Substack Pricing: What It Costs and How Much Substack Takes

Substack’s cut of my newsletter revenue runs about $26,700 a year. I pay it mostly happily — and I’ll show you the exact math so you can decide if you would too. Because “how much does Substack cost” has a five-word answer and a much more interesting real answer.

The short version: Substack is free to publish on, free to read (unless a writer paywalls their work), and takes nothing until you monetize. When you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10% of revenue plus Stripe’s ~2.9% + 30¢ per transaction — so you keep roughly 87%. There are no monthly platform fees.

Is Substack Free?

Yes. Publishing is free, hosting is free, your archive is free, sending email to 100 or 100,000 subscribers is free. Substack only makes money when you do — that’s the whole business model, and it’s why there’s no monthly fee like you’d pay on ConvertKit (now Kit), beehiiv’s paid tiers, or Ghost. If you never monetize, Substack costs you $0 forever.

What Substack Takes When You Go Paid

Two line items come out of every subscription, per Substack’s pricing docs:

• Substack’s fee: 10% of gross subscription revenue.

• Stripe’s processing: about 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.

On a $10/month subscription: Substack takes $1, Stripe takes about 59¢, and you keep roughly $8.41. On a $5/month subscription the math stings slightly more (that flat 30¢ is a bigger slice), which is one reason annual plans are your friend — one transaction fee instead of twelve.

What the 10% Looks Like at Scale (My Real Numbers)

My newsletters gross $267,537 in annualized revenue, which means Substack’s 10% costs me around $26,700 a year. That is objectively a lot of money, and yes, at this size a flat-fee platform like Ghost or beehiiv would be cheaper on paper.

Here’s why I stay anyway: Substack’s recommendations network and Notes helped grow my list to 42,000+ subscribers over three years with no paid ads. That 10% isn’t rent — it’s the customer-acquisition budget I never had to spend. A cheaper platform where I acquire every subscriber myself isn’t actually cheaper.

The honest counterpoint: once you pass roughly $3,000–$5,000 a month in subscription revenue and your growth no longer comes from Substack’s network, the math starts favoring flat-fee platforms. Run your own numbers annually. I do.

What Should You Charge on Substack?

Most paid newsletters land at $5–$10 a month or $50–$100 a year, with founding tiers anywhere from $150 to $500 for superfans. Price on the value of the problem you solve, not on guilt or a vibe. I walk through the revenue strategy side (paid tiers, founding members, and using the newsletter as a storefront) in how to make money on Substack.

What Substack Costs Readers

Reading free publications costs nothing, and no account is required to browse. Paid subscriptions cost whatever each writer sets (usually that $5–$10/month band), billed directly through Stripe. There’s no bundle fee or platform membership — you pay writers, not Substack.

FAQ: Substack Pricing and Fees

Does Substack Pay Writers Directly?

Readers pay you through Stripe, and payouts land in your bank account on Stripe’s schedule. Substack never holds your money, and your subscriber list is exportable at any time.

Are There Hidden Substack Fees?

No hidden platform fees. The gotchas are small and Stripe-side: the flat 30¢ hits low prices harder, and international cards can carry slightly higher processing costs.

Is Substack’s 10% Negotiable?

Not for regular writers. Historically Substack has cut deals with a handful of marquee names, but for the rest of us the 10% is the 10%.

How Does Substack Compare to Other Platforms on Fees?

Patreon’s new-creator fee is also 10% plus processing. Ghost and beehiiv charge flat monthly fees instead of a percentage. See my full Substack vs Patreon and Substack vs Medium breakdowns.

Want Help Making Your Substack Worth 10%?

The fee only hurts when the newsletter isn’t growing. I’ve built mine to $267,537 in gross annualized revenue, and helping other writers build theirs is what my Substack consulting is for. Tell me about your newsletter below — the form lands straight in my inbox.

And if you’re still deciding whether to start at all, read is Substack worth it first. Spoiler: for most writers, the 10% is the best money they never had to spend up front.