A paid Substack subscription costs whatever the writer sets, with a floor of $5 a month or $30 a year. Most well-known newsletters charge between $5 and $20 a month: on October 19, 2026, Letters from an American cost $5 a month, Astral Codex Ten and Noahpinion $10, The Pragmatic Engineer $15 and Lenny's Newsletter $20, with yearly plans at about ten times the monthly price. Free subscriptions and free posts cost nothing.
For writers, publishing is free. When you sell subscriptions, Substack keeps 10% and Stripe takes about 3.6% plus $0.30 per payment, so a $10 monthly subscriber leaves you $8.34. The calculator below works out your take-home for any price and subscriber count.
Key takeaways
- Substack's minimum price is $5 a month or $30 a year (US-dollar Stripe accounts); writers can charge any amount above it.
- Six popular Substacks we checked charge $5 to $20 a month; five of the six price the yearly plan at 10× the monthly one (about 17% off).
- Writers pay Substack 10% plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment and a 0.7% Billing fee: about 16.6% of a $10 monthly payment.
- Subscriptions bought in the Substack iPhone app can cost readers more, because Apple charges an extra 15–30% that Substack passes on by default.
- Price changes only apply to new subscribers; existing readers keep the price they signed up at.
How much do popular Substacks cost?
These are the prices on each publication's subscribe page, checked on October 19, 2026. Each writer sets their own, so this is a sample, not an average of the platform.
| Publication | Writer | Monthly | Yearly | Yearly discount vs 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson | $5 | $50 | 17% |
| Slow Boring | Matthew Yglesias | $9 | $80 | 26% |
| Astral Codex Ten | Scott Alexander | $10 | $100 | 17% |
| Noahpinion | Noah Smith | $10 | $100 | 17% |
| The Pragmatic Engineer | Gergely Orosz | $15 | $150 | 17% |
| Lenny's Newsletter | Lenny Rachitsky | $20 | $200 | 17% |
Three patterns stand out. Prices follow the reader's budget more than the writer's fame: the history and politics newsletter written for a broad audience sits at the $5 minimum, while the two written for tech professionals charge $15 and $20. The yearly plan is almost always 10× the monthly price, which is "two months free". And most offer a third, higher "founding member" plan for fans who want to pay more; the names vary (Lenny's calls it the Insider Tier, Slow Boring the Avid Supporter).
Is reading Substack free?
Yes. You can read any free post on the web or in the Substack app without paying, and subscribing to a publication's free emails costs nothing. You only pay when you upgrade a specific publication to its paid plan, which opens whatever that writer puts behind the paywall.
There is no single subscription that covers all of Substack. Each publication sets and sells its own plan, so three paid newsletters at $10 each cost $30 a month.
What a paid plan includes is up to the writer, post by post. The usual mix:
- Paywalled posts: some or all new posts, or the second half of each post after a preview.
- The archive: older posts the writer has locked for paid readers.
- Community: paid-only comments, threads and Chat, Substack's group messaging space.
- Perks: some writers add discounts or extras through Substack's Subscriber Perks, and founding members can get their own posts and welcome email.
Why a Substack can cost more in the iPhone app
Readers can now buy subscriptions inside the Substack iOS app, through Apple. Apple charges an extra 15–30% on in-app purchases, so by default Substack raises the in-app price to cover it ("Adjusted pricing", which Substack recommends). Writers can instead keep prices the same and accept a lower payout (Substack help).
Two practical consequences for readers. In the US, the app can send you to the web to pay, where you get the writer's normal price. And an Apple subscription is managed in your Apple account settings, not in Substack, so that's where you cancel it.
Web payments carry no Substack surcharge. You may still see sales tax or VAT added on top of the price, depending on where you live and whether the writer charges it.
What Substack costs writers
Starting a Substack, publishing and sending free newsletters is free, for any number of subscribers. Fees start when readers pay you.
| Fee | Amount (October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Substack platform fee | 10% of each subscription payment |
| Stripe card processing | 2.9% + $0.30 per payment (US cards) |
| Stripe Billing, for recurring payments | 0.7% |
| Custom domain (optional) | One-time $50 |
| Apple's fee on iOS in-app purchases | 15–30%, covered by higher app prices by default |
Source: How much does Substack cost? in Substack's help center. Other payment methods (SEPA Direct Debit, iDEAL, Bancontact) and non-US Stripe accounts have different card fees.
