Substack

Publish a paid newsletter and build a subscription business.

Best for: Writers and journalists who want to build a paid subscription newsletter with minimal technical setup and Substack's discovery network.

Free plan

4.5/5Editorial score 87/100substack.com

Starts at

Free (10% cut on paid)

Get started free

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Editorial score87/100

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The editorial note

What to know about Substack

Substack is a publishing platform for independent writers, journalists, and creators to publish newsletters and build paid subscriber businesses. It provides subscription payment processing, email delivery, web publishing, and podcast hosting — taking 10% of subscription revenue in exchange for handling all the infrastructure. Substack has grown to host thousands of publications with millions of paid subscribers, becoming a primary platform for professional writers leaving traditional media to build independent subscription businesses.

Is it right for you?

Who Substack suits

Choose it if

Writers and journalists who want to build a paid subscription newsletter with minimal technical setup and Substack's discovery network.

Look elsewhere if

Established creators with large audiences who want to minimize platform fees — Ghost (self-hosted) or Beehiiv offer newsletter platforms with lower fees and more customization for higher-revenue writers

What you get

Key features

Newsletter publishing and email delivery
Paid subscription management
Podcast hosting
Web publication
Reader app
Notes (short-form social)
Recommendation network
Chat and community

Works with

Integrations8

Stripe (built-in)Apple Podcasts (via RSS)Spotify (via RSS)Twitter/XFacebookCustom domainMailchimp importConvertKit import

What it costs

Pricing

Substack pricing plans
Plan	Price	What it includes
Free to publish	Free (10% cut on paid)Billed monthly	No cost to publish. Substack takes 10% when you charge subscribers for paid newsletters.
Substack Network	Includes in free planBilled monthly	Recommendations, cross-promotion, Notes, community features — all included for free

Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.

The trade-off

Pros and cons

Pros

Zero upfront cost — Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue only when you earn money
Built-in audience discovery through Substack's network and recommendation system
Handles payment processing, tax collection, and email delivery without third-party setup
Reader app and community features increase subscriber engagement and retention
Free-to-paid conversion tools help writers identify upgrade opportunities within free subscribers

Cons

10% platform fee becomes expensive at scale — a $100K/year newsletter loses $10K annually
Limited design customization — publications look similar without paid themes or custom CSS
Subscriber data ownership is limited — export capabilities exist but Substack controls the platform
Less suitable for non-text content creators — primarily optimized for long-form writing

Quick read

At a glance

Category: Marketing & SEO
Pricing model: Freemium
Entry plan: Free (10% cut on paid)
Free plan: Available
Free trial: Not listed
Website: substack.com

The verdict

Our take on Substack

The largest newsletter discovery network — 35 million readers and the recommendation algorithm enabling organic growth impossible on other platforms.

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