[Technical migration] Switching from Substack to an independent system

Hi everyone,
A friend and fellow media boss uses Substack for his media outlet.
He doesn't like the direction the platform is taking, so he has finally decided to migrate.

Here are the features he needs:
- a mailing system (he sends his weekly edition by email);
- a modular subscription system (here, our VAT is reduced, so we must be able to customize the VAT amount);
- management of paying subscribers (basically, a mini-CRM);
- the ability to leave certain articles without a paywall (or, conversely, to put certain articles behind a paywall).

Note: my friend is pretty much a tech n00b, which is also why he turned to Substack, and since we're both small, somewhat cash-strapped editorial teams, he doesn't have tons of money (because there are communications agencies that create turnkey press sites with everything I just mentioned).

What do you recommend? My initial thought was a combination of WordPress and various extensions, but I'd really appreciate your insights (especially since I'm likely to have the same needs in the near future).

Thank you

Up

You can definitely make WordPress work, but I’ll be honest, once you start adding all the plugins required for subscriptions, paywalls, CRM features, and custom VAT rules, it becomes heavy fast. WP can handle almost anything, but the tradeoff is plugin bloat, maintenance, and security overhead.

If I were building this for a small media outlet with limited budget and minimal technical skills, here are a few realistic setups that actually work:

1. WordPress (Most No-Code Friendly)
If your friend prefers simplicity, WP is still the fastest and cheapest way to get everything running. Just avoid random plugins and stick to proven ones.
Recommended stack:

• Mailing System: MailPoet (native WP email marketing) or ConvertKit (integrates well with paywalls)
• Paywall + Membership: MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, or WP-Members
• Modular VAT: WooCommerce + WooCommerce Subscriptions (you can set custom tax classes)
• CRM-lite: FluentCRM (in-dashboard email and subscriber management)
• Paywall Control: Restrict Content Pro (granular paywall per post/page)

This is the most beginner-friendly, but it will get plugin-heavy.

2. Ghost (Closest to Substack, Clean, Not Expensive)​

If he wants a Substack-like experience without coding:

• Native newsletter system
• Native memberships + paywalls
• Handles free/paid posts
• Very clean CMS, extremely easy to use
• Very cheap if self-hosted ($10–15/mo on DigitalOcean)

Ghost is honestly the best “Substack alternative” for small publishers.

3. Custom-coded (Django or Next.js)​

This is what I’d choose long-term, but only if he has dev support.
With Django:

• Django + Wagtail CMS
• Django-AllAuth (subscriptions + login)
• Stripe Billing (custom VAT rules are easy)
• A simple admin for managing paying subscribers
• Mailgun/SendGrid for newsletters

With Next.js:

• Next.js + a headless CMS like Strapi
• Stripe Billing for subscriptions
• NextAuth for auth
• A simple custom dashboard for subscribers
• Resend/Mailgun for email

This setup gives the most flexibility, but costs more initially and requires someone who knows what they’re doing.

4. Strapi (Headless CMS) + Frontend of choice​

If you want a CMS that’s clean, modern, and API-first:

• Strapi handles posts, authors, and metadata
• You hook Stripe for subscriptions and paywalls
• Great if you want a custom UI (Next.js, Nuxt, etc.)
• Very scalable and not bloated

But not beginner-friendly at all.

For someone leaving Substack, wanting similar simplicity without paying agencies:
Ghost (self-hosted) is probably the best mix of cheap, simple, and powerful.


P.S. - Gave ChatGPT what I know about the above platforms to generate a custom suggestion.

Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to give me such a detailed and precise answer

I had initially thought of WordPress (out of habit: my own media is on WordPress).
But I'm very worried about my friend's technical abilities. He hates tech.

However, I'll keep the technical specifications you listed for WordPress in mind. I'm considering putting my entire site behind a paywall (I'm fed up with colleagues stealing my work).

I've seen Ghost. For me, it didn't do the job (I don't even remember why anymore...), but for him, it seems like the simplest solution, especially from a technical standpoint.
I like your custom-code solution with Django, but he's broke (well, not broke-broke, just, we're journalists, in niches that aren't necessarily sexy, so we don't have a lot of money). Same goes for Strapi: he's not going to learn it, and it's going to be expensive to have it done. Unless we outsource it.
Thanks, sweetie, for your reply

Alpha1404 said:

Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to give me such a detailed and precise answer

I had initially thought of WordPress (out of habit: my own media is on WordPress).
But I'm very worried about my friend's technical abilities. He hates tech.

However, I'll keep the technical specifications you listed for WordPress in mind. I'm considering putting my entire site behind a paywall (I'm fed up with colleagues stealing my work).

