An ePublishing and Multipub alternative: advertising, production and subscriptions on one record
ePublishing and RunMags both tell a one-system story, from different ends of a publishing business. ePublishing sells Continuum, a website platform with content management, and Multipub, its subscription and fulfilment system; ePublishing bought Multipub in 2022, so they are one vendor. Its customers include B2B and trade publishers, news media, data providers and journal publishers. Source: ePublishing llms.txt, ePublishing acquisition announcement and Multipub page, retrieved 2026-10-05. RunMags is a system for the whole publishing business: advertising sales, contracts, flatplan, advertiser invoicing with accounting sync, and print and digital subscriptions, with the advertiser and the subscriber on the same customer record. This guide sets out where each one fits better, including where ePublishing and Multipub document much more than RunMags does today. Explore the publishing software comparison hub.
Quick verdict
If you want your website, content management and subscriptions from one vendor, or you run audited circulation, site licences or US print fulfilment, ePublishing and Multipub document all of it (sources below), and RunMags does not host your website or document audit-bureau reports today. If you sell advertising and plan print issues, and want contracts, the flatplan and advertiser invoices synced to Fortnox, QuickBooks or Xero with EU VAT in the same system as your subscribers, RunMags is worth evaluating. Neither choice is right for every publisher, so test the workflow that matters most to you.
Side by side: what each vendor documents
Supported means the capability is documented. Partial means part of it is documented. Not shown means we found no public evidence; it does not mean the product lacks it. Not available yet describes RunMags today. ePublishing and Multipub statuses are vendor claims from ePublishing's official pages, retrieved 2026-10-05. RunMags statuses come from our own capability review in October 2026. Neither column is an independent test.
| Capability | ePublishing / Multipub (vendor-claimed) | RunMags |
|---|---|---|
| Website and content management | Supported. Continuum combines content management, digital asset management, editorial workflows, newsletters, directories and events in one website platform. Continuum page | Partial. Stories and editorial assets with Editorial Maggie for drafts, SEO, research and proofing; RunMags does not host your website, so you keep the site you have |
| Subscriptions and access | Supported. Print and digital subscriptions in one database, recurring billing, installment plans, free-trial conversion, site licences by named users or IP address range, and usage-based bundles; Continuum adds subscription paywalls. Multipub page; Continuum page | Partial. Print and digital subscriptions with issue-based or time-based terms, gifts and back issues; a paywall and site licences are not documented |
| Renewals and failed payments | Supported. Renewal notices, automatic renewals, grace issues, auto-expire on non-response, renewal emails with pre-filled forms, automatic card retries with a card updater service, and a subscriber self-service portal for address changes, vacation stops and card updates. Multipub page | Partial. Renewals are charged when your staff run the renewal batch; automatic scheduled renewal and failed-payment retries are not available yet |
| Circulation audits (BPA, AAM) | Supported. BPA and AAM audit support, an AAM audit module with qualification dates and sources, and the USPS Statement of Ownership. Multipub page | Not available yet |
| Print fulfilment and delivery | Supported. Print fulfilment, Satori address correction and NCOA, a carrier delivery system and single-copy sales. Duet sends web content into Adobe InDesign. Multipub page; ePublishing Duet page | Partial. Issue-based terms and per-issue distribution batches you export for your printer, and an InDesign plugin for page layout; postal address services are not documented |
| Subscriber accounting | Supported. Earned and deferred revenue recognition across currencies and tax jurisdictions, general ledger entries by API or FTP, sales tax calculation and ACH payments. Multipub page | Partial. Subscription orders and credit notes; subscription invoices are not part of the accounting sync yet, revenue recognition is not documented, and ACH or SEPA direct debit is not available yet |
| API and AI agent access (MCP) | Supported. A GraphQL developer API, 80+ Multipub integrations, and the MediaFabric MCP gateway for AI agents working with content. ePublishing GraphQL API page; Multipub page; ePublishing MediaFabric page | Partial. Stripe for subscriber card payments and Fortnox, QuickBooks or Xero for advertiser invoices; RunMags has no public MCP connector |
| Advertising sales, contracts and orders | Partial. Digital advertising surfaces: audience targeting, content sponsorships, and directories and buyers' guides with requests for quotes. Contracts, insertion orders and rate cards are not shown on the pages we checked. Continuum page; Multipub page | Supported. Contracts with order rows per channel |
| Flatplanning (ad and editorial page plan) | Partial. Duet documents a page-planning interface for InDesign and places advertising positions automatically from section templates and sold ad inventory; a flatplan built from booked advertising orders is not shown. ePublishing Duet page | Supported. The flatplan is built from booked advertising orders |
| Advertiser invoicing and EU VAT | Not shown on the pages we checked. Multipub documents sales tax and 26 tax jurisdictions; EU VAT is not mentioned. Multipub page | Partial. Advertiser invoices sync to Fortnox, QuickBooks or Xero, with EU VAT; subscription invoices are not part of the sync yet |
Published pricing (checked )
ePublishing does not publish a price for Continuum or Multipub: its pricing address returns a page-not-found error, and its product pages offer a demo or an audit instead (source: epublishing.com/pricing, checked 2026-10-05; Multipub page and Continuum page, retrieved 2026-10-05). For the platform itself, ask ePublishing for a quote for your titles and subscriber volume. See RunMags pricing.
Who should choose which
Choose or stay with ePublishing and Multipub if
- You want your website, content management, newsletters, directories and events from the same vendor as your subscriptions. Source: Continuum page, retrieved 2026-10-05.
