Customer.io vs Substack
Pricing
Customer.io: From $100/mo
Substack: Free, 10% of paid subs
Description
Customer.io: Behavior-based email and push for SaaS
Substack: The OG paid newsletter platform
Pros
- Powerful segmentation
- Multi-channel (email, SMS, push)
- Great for product-led growth
- Built-in audience discovery
- No upfront costs
- Simple and focused
Cons
- Expensive for small lists
- Steep learning curve
- 10% cut is steep at scale
- Limited customization
Details
Customer.io sends messages based on what users actually do in your product. Founded by Colin Nederkoorn, “fundstrapped” (took some money but runs like bootstrapped). Took 18 months to hit $10k MRR, now at $100M ARR. Great for SaaS doing product-led growth.
Substack pioneered the paid newsletter model. Founded by Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie in 2017. Free to start, they take 10% of paid subscriptions. Over 5M paid subscriptions on the platform. Great for writers who want zero setup friction.
Verified
