Our take
Pick Logseq if students and knowledge workers who will stay on the open-source app at $0 (local Markdown; Free forever for personal use) while they open a first Queries page — not teams that need a printed Sync seat (we did not find a public Sync $). 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 they accept
hosted Posts list
Best for
Logseq A graph notebook you start at a public $0
Substack A posts list you start at a public $
Free plan
Logseq $0 · “Free forever for personal use.” Open source. Local Markdown. iOS & Android apps
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
Logseq Not published by the vendor
Substack Stripe card processing (US cards) $0.30
Next step up
Logseq
Substack Custom domain (optional) $50
Runs where
Logseq
Substack Hosted
Watch out
Logseq There is no public Sync $ on the pages we fetched
Substack There is no public Substack Pro seat $
Last checked
Logseq 2026-10-23 · logseq.com/pricing
Substack 2026-10-23 · support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles
students and knowledge workers who will stay on the open-source app at $0 (local Markdown; Free forever for personal use) while they open a first Queries page — not teams that need a printed Sync seat (we did not find a public Sync $).
Read the Logseq 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