I've seen Ghost. For me, it didn't do the job (I don't even remember why anymore...), but for him, it seems like the simplest solution, especially from a technical standpoint.
I like your custom-code solution with Django, but he's broke (well, not broke-broke, just, we're journalists, in niches that aren't necessarily sexy, so we don't have a lot of money). Same goes for Strapi: he's not going to learn it, and it's going to be expensive to have it done. Unless we outsource it.
Thanks, sweetie, for your reply

Click to expand...

If he hates tech wordpress is the go to. it's simple and plenty of plugins will help him with no coding.

if ur friend is truly tech-illiterate , wordpress will be a nightmare of broken plugins and security patches in 6 months tho . we moved a few editorial teams off wp because they kept breaking the layout with one too many plugins
ghost ( especially the managed ghost(pro) version ) is the only real substack alternative for a n00b . paywall , modular subscriptions , and native newsletter delivery are built into the core . zero technical friction cuz u dont have to bridge 5 different plugins or mess with smtp / api keys manually
re : people stealing work paywalls only stop human readers . if ur friend's competitors are using scrapers , a standard paywall wont save him
since he wants set and forget, tell him to put the site behind cloudflare and toggle bot fight modeat the very least . it stops the low-end scrapers from sucking the content out of the rss feed or the dom
wp is too much maintenance for a journalist who hates tech . stick to ghost

ArmpitFunk said:

If he hates tech wordpress is the go to. it's simple and plenty of plugins will help him with no coding.

Click to expand...

We're talking about someone who breaks out in hives as soon as you mention anything more advanced than Gmail...
The extent of digital illiteracy is greatly underestimated.

bhseoworld said:

if ur friend is truly tech-illiterate , wordpress will be a nightmare of broken plugins and security patches in 6 months tho . we moved a few editorial teams off wp because they kept breaking the layout with one too many plugins
ghost ( especially the managed ghost(pro) version ) is the only real substack alternative for a n00b . paywall , modular subscriptions , and native newsletter delivery are built into the core . zero technical friction cuz u dont have to bridge 5 different plugins or mess with smtp / api keys manually
re : people stealing work paywalls only stop human readers . if ur friend's competitors are using scrapers , a standard paywall wont save him
since he wants set and forget, tell him to put the site behind cloudflare and toggle bot fight modeat the very least . it stops the low-end scrapers from sucking the content out of the rss feed or the dom
wp is too much maintenance for a journalist who hates tech . stick to ghost

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice
Honestly, given how little motivation he seems to have, I feel like he's going to stay on Substack for quite a while longer...

Alpha1404 said:

We're talking about someone who breaks out in hives as soon as you mention anything more advanced than Gmail...
The extent of digital illiteracy is greatly underestimated.


Thanks for the advice
Honestly, given how little motivation he seems to have, I feel like he's going to stay on Substack for quite a while longer...

Click to expand...

Ghost is going to give him a heart attack.

ArmpitFunk said:

Ghost is going to give him a heart attack.

Click to expand...

He estimated how much it would cost him: he has already had a heart attack.

Alpha1404 said:

Hi everyone,
A friend and fellow media boss uses Substack for his media outlet.
He doesn't like the direction the platform is taking, so he has finally decided to migrate.

Here are the features he needs:
- a mailing system (he sends his weekly edition by email);
- a modular subscription system (here, our VAT is reduced, so we must be able to customize the VAT amount);
- management of paying subscribers (basically, a mini-CRM);
- the ability to leave certain articles without a paywall (or, conversely, to put certain articles behind a paywall).

Note: my friend is pretty much a tech n00b, which is also why he turned to Substack, and since we're both small, somewhat cash-strapped editorial teams, he doesn't have tons of money (because there are communications agencies that create turnkey press sites with everything I just mentioned).

What do you recommend? My initial thought was a combination of WordPress and various extensions, but I'd really appreciate your insights (especially since I'm likely to have the same needs in the near future).

Thank you

Click to expand...

It's best to make a custom framework for this, also for statistics gathering and other features, with AI generated watermarks.
My suggestion is: C++ backend, php frontend with cojoining frameworks...

what you don't like about Substack? I think that given how much organic subscribers they give it's worth paying the 10%+3% that they take

zipdrive984 said:

It's best to make a custom framework for this, also for statistics gathering and other features, with AI generated watermarks.
My suggestion is: C++ backend, php frontend with cojoining frameworks...

Click to expand...

But did you read the original message before replying?

DeathGrips said:

what you don't like about Substack? I think that given how much organic subscribers they give it's worth paying the 10%+3% that they take

Click to expand...

Substack has shifted towards social media, so it pushes the most divisive content, which my friend doesn't like.