Substack vs Volusion
A side-by-side look at Substack and Volusion. On our scoring, Substack comes out ahead — but the right pick depends on your priorities.
| Platform | VolusionAll-in-one | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| SellingScene score | 4.0/5 | 3.5/5 |
| User rating | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| Reviews | 1,320 | 610 |
| Pricing | ||
| Starting price | Free | $35/mo |
| Pricing model | no monthly fee, revenue share | Personal plan, per month |
| Transaction fees | 10% of subscription revenue (plus processing) | 0% (processing applies) |
| Hosting & setup | ||
| Hosting type | Fully hosted (SaaS) | Fully hosted (SaaS) |
| Free trial | Free to start | 14 days |
| Staff accounts | Multiple authors | By plan |
| Product limit | N/A (subscriptions) | Tiered (100 to unlimited) |
| Payments & security | ||
| Payment gateways | Stripe | Volusion Payments + others |
| SSL included | Yes | Yes |
| PCI compliant | Yes | Yes |
| Gift cards | Yes | Yes |
| Catalog & content | ||
| Themes / templates | Publication styling | Theme library |
| App marketplace | Limited integrations | Limited integrations |
| Multi-currency | No | No |
| Multi-language | No | No |
| POS included | No | No |
| Abandoned cart recovery | No | Yes |
| Built-in blog | Yes | No |
| Tools & flexibility | ||
| Drag-and-drop editor | No | Yes |
| API access | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | No |
| Support channels | Email & help center | Phone, chat, email |
| Actions | Read review | Read review |
Why pick Substack?
Substack makes launching a paid newsletter effortless, bundling publishing, email, payments, and a discovery network at no upfront cost. The flat 10% revenue cut is significant once you scale, and you build on their network, not your own.
Best for: Writers monetizing newsletters and subscriptions
Read the full Substack reviewWhy pick Volusion?
Volusion is one of the oldest hosted carts and still ships with solid built-in inventory and reporting tools. Its lack of a native blog, dated themes, and bandwidth-based limits make it feel behind the times.
Best for: Small catalogs wanting built-in analytics
Read the full Volusion review