The $0.30 fixed fee is why low prices hurt. Here's what a writer keeps per payment:
| Reader pays | Substack (10%) | Stripe (2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7%) | Writer keeps | Share kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5 a month | $0.50 | $0.48 | $4.02 | 80.4% |
| $10 a month | $1.00 | $0.66 | $8.34 | 83.4% |
| $20 a month | $2.00 | $1.02 | $16.98 | 84.9% |
| $50 a year | $5.00 | $2.10 | $42.90 | 85.8% |
| $100 a year | $10.00 | $3.90 | $86.10 | 86.1% |
A reader who pays $10 a month for a full year leaves you $100.08. The same reader on a $100 yearly plan leaves you $86.10. Monthly earns more per reader if they stay; yearly locks them in for 12 months and costs you only one $0.30 fee.
One more thing that can shrink payouts: Substack Boost. If you turn it on, Substack may automatically offer engaged free readers a discount (20% for a year by default) to convert them (Substack help).
Substack earnings calculator
Plug in your own numbers. It applies Substack's 10%, Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per payment and the 0.7% Billing fee to web payments.
Interactive calculator
What would you keep from a paid Substack?
You keep per year
$15,027
- Readers pay you per year
- $17,920
- Substack's 10%
- $1,792
- Stripe fees
- $1,101
- You keep per month
- $1,252
- Total fees as a share of revenue
- 16.1%
How to price your Substack
Use the market, then your format. A few rules that hold up:
- Check five newsletters your readers already pay for. Your readers' budget sets the range more than your topic does. Professional newsletters sit higher ($15–$20 in our sample); general-interest ones cluster at $5–$10.
- Make yearly 10× monthly. It's the convention five of our six examples follow, readers recognize it, and it pays only one fixed card fee a year.
- Test demand before you charge. Free publications have Pledges turned on by default: readers can promise to pay a suggested price (at least $5 a month or $30 a year) and are only charged if you later enable payments (Substack help).
- Add a founding member plan. It must be priced above your yearly plan, and you can let fans pick any amount in between with flexible founding pricing.
- Raise prices for new readers only. Under Settings → Payments you can change prices anytime; existing subscribers keep their original rate unless Substack support changes it on your request.
If you haven't launched yet, our step-by-step guide on how to use Substack covers the setup, from the Stripe connection to your first paid post.
How Substack's cut compares
Substack's 10% buys you email delivery, payments and a reader network. Other platforms charge differently:
| Platform | Cut of paid subscriptions | Fixed cost to sell subscriptions (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Substack | 10% | $0 |
| Ghost(Pro) | 0% | Publisher plan from $29/mo billed yearly (1,000 members) |
| beehiiv | 0% | Lite plan from $49/mo billed yearly |
| WordPress.com | 10% on the free plan, 0% on Commerce | Free to $45/mo billed yearly |
Sources: Ghost pricing, beehiiv pricing, WordPress.com paid newsletters. Card fees apply everywhere.
Our Ghost vs Substack comparison works out the break-even (about $3,500 a year in paid revenue at 1,000 members), and Substack vs WordPress does the same for WordPress.com plans. If you want readers from Google rather than from Substack's network, a blog on your own domain is the other route: see Substack vs blog, or Outrank Blogs, which hosts one free on your domain and sends sign-ups to your email tool.
FAQ
How much is a Substack subscription per month?
It depends on the newsletter, because each writer sets the price. The minimum is $5 a month, and most popular newsletters charge $5 to $20; in our October 2026 sample, prices were $5, $9, $10, $10, $15 and $20. Yearly plans usually cost ten times the monthly price.
Is Substack free to read?
Yes. Free posts and free email subscriptions cost nothing on the web and in the app. You only pay to upgrade an individual publication to its paid plan, which opens that writer's paywalled posts, archive and community features.
Why is a Substack subscription more expensive in the app?
Apple charges an extra 15–30% on purchases made inside iOS apps. By default, Substack raises in-app prices to cover that fee, so the same subscription can cost more in the iPhone app than on the web. Paying on the writer's website gets you the standard price.
How much does Substack take from writers?
Substack keeps 10% of each subscription payment. Stripe separately charges 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment and a 0.7% Billing fee for recurring payments, so on a $10 monthly subscription the writer keeps about $8.34.
What is the minimum price for a Substack subscription?
$5 a month and $30 a year for publications with US-dollar Stripe accounts; minimums in other currencies may differ. Writers can also add a founding member plan, which must cost more than the yearly plan.
Can writers change their Substack price later?
Yes, anytime under Settings → Payments. The new price applies only to new subscribers; existing readers keep paying their original rate as long as they don't cancel and resubscribe.
