Top 5 Subtext Alternatives in 2024

Jessica Li
Chief of Staff

Subtext is an SMS marketing and text messaging platform designed to facilitate direct communication between creators and their audiences. It offers features like immediate, reliable communication, insider community creation, and revenue generation. For creators looking for email marketing solutions, we will explore alternatives that can help centralize their creator business.

What is Subtext?

clickup screenshot

Subtext is an SMS marketing and text messaging platform that enables direct communication between creators and their audiences. It offers immediate, reliable communication, the creation of exclusive insider communities, and opportunities for additional revenue. Subtext provides a safe space free from trolls and algorithms, ownership of subscriber data, customizable messaging, flexible audience signup, scheduled content, and built-in analytics for monitoring engagement and performance.

What to Consider When Selecting a Subtext Alternative?

  1. Ease of Use: Look for platforms that offer intuitive interfaces and user-friendly design tools. This ensures you can quickly set up and manage your email marketing campaigns without needing extensive technical knowledge.
  2. Integration Capabilities: Choose a platform that seamlessly integrates with other tools you already use, such as social media, e-commerce, and CRM systems. This will help streamline your workflow and enhance your marketing efforts.
  3. Automation Features: Opt for solutions that provide robust automation capabilities, such as automated email sequences, triggers, and segmentation. Automation can save you time and ensure timely, relevant communication with your audience.
  4. Deliverability Rates: High deliverability rates are crucial for ensuring your emails reach your subscribers' inboxes. Look for platforms known for their strong deliverability performance to maximize the impact of your campaigns.
  5. Customer Support: Reliable customer support is essential, especially if you encounter issues or need assistance. Platforms offering 24/7 support, comprehensive help centers, and community forums can provide the help you need when you need it.

Best Alternatives to Subtext

1. Beacons

clickup screenshot

Beacons is an all-in-one creator platform that empowers over 5 million creators, including Green Day, Sia, Jeremy Lin, and Jack in the Box, to manage their audience, monetize content, and send emails to fans—all in one place. With its full stack of tools, creators can effortlessly set up online stores, create media kits, and utilize AI-powered brand outreach. The platform's customizable link-in-bio feature ensures that everything you need is accessible in a single, cohesive system.

Pros of Using Beacons

Beacons offers a range of benefits that make it an attractive choice for creators looking to streamline their online presence and maximize their impact. Here are three key advantages:

  • Cost Savings: Beacons is price competitive and even offers a free tier, making it an economical choice for creators. By consolidating multiple tools into one platform, Beacons eliminates the need for various subscriptions, saving you money and simplifying your workflow.
  • Data Syncing: Beacons automatically syncs data across its tools, providing better insights and saving you time. This seamless integration ensures that all your information is up-to-date and easily accessible, allowing you to make informed decisions quickly.
  • Ease of Use: The platform is designed with user-friendliness in mind, offering intuitive interfaces and straightforward tools. Whether you're setting up an online store, creating an email campaign, or managing your audience, Beacons makes the process simple and efficient.

For more information, visit Beacons.

Pricing

Beacons offers a range of pricing packages to suit different needs and budgets. Here are the available plans:

  • Free Plan: $0 (Free forever)
  • Creator Pro: $8.33 per month (billed annually) or $10 per month (billed monthly)
  • Store Pro: $25 per month (billed annually) or $30 per month (billed monthly)
  • Business Pro: $75 per month (billed annually) or $90 per month (billed monthly)

Reviews

Beacons has received an impressive rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on 16 reviews. Users consistently praise its thoughtful design, useful tools, and ability to grow with creators. Comments highlight its ease of use and effectiveness in helping creators build and connect with their communities. For more details, visit Beacons Reviews.

Who Should Use Beacons?

Beacons targets creators and businesses looking to centralize their online presence and operations, offering a comprehensive suite of tools beyond just email marketing. From influencers and musicians to small business owners and content creators, anyone aiming to manage their audience, monetize content, and enhance brand outreach can benefit from Beacons' extensive features.

2. Luma

clickup screenshot

Luma is a platform for creating and managing events. It allows users to set up event pages, invite friends, and sell tickets. Luma does not focus on email marketing.

Pros of Using Luma

Luma is a fantastic platform for creating and managing events, offering several unique features that set it apart. Here are some of the standout benefits:

  • Seamless Event Setup: Luma makes it incredibly easy to set up an event page, allowing you to focus on the fun parts of event planning.
  • Integrated Ticket Sales: Sell tickets directly through the platform, simplifying the process and helping you monetize your events effortlessly.
  • Effortless Invitations: Invite friends and manage RSVPs with ease, ensuring everyone stays in the loop and your event is a hit.

