Orbit vs StackContacts Studio for Substack relationships
Checked 2026-11-02 on the vendors' sites and Substack's help center · Independent, no affiliate relationship with either tool
The short answer: Both help you see who's waiting on a reply and who you've lost touch with on Substack. Pick Orbit ($12/mo or $120/yr via a paid subscription to its maker's Substack) if your relationships live on Substack and you want a browser dashboard, Claude or ChatGPT questions, and a tool that never writes or sends anything for you. Pick StackContacts Studio ($99 one-time) if you also sell on Gumroad, keep a Kit list or run a Skool community and want everything matched on your own computer, with Claude drafting replies and Notes that go out only after you approve them.
Side by side
| Orbit | StackContacts Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12/mo or $120/yr, included with a paid subscription to What's Working Right Now (Rebecca Spitzer's Substack). No free plan or trial. | $99 one-time, with 12 months of updates and email support. 30-day refund if it can't sync your publication or connect to Claude Desktop. |
| How it runs | Chrome extension (Chrome, Edge or Brave on a computer) plus a private web dashboard. | Desktop app for Apple Silicon Macs or Windows 11, plus a Chrome extension (Chrome, Brave, Edge or Arc) and Claude Desktop. |
| Where your data lives | In your private Orbit account. It doesn't receive your Substack password or subscribers' email addresses; DM storage is off by default. | On your own computer. Error reports and feature usage (not your content) go to PostHog unless you turn that off. |
| Sources | Substack: Notes, comments, the inbox, followers and subscribers, plus who unsubscribed. | Substack (subscribers, Notes, posts, comments, DMs), plus optional Gumroad, Kit, Buffer, Blotato and Skool, matched by email. |
| AI assistants | Connect ChatGPT or Claude to ask about your people and writing, tag people into lists and manage follow-ups. | Built around Claude Desktop: ask questions, draft replies and DMs, schedule Notes and posts, post on Skool. |
| Will it post for you? | No. It never writes or sends replies or posts; you do the talking. | Only after you approve the exact preview. Gumroad, Kit, Buffer and Blotato connections are read-only. |
| Maturity | Made by Rebecca Spitzer, who publishes her monthly numbers on her Substack. | Made by Finn Tropy. Very new and updated often: its maker says it went from v1.0 to v1.9.4 in its first five days; v1.24.0 with 4 ratings at checking. |
The problem both solve
Growth on Substack runs on conversations in Notes, comments and DMs, and they quickly outgrow memory or a spreadsheet. Both tools answer the same everyday questions: who's waiting on a reply, who's new, who used to talk with you and went quiet, and which Notes bring in subscribers. Each even suggests five people to talk to today.
The real difference: Substack only, or your whole business
Orbit is built for relationships on Substack. StackContacts Studio is built for writers whose people are spread across platforms: it can show that a Gumroad buyer doesn't read your newsletter, or that part of your Kit list never subscribed on Substack. If Substack is your only platform, that cross-platform matching won't add much.
How hands-on you want AI to be
Orbit deliberately stops short of writing for you: AI helps you find people and patterns, and every reply is yours. Studio lets Claude draft replies, DMs and scheduled Notes, with a preview-and-approve step before anything goes out. If your voice is the product, read every draft before you approve it, or write the replies yourself.
How the costs compare
Orbit costs $120 over a year paid annually, and you also get its maker's paid newsletter. Studio costs $99 once, but you need Claude Desktop (a paid Claude plan is recommended) and a supported computer: Intel Macs aren't supported. Orbit has no trial; Studio's refund only covers setup failures, so check the requirements before you buy.
Our pick
Substack-only writers who want to remember people without automation: Orbit. Writers who sell products or run a community alongside their newsletter and already use Claude Desktop: StackContacts Studio. If you mostly want numbers rather than people, a read-only analytics extension in the Analytics category may be enough.
Our verdicts
- Orbit: A thoughtful relationship tracker for Substack that never writes or replies for you, and you can ask it questions from Claude or ChatGPT. It works through a Chrome extension running alongside your logged-in Substack session (DMs off by default), and there's no way to try it before paying.
- StackContacts Studio: A local audience database for Substack: a Chrome extension copies your subscribers, Notes, posts, comments, DMs and (optionally) Gumroad sales, Kit list, Buffer/Blotato posts and Skool community to your own computer, matches people across them by email, and shows who's waiting on a reply, who's drifting and which Notes bring subscribers. Claude Desktop drafts replies, DMs and scheduled Notes, and nothing posts until you approve the exact preview. Strong if your readers and buyers live in different places; overkill if you only use Substack. It needs an Apple Silicon Mac or Windows 11 PC plus Claude Desktop (paid plan recommended), works through your logged-in Substack session, and is a one-developer tool that's only weeks old, so expect frequent updates.
Sources
- Orbit homepage and FAQ (pricing, ChatGPT and Claude, data)
- StackContacts Studio product page (Gumroad)
- Finn Tropy: Every Creator Needs a Scotty (Nov 1, 2026)
Prices change; confirm on each vendor's site. See how we verify tools. More tools like these: Analytics.
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