Our take
Pick Hashnode if developers who will stay on Free at $0 forever (hosted blog, unlimited posts, Markdown) while they open a first draft, then Pro at $5/month per seat when they need a custom domain / headless API — not Growth $34/month unless they need AI citations. Pick Substack if writers who will stay on free publishing (no Substack seat $) while they open a first Posts list, then turn on paid subscriptions when
hosted Posts list
Best for
Hashnode A developer blog you start at a public $
Substack A posts list you start at a public $
Free plan
Hashnode $0 · forever. Hosted blog. Unlimited posts. Markdown editor. Comments, series, analytics. Agent-ready and search-ready
Substack $0 · iDEAL 80¢; Bancontact 1.4% + 30¢; Sofort 1.4% + 30¢; SEPA Direct 0.8% + 30¢ capped at $6.00; failed / disputed SEPA $10.00
Lowest paid
Hashnode Pro $5/user/mo
Substack Stripe card processing (US cards) $0.30
Next step up
Hashnode Growth $34
Substack Custom domain (optional) $50
Runs where
Hashnode Hosted
Substack Hosted
Watch out
Hashnode Custom domain prints on Pro $5/seat
Substack There is no public Substack Pro seat $
Last checked
Hashnode 2026-10-23 · hashnode.com
Substack 2026-10-23 · support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles
developers who will stay on Free at $0 forever (hosted blog, unlimited posts, Markdown) while they open a first draft, then Pro at $5/month per seat when they need a custom domain / headless API — not Growth $34/month unless they need AI citations.
Read the Hashnode pagewriters who will stay on free publishing (no Substack seat $) while they open a first Posts list, then turn on paid subscriptions when they accept Substack’s 10% of each payment plus Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 — not a $20 chat seat.
Read the Substack page