--- title: "Fourthwall vs Substack: Which is searched more?" description: "Is Fourthwall or Substack more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Creator membership platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/fourthwall-vs-substack" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Fourthwall vs Substack: Which is searched more? Is Fourthwall or Substack more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Creator membership platforms set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Fourthwall and Substack - **Competitive set**: Creator membership platforms - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Fourthwall Share of Search**: 1.4% - **Substack Share of Search**: 35.3% ## Is Fourthwall or Substack more popular in search? - In September 2026, Substack had more branded searches than Fourthwall among creator membership platforms worldwide. Substack had about 2.3 million branded searches, while Fourthwall had 90,500. Substack made up 35.3% of all creator membership platform searches we track, and Fourthwall accounted for 1.4%. - Substack was ahead of Fourthwall in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Fourthwall’s share of searches among creator membership platforms worldwide held steady at 1.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 74K to 90.5K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Substack’s share of searches among creator membership platforms worldwide moved from 23.2% to 35.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.3M to 2.3M. ## Top creator membership platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Substack was mentioned in three out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Fourthwall was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Substack was listed before Fourthwall in two out of three answers that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Patreon | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Circle | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Ko-fi | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Substack | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Mighty Networks | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Fourthwall | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Memberful | 7th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Kajabi | 8th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Buy Me a Coffee | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about creator membership platforms - Asked ChatGPT "Which creator membership platform should I use?": 1. Patreon, 2. Substack, 3. Ko-fi, 4. Circle, 5. Memberful - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best creator membership platforms?": 1. Patreon, 2. Circle, 3. Substack, 4. Ko-fi, 5. Fourthwall, 6. Memberful - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best creator membership platform for paid fan memberships?": 1. Patreon, 2. Ko-fi, 3. Fourthwall, 4. Substack, 5. Mighty Networks - Searched Google, AI Overview "creator membership platform": 1. Patreon, 2. Mighty Networks, 3. Memberful, 4. Kajabi - Searched Google, AI Overview "best membership platform": 1. Circle, 2. Kajabi Not named in any answer: Buy Me a Coffee. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for creator membership platforms worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Substack gained share of searches among creator membership platforms worldwide, from 31.5% to 35.3%. - In September 2026, Fourthwall rose from 6th to 5th among creator membership platforms worldwide. ## Month by month | Month | Fourthwall estimated searches | Fourthwall Share of Search | Fourthwall rank | Substack estimated searches | Substack Share of Search | Substack rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 74K | 1.4% | 6 | 1.3M | 23.2% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 74K | 1.4% | 6 | 1.3M | 23.3% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 74K | 1.3% | 6 | 1.5M | 27% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 90.5K | 1.3% | 6 | 1.9M | 27.1% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 90.5K | 1.6% | 6 | 1.5M | 26.9% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 301K | 4.2% | 4 | 1.9M | 26.4% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 90.5K | 1.5% | 6 | 1.9M | 30.5% | 2 | | May 2026 | 90.5K | 1.3% | 6 | 1.9M | 27.1% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 74K | 1.1% | 6 | 1.9M | 27.8% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 90.5K | 1.5% | 6 | 1.9M | 30.9% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 90.5K | 1.2% | 6 | 2.3M | 31.5% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 90.5K | 1.4% | 5 | 2.3M | 35.3% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Fourthwall’s and Substack’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Fourthwall**: Measured on the search term “fourthwall”. - **Substack**: Measured on the search terms “Substack”, “substack app”, “substack articles”, “substack live”, “substack newsletters”, “substack notes” and “substack podcast”, summed into one figure. - [Fourthwall profile](/demand/global-en/brands/fourthwall) - [Substack profile](/demand/global-en/brands/substack) - [All creator membership platforms worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/creator-membership-platforms): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Fourthwall or Substack more popular in search? In September 2026, Substack had more branded searches than Fourthwall among creator membership platforms worldwide. Substack had about 2.3 million branded searches, while Fourthwall had 90,500. Substack made up 35.3% of all creator membership platform searches we track, and Fourthwall accounted for 1.4%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Fourthwall vs Substack: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/fourthwall-vs-substack This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/fourthwall-vs-substack. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.