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There's a free plan; paid tiers are quoted.
Substack costs $0 per month to publish: the listed free platform includes unlimited subscribers, unlimited sending and posts, and free newsletters, podcasts and video. There is no monthly platform fee, and an annual platform fee is not published. The main cost appears when you charge: Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue, while Stripe adds card-processing and recurring-billing fees. A custom domain is another $50 one-time. The entry price is free; earning from readers isn't.
01Every plan, line by line
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free platform (plan name not published) | — | $0 | Publishers at any audience size |
Add-ons and overages
- Custom domain: $50 one-time
- Paid subscriptions: Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue
- Stripe processing for US card payments: typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus a 0.7% recurring billing fee
- Overage fees: none; seat costs: not published
02What the plan grid doesn't tell you
Paid subscription fee
Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue, according to the pricing information. This is separate from Stripe processing.
Stripe processing
US card payments typically cost 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus a 0.7% recurring billing fee.
Custom domain
A custom domain costs $50 one-time.
Annual platform fee
No monthly platform fee is listed, but an annual platform fee is not published. Confirm current terms before budgeting.
03Which plan should you buy?
| If you are… | Get | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Publish without charging readers | Free platform (plan name not published) | It costs $0/month and includes unlimited subscribers, sending and posts, plus free newsletters, podcasts and video. |
| Charge for subscriptions | Free platform (plan name not published) | There is no monthly fee, but Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue and Stripe processing fees also apply. |
| Build a large mailing list | Free platform (plan name not published) | The listed plan allows unlimited subscribers and sending, with no overage fees listed. |
04Is Substack worth the money?
For free publishing, Substack is hard to fault on sticker price: the listed plan allows unlimited subscribers, sending and posts, plus newsletters, podcasts and video at $0/month. The trade-off is monetization: a 10% cut of paid subscription revenue, on top of Stripe fees, can matter as revenue grows. You retain mailing-list and intellectual property ownership, but publishing still depends on Substack’s platform. We’d treat it as a low-cost start, not a fee-free paid-membership option.
Substack pricing FAQ
How do you manage subscriptions on Substack?
Substack supports paid subscriptions and subscriber payments, but the published pricing information does not describe account controls, cancellation steps or subscriber-management tools. For cost planning, note that Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue, and Stripe processing fees apply to US card payments.
Is there a better alternative to Substack?
The published information does not name competing services or provide a side-by-side comparison, so we can’t call one a better fit from this evidence alone. Compare fees on paid revenue, ownership of your mailing list and intellectual property, and the publishing features you need before switching.
How long does it take to get 1,000 subscribers on Substack?
The free platform permits unlimited subscribers, but that is a capacity limit, not a promise about growth. The published pricing information gives no typical acquisition rate or timeframe for reaching 1,000 subscribers; results depend on audience growth, which isn’t quantified here.
What are the downsides of Substack?
The clearest drawbacks in the published information are the 10% cut of subscription revenue, Stripe’s processing and recurring-billing charges, and the $50 one-time custom-domain fee. An annual platform fee is not published. You retain mailing-list and intellectual property ownership, but still rely on Substack to publish.