Cons of Using Luma

  • Limited Awareness: One of the main drawbacks of Luma is its limited user base. Despite its features, the platform hasn't gained widespread recognition, which can be a hurdle for users looking to engage with a larger community.
  • Lack of Advanced Features: While Luma excels in basic event management, it lacks some advanced features that other platforms offer. This can be a limitation for users who need more sophisticated tools for their events.
  • Customization Constraints: Luma's event pages offer limited customization options. Users looking for highly personalized event pages may find the platform's design tools restrictive.

Pricing

Luma offers a variety of pricing packages to cater to different event management needs. Here are the available plans:

  • Luma (Free Plan): Free, forever.
  • Luma Plus (Premium Plan): $59 per month, billed annually.

Additionally, Luma provides add-ons for increased weekly sends of invites and newsletters:

  • 5,000 sends: Included
  • 10,000 sends: $26 per month
  • 25,000 sends: $66 per month
  • 50,000 sends: $111 per month
  • 75,000 sends: $151 per month
  • 100,000 sends: $191 per month

For larger needs, Luma offers customizable enterprise plans with pricing available upon request.

Reviews

Reviews of Luma

Luma has an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 based on user reviews. Generally, people appreciate its ease of use and the features it offers, though some wish it had more visibility to fuel further improvements. For more details, visit Luma Reviews.

3. Kajabi

clickup screenshot

Kajabi offers tools to create marketing emails that are worth opening. The platform allows users to reach customers with email campaigns that feel effortlessly on-brand and uniquely theirs.

Pros of Using Kajabi

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform designed to help creators build and grow their businesses. Here are some of the most unique features that make Kajabi stand out:

  • AI Course Builder: Start instantly with an AI-powered course builder that simplifies the creation process, allowing you to focus on delivering great content.
  • Branded Mobile App: Grow your business and brand with a fully customizable mobile app that keeps your audience engaged on the go.
  • Zero Revenue Share Fees: Keep what you earn without sharing revenue with the platform, maximizing your profits and ensuring you get the most out of your hard work.

Cons of Using Kajabi

  • Poor Customer Support: Many users have expressed frustration with Kajabi's customer support, citing a lack of accountability and poor communication. This can be particularly challenging when you need timely assistance to resolve issues that impact your business operations.
  • High Cost: Kajabi's pricing is often seen as steep, especially for smaller creators or those not heavily focused on eLearning. Users have noted that the platform may not offer sufficient value for the cost, making it a less attractive option for those with limited budgets.
  • Email Tracking Issues: Users have reported problems with Kajabi's email tracking and statistics. Inconsistent tracking can make it difficult to measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns, leading to potential gaps in your marketing strategy.

Pricing

Kajabi offers a variety of pricing packages designed to grow with your business. Here are the available plans:

  • Kickstarter:
    • Annual: $55/mo (billed annually)
    • Monthly: $69/mo
  • Basic:
    • Annual: $119/mo (billed annually)
    • Monthly: $149/mo
  • Growth:
    • Annual: $159/mo (billed annually)
    • Monthly: $199/mo
  • Pro:
    • Annual: $319/mo (billed annually)
    • Monthly: $399/mo
  • Enterprise:
    • Starting at $10,000/year

Reviews

Kajabi has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 79 reviews. Generally, users appreciate its ease of use and comprehensive features, though some find it expensive and criticize its customer support.

4. Laylo

clickup screenshot

Laylo is a CRM platform designed to help musicians, live events, sports teams, and creators manage and optimize their drops. Laylo offers features such as SMS & email notifications, scheduled messages, and custom phone numbers, replacing traditional email marketing tools like Mailchimp. The platform allows users to broadcast messages to all fans, track fan activity and purchases, and create instant landing pages.

Pros of Using Laylo

Laylo is a CRM platform designed to help musicians, live events, sports teams, and creators manage and optimize their drops. Here are some of the most unique features that make Laylo stand out:

  • Instagram DMs Integration: Engage fans directly through Instagram Stories by allowing them to gain access to drops with a simple keyword reply.
  • Multidrop: Notify fans about ticket drops in their city with a touring page feature, ensuring they never miss out on an event.
  • Fan Profiles: Gain deep insights into fan activity, including their top artists and genres on Spotify, as well as their purchase history from Shopify.

Cons of Using Laylo

  • Limited Customization: Laylo's platform offers limited options for customizing notifications and landing pages. This can be a drawback for creators who want to maintain a unique brand identity and tailor their communications to specific audience segments.
  • High Learning Curve: Despite its powerful features, Laylo can be challenging to navigate for new users. The platform's extensive toolset may require a significant time investment to master, which can be a barrier for those looking for quick and easy solutions.
  • Inconsistent Customer Support: Users have reported issues with Laylo's customer support, citing slow response times and inadequate assistance. This can be particularly frustrating when dealing with urgent matters that impact campaign performance and fan engagement.

