Scarlet Ink
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it if you're an engineer or manager who wants ex-Amazon career frameworks and can expense the subscription.
Comparison
Scarlet Ink vs Rands in Repose
Scarlet Ink lands on Depends, and Rands in Repose lands on Worth it.
Rands in Repose
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
There is nothing to buy: this is Michael Lopp's free blog on engineering leadership, respected for over 20 years.
| Compare | Scarlet Ink | Rands in Repose |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Engineers targeting Big Tech promotion | First-time engineering managers |
| Who it's not for | Anyone expecting a tool or app . it's only a newsletter | Anyone shopping for management software or tools |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁷ | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | No support model; solo-author newsletter | Personal site; no support org |
| Public sentiment | No substantive user reviews of the newsletter surfaced; online 'Scarlet Ink' results are mostly unrelated fountain-pen inks and tattoo studios.⁸ | Two decades of readers recommend it to new engineering managers; criticism is rare and mild.15 |
| Biggest gotcha | Pricing isn't published in reviewed sources; confirm cost before asking your manager to expense it² | Newer content lives on Substack; follow both or you'll miss posts.12 |
Pick Scarlet Ink when
- Engineers targeting Big Tech promotion
- First-time tech managers
- Teams expensing career development
- Fans of Amazon-style operator war stories
When Scarlet Ink is not a fit
- Anyone expecting a tool or app . it's only a newsletter
- Non-tech or non-Big-Tech career paths
- People needing coaching, courses, or guaranteed outcomes
- Skimmers . posts run 17 minutes
Pick Rands in Repose when
- First-time engineering managers
- Tech leads running 1:1s
- Fans of long-form opinion essays
- Leaders hiring and retaining developers
When Rands in Repose is not a fit
- Anyone shopping for management software or tools
- Non-engineering teams . it's software-culture focused
- People wanting templates, courses, or certifications
- Buyers expecting vendor support, SLAs, or security docs
Sources
- Scarlet Ink . homepagescarletink.comofficial
- Expensing Scarlet Inkscarletink.comofficial
- A One-Time Special Discount Offerscarletink.comofficial
- 2.5 Years of Newsletter Authorship Lessons from Soloscarletink.comofficial
- The Hidden Cost of Process: A Guide for Tech Leadersscarletink.comofficial
- The AI Gold Rush Looks a Lot Like the Dot-Com Bubblescarletink.comofficial
- Security page check . none foundscarletink.comsecurity
- Scarlet Ink on Muck Rackmuckrack.comnews
- Best Alternatives to Scarlet Ink . Newsletter Surfnewsletter.surfreview
- Rands in Repose - Stories about the humans who build softwarerandsinrepose.comofficial
- About - Rands in Reposerandsinrepose.comofficial
- The Leadership Newsletter | Michael Lopp | Substackrands.substack.comofficial
- Rands in Repose on performance reviewsproduct.hubspot.comreview
review
- Need advice : r/ITManagersreddit.comreview
- Rands in Repose: How to Run a 1:1news.ycombinator.comreview