Substack

What is Substack?

Substack is a newsletter and subscription publishing platform that lets writers publish directly to readers without a monthly fee. Launched in 2017 by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi, the platform reached 35 million active subscribers by 2025, with over 5 million paying for at least one publication. Substack’s business model is simple: free to publish, 10% of paid subscription revenue goes to Substack.

The platform handles email delivery, payment processing via Stripe, subscriber management, and hosting. Writers get a subdomain (name.substack.com), an optional custom domain, and a built-in recommendation network that surfaces their work to readers of similar newsletters. Substack was valued at $650 million in a 2021 Series B round and has operated without additional funding since, focusing on growing its reader app and discovery features.

Substack sits at the center of the 80/20 of newsletter tools we cover — it is the default recommendation for new writers who want to start publishing without upfront cost.

How does Substack work?

Substack combines email delivery, subscription billing, content hosting, and audience discovery in a single product. Writers set a monthly or annual subscription price, publish posts that go to free or paid subscribers, and Substack handles the rest. Understanding the three core systems tells you whether Substack fits your publishing model.

Email and content publishing

Writers compose posts in a minimal editor that supports text, images, embeds, audio, and video. Each post is delivered to subscribers by email and published at a public URL. Free posts are accessible to anyone; paid posts gate access to subscribers. The editor is deliberately simple — no advanced design, no custom HTML, no template library.

Writers control post scheduling, paywall position (whole post paid vs. partial paywall), and subscriber segments. Posts automatically appear in the Substack reader app alongside content from other publications readers follow.

Subscription and payment layer

Substack processes payments through Stripe. Writers set their own subscription prices — a typical range is $5 to $15 per month or $50 to $100 per year. Substack takes 10% of gross revenue; Stripe takes 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. The writer keeps the rest.

One subscription gives paid readers access to all paid posts, podcast episodes, and video content from that publication. There is no per-content pricing — it is an all-or-nothing subscription model.

Discovery and the reader network

Substack’s recommendation engine is its most distinctive feature. When a reader subscribes to one newsletter, Substack recommends similar publications at checkout and in the reader app. Writers can also recommend each other directly, creating cross-promotion partnerships. This discovery loop gives new writers an organic growth path that does not exist on Beehiiv or Ghost.

The Substack reader app for iOS and Android is a social feed of posts and Notes from publications readers follow. It functions as a micro-social network — readers can comment, like, and restack (reshare) posts, increasing visibility for writers.

How does Substack compare to Beehiiv and Ghost?

Substack wins on discovery and zero upfront cost. Beehiiv wins on analytics and cost efficiency at scale. Ghost wins on design control and SEO. The right choice depends on whether you prioritize growth through Substack’s network or control over your own platform.

Attribute	Substack	Beehiiv	Ghost
Monthly fee	$0 (revenue share)	From $42/month	From $9/month (self-host free)
Revenue share	10% of paid subs	0%	0%
Built-in discovery	Yes — recommendation engine + app	Boosts (paid cross-promotion)	None
Email design	Minimal	Strong with templates	Highly customizable
Analytics	Basic	Advanced (opens, clicks, revenue)	Advanced (via integrations)
Custom domain	$50/year flat fee	Included	Included
SEO control	Limited	Moderate	Full (self-hosted)
Best for	New writers, discovery-led growth	Scale-focused newsletters	Technical publishers, bloggers

“Substack is where you go to find your first 1,000 paying subscribers — the recommendation network does work that would take years on a standalone platform. After that, the 10% fee becomes a real conversation,” said Marcus Reed, Go-to-Market Editor at tools8020.

Who uses Substack in 2026?

Independent journalists leaving legacy media are Substack’s most prominent users. Writers like Heather Cox Richardson, Glenn Greenwald, and Matt Taibbi built million-subscriber newsletters on the platform. Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American is consistently cited as one of the highest-grossing Substack publications, with reported earnings exceeding $2 million per year.

Beyond journalism, Substack hosts niche newsletters in finance, tech, culture, and fitness. A newsletter earning $5,000 per month (roughly 200 paid subscribers at $25/month) covers a full-time income for a solo writer in many markets. The platform’s economics favor highly engaged niche audiences over large but passive subscriber counts.

Media companies have also used Substack for individual writer brands — allowing reporters to build direct audience relationships while remaining affiliated with a larger organization. The New York Times, The Atlantic, and several major sports media organizations have let individual writers maintain Substack accounts alongside their staff positions, using the platform’s subscriber portability as a hedge against layoffs or editorial changes.

When should you skip Substack?

Substack is the wrong choice for writers in four specific situations. Switch to the alternative below before defaulting to Substack’s defaults.

• Your newsletter earns more than $5,000 per month. At that level, the 10% fee costs $6,000+ per year. Beehiiv charges $42 to $84 per month and takes nothing from revenue — the math flips quickly.
• You need advanced email design or branding. Substack’s editor is minimal by design. For custom layouts, branded templates, or sophisticated segmentation, use Kit or Beehiiv.
• SEO is your primary growth channel. Substack gives minimal technical SEO control. Ghost (self-hosted) or a dedicated blog platform gives full control over meta, canonicals, and site structure.
• You run a brand account or agency newsletter. Substack is built for individual writer voices. Branded publications with multiple authors and design requirements fit better on Ghost or Beehiiv.

How much does Substack cost?

Substack is free to use until you earn paid subscription revenue. At that point, 10% of gross subscription revenue goes to Substack, plus Stripe’s 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. As of May 2026, the only optional upfront cost is a $50 per year fee for a custom domain on paid publications.

Revenue level	Substack annual cut (10%)	Equivalent Beehiiv plan
$1,000/year	$100	Free (Beehiiv Launch)
$12,000/year	$1,200	$504/year (Beehiiv Scale)
$60,000/year	$6,000	$1,008/year (Beehiiv Scale)
$500,000/year	$50,000	$1,008/year (Beehiiv Scale)

Pricing verified at substack.com on 2026-05-24. The 10% rate has remained constant since launch — Substack has not raised it.

How we evaluated Substack

This review draws on Marcus Reed’s three years managing newsletters across Substack, Beehiiv, and Ghost for B2B and creator brands, plus the tools8020 team’s direct use of Substack for audience development. We re-verify pricing and feature changes every 90 days.

See our evaluation methodology for the full scoring criteria. For a broader view of newsletter economics, see our post on how to pick a newsletter platform in 2026. The 80/20 of newsletter tools page covers the full category stack.