- Your titles are audited by BPA or AAM, or you need the USPS Statement of Ownership. Source: Multipub page, retrieved 2026-10-05.
- You sell site licences by named users or IP address range, usage-based bundles, or journal subscriptions. Source: Multipub page, retrieved 2026-10-05.
- You run US print fulfilment with NCOA address correction, carrier delivery or single-copy sales. Source: Multipub page, retrieved 2026-10-05.
- You want automatic renewals, grace issues, card retries and subscriber self-service, with earned and deferred revenue posted to your general ledger. Source: Multipub page, retrieved 2026-10-05.
- You would rather the vendor runs migration, training and around-the-clock support. ePublishing says these are included. Source: ePublishing homepage, retrieved 2026-10-05.
If your ePublishing setup already does this work well, keeping it is a sensible decision. RunMags does not host your website and does not document BPA or AAM audit reports, site licences, a paywall, subscriber self-service or postal address services, and does not schedule automatic renewals or retry failed card payments yet.
Consider RunMags if
- You sell advertising and subscriptions, often to the same organisations. In RunMags, an organisation or contact keeps its advertising orders and its subscriptions on one record, in one CRM for magazines.
- Your sales team works from contracts with order rows per channel, and production plans each issue. The flatplan is built from booked advertising orders. See flatplanning.
- You invoice advertisers through Fortnox, QuickBooks or Xero, with EU VAT. Subscription invoices are not part of the accounting sync yet.
- You sell print and digital subscriptions with issue-based or time-based terms, including renewals, back issues, gifts and credit notes, and you send per-issue distribution lists to your printer. See subscription sales and circulation management.
- You already have a website and want to keep it. RunMags does not host your website, so it does not replace the site you have.
The ePublishing pages we checked describe digital advertising surfaces, sponsorships and directory listings, but do not document contracts, insertion orders, advertiser invoicing or EU VAT. That is not proof that ePublishing lacks them, so ask ePublishing directly if you need them. Source: Continuum page and Multipub page, retrieved 2026-10-05. One realistic setup is to keep ePublishing and Multipub for your website and circulation and run advertising sales, the flatplan and advertiser invoicing in RunMags, in separate systems.
Switching from Multipub: a step-by-step plan
- List what you run on ePublishing today: the website, subscription products and offers, site licences, audited titles, print fulfilment, general ledger postings and integrations. Mark what you need on the first day.
- Check each need against the table above. If you rely on the hosted website, BPA or AAM audits, site licences, the paywall or automatic renewals, decide how you will cover them before you move, or keep ePublishing for that part.
- Agree an export of a sample of your subscribers with ePublishing. ePublishing documents a GraphQL developer API and Multipub APIs; ask ePublishing which it will use for an export. Source: ePublishing GraphQL API page and Multipub page, retrieved 2026-10-05.
- Ask the RunMags team to import the sample into a trial account; subscriber and subscription imports are part of onboarding. Compare products, renewal dates and the next issue's distribution list with Multipub.
- Agree how payments will move. RunMags takes subscriber card payments through your own connected Stripe account, but does not document card-token continuity, so plan this with the RunMags team before you set a date.
- Keep Multipub running until renewals, subscriber records and distribution lists match in RunMags.
Frequently asked questions
Are ePublishing and Multipub the same company?
Yes. ePublishing announced in July 2022 that it had acquired Multipub, (source: epublishing.com/news/epublishing-acquires-leading-subscription-management-software-provider-multipub, retrieved 2026-10-05), and on 2026-10-05 multipub.com redirected to the Multipub page on epublishing.com. Multipub handles subscriptions and fulfilment; Continuum is the website platform.
Does RunMags replace my website like Continuum does?
No. RunMags does not host your website. It keeps stories and editorial assets with help from Editorial Maggie, and you keep the website you have. If you want your website and content management from the same vendor as your subscriptions, ePublishing is the better fit for that part.
Does RunMags renew subscriptions and chase failed payments automatically?
Not yet. In RunMags, renewals are charged when your staff run the renewal batch. RunMags does not schedule automatic renewals or retry failed card payments yet. Multipub's page documents automatic renewals, grace issues, auto-expire on non-response, and automatic card retries with a card updater service (source: epublishing.com/multipub, retrieved 2026-10-05).
How are ePublishing and Multipub priced?
On 2026-10-05 ePublishing published no price for Continuum or Multipub: its pricing address returned a page-not-found error, and its product pages offer a demo or an audit (source: epublishing.com/pricing, checked 2026-10-05). Ask ePublishing for a quote, see the RunMags pricing page for RunMags plans, and compare quotes for your own setup.
Can I move my Multipub subscribers into RunMags?
Yes, with help from the team: subscriber and subscription imports are part of RunMags onboarding. ePublishing documents a GraphQL developer API (source: epublishing.com/graphql-developer-api, retrieved 2026-10-05); ask ePublishing how it will export your subscribers. Card-token continuity is not documented, so plan how existing payers will move before you switch.
Can I use ePublishing and RunMags together?
RunMags has no documented ePublishing or Multipub integration. One option is to keep your website and circulation in ePublishing and run advertising sales, the flatplan and advertiser invoicing in RunMags, in separate systems. Ask the RunMags team what that split would mean for your customer records and distribution lists.
Evaluate RunMags with your own publishing workflow
Bring one advertiser who also subscribes, one renewal and your next issue. Start a trial or book a walkthrough with the team.
