address, none of which Acast offers.
Of the 21 features in our comparison, Substack has 21 and Acast has 9, counting features that come with plan limits or conditions. See the full table
- Acast's free plan is limited to 5 episodes, so it's a trial, not a complete solution. To keep publishing for free, you have to qualify for and accept Acast's marketplace ads. Substack hosting is free, with no episode cap.
- Acast's terms allow a paywall only through Acast or its designated partners, and it closed its own subscriptions product. On Substack, paid subscriptions are built in. Payments run through your own Stripe account and you keep 90% of what you earn less credit card fees.
- Acast has no comments, chat, or newsletter. Substack gives you chat, threaded comments, direct messages, and a newsletter.
- Acast puts Apple Podcasts video on its Video plan, from $50 a month. Substack includes it for free.
Why podcasters choose Substack over Acast
Earn from listeners, and keep 90%
Acast closed Acast+, its own subscriptions product, and its terms allow a paywall only through Acast or its designated partners. Acast points creators to Supercast instead, which charges per subscriber. On Substack, paid subscriptions are built in and payments run through your own Stripe account. Substack is free to use and takes 10% of paid subscriptions, so you keep 90% before credit card processing fees. In exchange for that fee, Substack provides a growth network that brings you new paying subscribers, including a podcast tab in the Substack app.
A growth network for your show
Acast helps advertisers find your audience, not the other way around: it has no listener app or discovery network of its own, so you'll have to grow your show yourself. That makes it important to pair a show on Acast with a growth network like Substack or YouTube. On Substack, more than half of new subscribers come from inside the network, through the Substack app, Notes, and recommendations from other publications. Your show still goes to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Community, newsletter, and website in one place
Acast has no comments, chat, or newsletter, and its free plan site lives on shows.acast.com and can't be customized. Every Substack show gets chat, threaded comments, direct messages, its own website, a newsletter, and email delivery of each episode.
Own your audience
Acast's terms give it exclusive rights to host, distribute, and monetize your show, and its help center says you can't upload a video version of your podcast to Spotify yourself. On Substack, your show stays yours. Payments run through your own Stripe account, and you can export your full list of free and paid subscribers at any time.
Hosting, video, and analytics
Acast and Substack both have IAB-certified download analytics. But Acast puts Apple Podcasts video on a plan from $50 a month, while Substack hosts audio and video for free, delivers video to Apple Podcasts automatically, publishes it to YouTube, and includes a browser recording studio.
Substack vs Acast, feature by feature
Scroll to see the full table
Everything in one place
Feature | Substack | Acast |
|---|---|---|
Community tools (chat, comments) | No | |
Companion newsletter | No | |
Independent podcast website | No Acast sites live on shows.acast.com, and the free plan site cannot be customized. | |
Own your subscriber list | No | |
No monthly platform fee | Acast's free Starter plan is limited to 5 episodes. | |
Platform fee on paid subscriptions | 10% | Via Supercast Acast closed its own subscriptions product, Acast+, and points creators to Supercast. |
Growth network | No | |
Who owns the payment relationship | You Payments run through your own Stripe account. | Acast partners Acast's terms allow a paywall only through Acast or its designated partners. |
Podcast hosting and distribution
How we compared: we checked each platform's own pricing pages, help docs, and terms. A feature is marked as supported only when the platform documents it.
Acast or Substack: which fits your podcast?
Acast may suit a show built around advertising. Its strengths include:
- Acast's advertising marketplace can sell ads across your whole back catalog.
- Download analytics are IAB certified.
- Importing your show is included on every plan.
If you want to own your audience and earn directly from it, Substack puts your podcast, newsletter, community, and website in one place, for free. When you turn on paid subscriptions, you keep 90% of what you earn, minus credit card fees.
Moving from Acast to Substack
- Create your free Substack publicationTurn on podcasting from your publication settings. No credit card required.
- Import your showPaste your current RSS feed into the Substack importer to bring over your back catalog.
- Redirect your feedAsk Acast to redirect your feed to your new Substack RSS feed so Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other apps follow your show.
- Turn on paid subscriptionsOffer bonus episodes, ad-free versions, or early access, and keep 90% of what you earn, less credit card processing fees.
Common questions
Is Acast free?
Acast's free Starter plan is limited to 5 episodes. To publish more for free, you have to qualify for and accept Acast's marketplace ads. Paid plans start at $25 a month. Substack podcast hosting is free, with no episode cap.
Can I sell podcast subscriptions on Acast?
Acast closed its own subscriptions product, Acast+, and points creators to Supercast. Its terms allow a paywall only through Acast or its designated partners. On Substack, paid subscriptions are built in, and you keep 90% of paid subscription revenue, less credit card processing fees.
Does Acast support video on Apple Podcasts?
On its Video plan, from $50 a month. Substack delivers video to Apple Podcasts for free, and can publish it to YouTube too.
Can I run ads in my podcast on Substack?
Shows that sync from another host keep that host's ads. Substack doesn't have an ad marketplace or dynamic ad insertion of its own yet, but it just announced podcast sponsorships, with dynamic ads you can update across your back catalog without re-editing episodes. Early access is open now, and dynamic ads are coming in early 2027.
Can I move my podcast from Acast to Substack?
Yes. Import your show with your RSS feed, then have your Acast feed redirected to Substack so Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other apps follow you.
Host your podcast. Grow your community. Keep 90%.
Free hosting, a subscriber community, a newsletter, a website you own, and a growth network that brings you new subscribers, all in one place. Substack only makes money when you do.
