Substack vs. Unsplash for Brands

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Substack
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Substack is a subscription-based newsletter publishing platform.N/A
Unsplash for Brands
Score 7.2 out of 10
N/A
Unsplash is an online community hosted by the company of the same name in Montreal, featuring photos and images that are available free. Unsplash for Business is a solution that puts content in the hands of people and add context by sharing visuals with their audiences.N/A
Pricing
SubstackUnsplash for Brands
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SubstackUnsplash for Brands
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
SubstackUnsplash for Brands
Considered Both Products
Substack
Chose Substack
Medium is not so good for running newsletter. I find the mail that a user gets is very easily readable. Also as a creator it's very easy for me to track the analytics and monetise my blogs unlike Medium.

Blogger is a very old technology. The kind of integrations and the support …
Chose Substack
Substack is like a simple Medium that you can also set up as a paid subscription so you can monetize. Mailchimp has been around for a while so its features are pretty well thought out, but the feature set might be a bit too much for a less experienced email marketer. Substack …
Chose Substack
I believe Substack seemed to offer a monetising solution to a very time consuming, labour of love blog, but it turned out to be just another dead end. The interface and ease of use is great, but it’s not as chunky with as detailed UX as other newsletter platforms I’ve …
Chose Substack
Substack is the DTC version of traditional blogging sites - you own everything, both upside, and risk, which appeals to me more. Compared to Blogger, the ability to monetize and site interface is night and day better. Compared to Medium, which I think has a better interface and …
Chose Substack
Substack is simpler and a lot easier to use than either of the above. Automattic is perpetually trying to sell you on "upgrading" their basic WordPress blogging product which is a pain to work with because of their obsession with "Blocks". It has more SEO and multimedia …
Unsplash for Brands
Chose Unsplash for Brands
I would say that Unsplash for Brands is a lower-end budget and easier option for projects. Again, if you need something very specific - whether it's in industry, pose, subject, or environment, then you'll likely want something a bit more expensive with a larger library …
Chose Unsplash for Brands
It is easy to use, the interface works pretty well and the recommendation of similar pictures is awesome. Also the quality of the algorithm and filter work great.
Chose Unsplash for Brands
The ease of search is always a plus when dealing with client deadlines. Unsplash offers free options for us to be able to provide a wide choice of images for our clients to choose from as well as provide different angles of certain campaigns. We can do several options so they …
Chose Unsplash for Brands
Stacks up well offers another option for finding copyright-free images and is directly a part of our program so I don't need to go to an external site to find other photos. Makes it extremely worthwhile to use! Also easy to teach others how to use which makes my job easier.
Chose Unsplash for Brands
Pexels is my second favourite license-free photo service. However, is easily bettered by Unsplash. This is because of Unsplash’s superior search functionality. When searching for more than one word on Pexels, it usually focuses on the more popular, keyword out of the two. …
Chose Unsplash for Brands
Pixel, Wiki Commons Photos, Free photos that sites like Adobe/iStock/Shutterstock have available.
Chose Unsplash for Brands
I believe Unsplash has higher quality images and the images they provide are more realistic and genuine than these other brands.
Chose Unsplash for Brands
The main difference between Unsplash for Brands and this other brand is the simplicity and the thought process put in by Unsplash for Brands while designing their site functionality and API. The UX is extremely straight forward and implementation is very quick.
Chose Unsplash for Brands
The selection of images and current event content is what puts Unsplash above the larger enterprise solutions. The speed and ease of use also make Unsplash a more attractive product for content creation. The mobile technologies that drive image search are fantastic and far …
Chose Unsplash for Brands
There is one obvious major advantage to Pexels (and Unsplash really) in that the images are royalty-free. We can use them without fear of being sued afterward, and we don't even have to create an account, just download the image and it's ready to go. When it comes to Pexels' …
Best Alternatives
SubstackUnsplash for Brands
Small Businesses
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
Pexels
Pexels
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
SubstackUnsplash for Brands
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
SubstackUnsplash for Brands
Likelihood to Recommend
It's well-suited for a creative writer who is comfortable writing essays or short fiction. It's especially well-suited for writers who are focused on writing essays based on personal experiences. I'm not sure it has the tools at this point for someone who wants to serialize a novel or long-form non-fiction book. I'd like to see better multi-media tools for writers/content creators who are fluent in written and audio-visual methods of communicating.
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If someone is in a specific or super-niche industry, they may not find that Unsplash for Brands is a good option for them. I would say their site and their library of photographic images are a bit more general -- so if you need something stylized, it may not be the place for you.
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Pros
  • Content organization/discovery - really easy to search.
  • Newsletter/email integration - by far better at previewing and delivering content than any other site.
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  • Provides beautiful natural and in action photos
  • Provided royalty free imagery which is great for charities who have a budget or not budget for photography
  • Photos are more stylistic and creative than traditional stock sites like Adobe, iStock, Shutterstock
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Cons
  • It's really difficult when multiple people are editing the blog at same time. Some things change or get overwritten due to which have to reload the page multiple times. Would like to see an experience just like in Google docs.
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  • The layout and UX is not as friendly as many other similar platforms.
  • Search engine could be improved.
  • Bulk download would be wonderful.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
I need to learn a little more about the product and its capabilities before I give a higher review. However, the availability of image trending is far superior to Getty or Getty Enterprise.
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Alternatives Considered
Substack is the DTC version of traditional blogging sites - you own everything, both upside, and risk, which appeals to me more. Compared to Blogger, the ability to monetize and site interface is night and day better. Compared to Medium, which I think has a better interface and content curation abilities, Substack's advertising and promotion of your work are much better because they don't rely on premium members like Medium - it can get very click-baity there.
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There is one obvious major advantage to Pexels (and Unsplash really) in that the images are royalty-free. We can use them without fear of being sued afterward, and we don't even have to create an account, just download the image and it's ready to go. When it comes to Pexels' photos, you can photoshop words on them, but sometimes you don't want a photo designed for photoshopping, you just want a photo that's ready to use, such as Unsplash.
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Return on Investment
  • Takes much much less time to produce content that you can charge for. This wasn't doable before, or you'd have to build it yourself
  • Substack has made it much easier for me to stay on top of ex-customer communications. I get repeat business more easily now.
  • Substack's speed & ease mean I can offload content writing & distribution to others
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  • Excellent for using photos for content creation, keeps things fresh yet still on brand for our program's needs
  • Ease of use, directly implemented in the program to directly find an image without needing to leave the site
  • Perfect since it's free!
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ScreenShots