Pricing

Laylo offers a variety of pricing packages to cater to different needs and budgets. Here are the available plans:

  • Pro Plan: $25/month or $300 billed annually (saves $50)
  • + Messaging: $150 for 75,000 credits
  • Free Plan: Free (includes 250 free message credits)
  • Enterprise Plan: $25/month/account + pay-as-you-go messaging credits

Reviews

Laylo has an overall rating of 5 out of 5 based on user reviews. Generally, people appreciate Laylo for its ability to empower creators and help them engage better with their audiences. For more details, visit Laylo Reviews.

5. Beehiiv

clickup screenshot

Beehiiv is a newsletter platform designed for growth. It offers tools for creating, publishing, growing, and monetizing newsletters without the need for coding.

Beehiiv provides a range of features to support email marketing efforts:

  • Create: Beehiiv offers powerful editing and design tools for email, providing a unique writing experience.
  • Publish: Users can launch media brands and create world-class newsletters and websites without needing any code.
  • Grow: The platform provides tools used by the world’s largest newsletters to scale effectively.
  • Monetize: Beehiiv acts like a full sales and revenue team, helping users earn revenue without additional staffing.

Beehiiv's pricing plans are straightforward:

  • Launch: $0 per month
  • Scale: $34 per month (or $408 billed annually)
  • Max: $86 per month (or $1,032 billed annually)
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing

Each pricing tier includes different features:

  • Launch ($0 per month): Up to 2,500 Subscribers, Custom Website, Custom Newsletters, Campaign Analytics, Unlimited Email Sends, Up to 3 Publications, Recommendation Network, Optimized Deliverability, Subscriber Tagging, Audience Segmentation, Custom Domains, API Access.
  • Scale ($34 per month or $408 billed annually): Everything in Launch, plus Ad Network, Boost Network, Paid Subscriptions, New Website Templates, Email Automations, Referral Program, 3D Analytics, beehiiv AI, Survey Forms & Polls, Unlimited Teammates, Community Access, Webhooks.
  • Max ($86 per month or $1,032 billed annually): Everything in Scale, plus Remove beehiiv Branding, NewsletterXP Course, Up to 10 Publications, Priority Support.
  • Enterprise (Custom pricing): Everything in Max, plus Concierge Onboarding, Designated Account Manager, Dedicated IP Addresses, Infinite Subscribers.

Beehiiv has received an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars based on user reviews. Users appreciate its ease of use, feature set, and user-friendly interface. However, some users find it expensive and have mentioned issues with adjustment and limited credits.

Pros of Using Beehiiv

#Pros of Using Beehiiv#

  • No Code Needed: Create and publish newsletters without any coding or complex integrations. It's as easy as drag-and-drop!
  • Powerful Editing and Design Tools: Enjoy a unique writing experience with advanced tools that make your newsletters stand out.
  • Monetization Tools: Feel like you have a full sales and revenue team at your disposal, helping you earn without the extra cost.

Cons of Using Beehiiv

Expensive Pricing: Many users have noted that Beehiiv's pricing can be quite steep, especially for smaller creators or those just starting out. The cost may not justify the value for those with limited budgets.

Free Plan Limitations: While Beehiiv offers a free plan, it comes with significant limitations. Users have reported that the free tier lacks many essential features, making it difficult to fully utilize the platform without upgrading to a paid plan.

Adjustment Issues: Some users have experienced difficulties adjusting to Beehiiv's interface and features. The learning curve can be steep, requiring a considerable time investment to become proficient with the platform.

Pricing

Beehiiv offers a variety of pricing packages to cater to different needs and budgets. Here are the available plans:

  • Launch: $0 per month
  • Scale: $34 per month (or $408 billed annually)
  • Max: $86 per month (or $1,032 billed annually)
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing

Reviews

Beehiiv has received an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars based on user reviews. Generally, people appreciate its ease of use, feature set, and user-friendly interface, though some find it expensive and have mentioned issues with adjustment and limited credits. For more details, visit beehiiv Reviews & Product Details.

Which One Should You Go With?

Each platform we've explored offers unique features and benefits, making them all solid choices for creators. However, if you're looking to centralize your email marketing efforts, we recommend Beacons. With its comprehensive suite of tools, user-friendly interface, and AI-powered capabilities, Beacons stands out as a top choice for creators aiming to enhance their email marketing strategies.

Read these next

Need help?
[email protected]
Get Beacons on Apple StoreGet Beacons on Google Play
Beacons® is a registered trademark of Beacons AI Inc. ©2023