How to Leave Substack

3 months ago 2

You should probably leave Substack. Here's why and how.

Unfortunately, Substack willingly platforms, and allows bad actors to monetize, hate speech and misinformation.

Says Who?

Here are some well-reasoned pieces on the subject for you to educate yourself and decide.

2021-04: “I Am Leaving Substack” - Notes on the Crises describes additional issues around Substack users directly targeting and doxing people in marginalized groups.
2023-11: “Substack has a Nazi Problem” - The Atlantic
2023-12: “Substack says it Will Not Ban Nazis or Extremist Speech” - NYTimes (via archive.is)
2024-01:
- “Why Platformer is leaving Substack”
- “The ongoing content moderation issues behind Substack’s meltdown” - Mashable
2024-11: “Don’t call it a Substack” - Anil Dash
2024-12:
2025-04:
2025-07:
- “Substack sent a push alert promoting a Nazi blog” - Usermag
- “How a Nazi-Obsessed Amateur Historian Went From Obscurity to the Top of Substack” - Mother Jones
“Substack - Criticism” on Wikipedia

Where Can I Go, and How Can I Migrate?

Below, in alphabetical order, are some guides to moving to competition that are better-suited for those who don’t want to platform hate speech and misinformation.

General Advice

“Top Substack Competitors and Alternatives in 2025” - Latterly.org - a great overview on how to think about which choice to make and good coverage of several alternatives.

Beehiiv

Beehiiv is a commercial alternative to Substack, with a free tier.

“How to migrate from Substack to Beehiiv” - Beehiiv Knowledge Base

Buttondown

Buttondown is a commercial alternative to Substack that has a free pricing tier. Many leaving Substack have chosen to migrate there.

Ghost

Ghost is a non-profit, self-hosted publishing platform. It also has hosted options available for those who don’t want to self-host. It also recently added Fediverse integration.

Who Else Has Migrated Away?

Notable examples include:

For Readers: Asking Authors To Move

Added by visitor request! There are a variety of ways to attempt to influence movement off of the platform. We attempt to provide some examples below for you to mix and match. Feel free to send your own example if it’s not well-represented here!

Keep in mind: the goal is to influence better outcomes. While your tone is yours to choose, and you can be as blunt as you need to be, we believe this outcome will best be achieved as more of a “call-in” than a “call-out”. We suggest being kind and keeping in mind that moving platforms for an author can be a daunting task. Empathy goes a long way.

On with the examples:

“Not sure if you know this, but unfortunately Subtack willingly platforms, and allows bad actors to monetize, hate speech and misinformation. Would love to see you on a different platform! More information and alternatives are available at https://leavesubstack.com.”
“Substack is bad for me and those I care about. I encourage you to check out https://leavesubstack.com for more information and information on alternatives.”
“I’d love to subscribe to the newsletter, but I can’t give any money to Substack, which willingly platforms, and allows bad actors to monetize, hate speech and misinformation. Check out https://leavesubstack.com and let us know when you’re on a different platform so I can be sure to contribute!”
“As a loyal reader it’s disappointing to me that you’re still hosted on Substack. I’d love for you to check out why, and some alternatives, on https://leavesubstack.com. Otherwise I may be forced to unsubscribe. Thanks for considering!”