Substack Pricing: Free Newsletter Hosting + 10% Revenue Share

Name: Substack
Brand: Substack
Availability: InStock
Rating: 7 (1 reviews)

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Price Snapshot

How much does Substack cost?

Substack is free to use. Free to publish, unlimited subscribers and sends, no monthly fee.

Category avg: $31.46/moMedian: $15/mo28 tools offer free plans

Substack Pricing: Free to Publish, 10% Revenue Share on Paid Subscriptions

What else you pay

Substack charges beyond the plan price

3 of these are effectively unavoidable, so the plan price on its own understates what Substack costs.

Stripe card processingUnavoidable	2.9% of + $0.30 per transaction
Stripe recurring billing feeUnavoidable	0.7% of recurring payments
Substack revenue shareUnavoidable	10% of each transaction

Read from Substack’s own pricing page. Where a charge is listed without an amount, the vendor prices it by destination or usage rather than publishing a single rate, so it is shown as charged separately rather than estimated here.

WHAT THIS CATEGORY COSTS AS YOU SCALE

Email Marketing pricing by list size

The middle of the market at each level, across every Email Marketing tool on this site that publishes a price there. Going from 500 contacts to 100,000 contacts multiplies the typical bill by 37.5×.

Category median

HubSpot(most reviewed, 40,490)

500 contactsmedian $12.5014 of 36

MMedian$12.50

Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$4/mo

1,000 contactsmedian $1916 of 36

MMedian$19

HubSpot$20

Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$7/mo

2,500 contactsmedian $3517 of 36

MMedian$35

Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$17/mo

5,000 contactsmedian $6520 of 36

MMedian$65

HubSpot$220

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

10,000 contactsmedian $10019 of 36

MMedian$100

HubSpot$470

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

25,000 contactsmedian $22020 of 36

MMedian$220

HubSpot$1,220

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

50,000 contactsmedian $37919 of 36

MMedian$379

HubSpot$2,470

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

100,000 contactsmedian $46915 of 36

MMedian$469

HubSpot$5,350

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

Each median is the middle price of the cheapest plan covering that level, across the 36 Email Marketing tools on this site. Tools that publish no price at a level are excluded from that row rather than estimated, which is why coverage varies. “Most reviewed” uses combined third-party review counts as a stand-in for popularity. These are list prices before overage, add-ons and seat charges.

Recommendation

Which plan should you choose?

Free PlanNew newsletter creators

Start publishing immediately with no upfront costs or subscriber limits.

Free PlanContent creators planning to monetize

Built-in payment processing and subscriber management make monetization seamless.

Free PlanWriters who want simplicity

Everything in one platform without juggling multiple tools or complex setups.

−

Consider alternativesHigh-volume free newsletter senders

Substack is free for free newsletters, but lacks advanced automation and segmentation.

Editorial

My take on Substack pricing

Joonas RotkoAuthor & founder of That Marketing Buddy

Substack's pricing is refreshingly simple. No monthly fees, no subscriber limits, no feature tiers. You pay nothing until you start making money, then Substack takes 10% of your paid subscription revenue.

The 10% cut is higher than most email platforms charge, but you're getting more than just email delivery. You get a complete publishing platform, payment processing, community features, and a built-in discovery network. For creators who want to focus on writing rather than managing multiple tools, that convenience has value.

The model works best if you plan to monetize eventually. If you just want to send free newsletters forever, traditional email platforms like Kit or Brevo will be more cost-effective long-term.

Hidden Costs

What the pricing page doesn't tell you

From Buddy's analysis

The 10% platform fee is in addition to credit card processing fees, which typically add another 2-3%. Creators need to factor in both when setting subscription prices.

Verdict

Is Substack Worth the Price?

Substack makes sense if you want to start monetizing quickly without technical headaches. The 10% fee is steep compared to traditional email tools, but you're paying for convenience and a complete creator platform. For writers who just want to publish and get paid, it removes friction. For marketers who need advanced automation, segmentation, or A/B testing, you'll hit limitations quickly.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Substack is free to use. They only charge a 10% fee on paid subscription revenue when you start monetizing your newsletter.

No, Substack doesn't limit subscribers on any plan. You can have unlimited free and paid subscribers.

If you only send free newsletters, Substack costs nothing. The 10% fee only applies to paid subscription revenue.

Yes, Substack supports custom domains on all accounts at no extra charge.

Substack handles all payment processing through Stripe. The 10% fee covers both platform usage and payment processing.

Yes, you can export your subscriber list and content at any time. Substack doesn't lock you in.

No hidden fees. The only cost is the 10% commission on paid subscriptions, which covers everything including payment processing.

See the pricing for yourself

Check the official pricing page for current rates.

View Substack Pricing

Substack Pricing: Free to Publish, 10% Revenue Share on Paid Subscriptions

How much does Substack cost?

Substack charges beyond the plan price

Email Marketing pricing by list size

Which plan should you choose?

My take on Substack pricing

What the pricing page doesn't tell you

Frequently Asked Questions

See the pricing for yourself

Substack

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