The Mission

A shared movement for independent subscription data.

With everyone getting into subscriptions, it’s never been more important to be in control of your customer data.

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Owning your subscription data matters.

With lots of new subscription platforms launching, it’s important to understand the differences in how they work.

You wouldn’t start an email newsletter on a platform which doesn’t let you export email addresses — but lots of people are starting subscription businesses on platforms that don’t give them access or control of their customer payment data.

Whoever controls the payment and subscription data, controls the business. If you can’t leave a subscription platform without leaving your customers behind, it’s not your business.

Know what you’re getting into.

Open subscription platforms compete on building better products for independent businesses.

Closed platforms compete on making it free and attractive to get started, but lock-in your data so that you can never cancel or leave if your needs change.

Open Subscription Platforms

These products believe in giving you full ownership of your own payments and customer data, so you can freely move your content and your business between different services.

Substack

Substack

Open

Product

  • Email newsletters
  • Podcasts

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Free plans and strongly stated commitment to independent journalism and publishing.

Ghost

Ghost

Open

Product

  • Email newsletters
  • Websites+blogs

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Completely open source product, so you own+control the technology as well as the data.

Podia

Podia

Open

Product

  • Memberships+courses

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

A full-stack platform for creating a digital content business, where you own your data.

Memberful

Memberful

Open

Product

  • Memberships for WordPress

Payments

  • Stripe Direct

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Open source roots, acquired by Patreon in 2016, but still operating independently.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce

Open

Product

  • Ecommerce

Payments

  • PayPal Checkout
  • Stripe Direct

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Completely open source ecommerce plugin for WordPress with subscription addons.

Memberstack

Memberstack

Open

Product

  • Memberships

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Drop-in embed for adding memberships and payments to any site.

Revue

Revue

Open

Product

  • Email newsletters

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Editorial newsletter platform with optional payments for premium subscribers.

Pico Payments

Pico Payments

Open

Product

  • Memberships

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Drop-in embed for adding memberships and payments to any site.

Memberspace

Memberspace

Open

Product

  • Memberships

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Customers
  • ✔️ Payments

Drop-in embed for adding memberships and payments to any site.

Closed Platforms

Other products do not give you any access or control of your customer payment data. You’re locked-in. The only way to switch is to shut down your business and start over.

Beehiiv

Beehiiv

Product

  • Email newsletters

Payments

  • Stripe Connect

Data exports available

  • ❌ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ❌ Customers
  • ❌ Payments

Closed platform with no export of customers, payments, premium content.

Medium

Medium

Product

  • Social network

Payments

  • Proprietary

Data exports available

  • ❌ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ❌ Customers
  • ❌ Payments

Closed platform with payouts determined by Medium, limited exports of data.

Patreon

Patreon

Product

  • Creator community

Payments

  • Proprietary

Data exports available

  • ❌ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ❌ Customers
  • ❌ Payments

Closed marketplace with payouts and billing determined by Patreon, no control or export.

Convertkit

Convertkit

Product

  • Email newsletters

Payments

  • Stripe Express

Data exports available

  • ❌ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ❌ Customers
  • ❌ Payments

Proprietary payments with no access to customer/subscription data. US-only.

Gumroad

Gumroad

Product

  • Creator marketplace

Payments

  • PayPal Partners
  • Proprietary

Data exports available

  • ❌ Content
  • ✔️ Email addresses
  • ❌ Customers
  • ❌ Payments

Proprietary payments with no access to customer/subscription data.

Twitch

Twitch

Product

  • Video streaming platform

Payments

  • Proprietary

Data exports available

  • ✔️ Content
  • ❌ Email addresses
  • ❌ Customers
  • ❌ Payments

Closed marketplace with payouts and billing determined by Twitch, no control or export.

The future is open.

Open subscription platforms are all working to make millions of small businesses possible.

Join us.