PLATFORM PROFILE

Substack

Newsletter platform that takes a cut instead of a monthly fee.

8published0not published0not checked yet2026-09-07last checked

Counts, not a score. 8 of 8 things we look for are published by Substack. A ratio would need a denominator from outside this site. A count does not.

What it costs you

What it really costs to startAll in, not the first-year promotional price.Free to publish at any list size. No plan fee, no tier limit; costs start only when paid subscriptions are switched on.Free to publish · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

What it costs to keep alivePer year, once the introductory pricing is over.No monthly fee to keep a publication running. Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and card processing fees come out on top of that.10% of revenue · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

The gate before the first cent

The gate before it pays anythingThe traffic, sales or balance you must reach before a single cent moves.No traffic or balance gate. The only published floor is the subscription price itself: $5 a month or $30 a year minimum.$5/month price floor · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

How long before the first paymentThe gap you have to fund out of your own pocket.Money moves per transaction, not on a monthly cycle: usually in the bank within 48 hours of each payment.Within 48 hours · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

Is it yours or theirs

Who owns what you buildYours, or a room you are allowed to sit in until the rules change?The writer owns the content. Substack's terms state original content posted to the platform stays yours and keeps its copyright.Writer keeps copyright · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

Can you take it with youThe domain, the list, the content. What actually leaves with you.The subscriber list exports from the subscribers page, with all columns or visible columns only. Subscriber names cannot be included in the file.List exports, names do not · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

Can it be soldIs there a resale market, and what does it pay?No unilateral sale. The account cannot be assigned or transferred in any way without Substack's prior written consent.Transfer needs consent · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

What takes it all awayThe single rule, ban or dependency that ends it overnight.Substack may terminate or suspend an account for any reason at its own discretion, and advance notice is a courtesy rather than a duty.Termination at discretion · source · checked 2026-09-07 · different for you?

Put Substack next to something else

The same questions, asked of two or three at once, with the source and the date still attached to every answer. These pairings come from articles here that already cover both, not from a ranking of rivals.

Substack and beehiiv8 of 8 answered

Substack and Ghost4 of 8 answered

Substack and Mediavine8 of 8 answered

Substack and Ezoic7 of 8 answered

OR PICK YOUR OWN

Where these figures come from

Every page on this site that carries a checked figure about Substack. Nothing here was typed twice: the profile above and the pages below read the same lines.

A Hundred Readers at $5 Is $450 a Month After Substack's 10%, From a Newsletter That Cost Nothing to Open10 figures

Substack vs beehiiv: Substack Is Cheaper Until You Earn $5,170 a Year8 figures

A Site Netting $500 a Month Lists at $10,200 to $30,000. What a Content Site Sells For, From the One Formula That Is Published1 figures

How to read this page

The ten things above are not our idea of what matters. They are what the checklists in twenty hand-written articles on this site already asked, counted up: country and eligibility came first in nineteen of them, waiting time and what you are paid in came next. The payout minimum, the number most people search for, barely appeared. It is one row here, not the headline.

A row marked not publishedmeans we opened the company's own pages looking for it and it was not there. That is a finding, and it is dated. A row marked not checked yet means we have not done the work. Those two are kept apart on purpose: an empty box because we were slow should never look like an empty box because they were quiet.

Found something that has moved? Tell us. It gets checked against the source and the change is dated on the corrections page.

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