Substack pricing: Free for free; 10%.
Verified Sep 2026 from the official pricing page.
Is Substack worth the price?
Substack's pricing is incredibly generous, offering a full-featured free tier and only taking a 10% cut of revenue for paid newsletters.
This model is highly fair, as creators only pay when they earn. It's best for individual writers and small media companies looking to monetize their content with minimal upfront risk.
Pricing Plans
Free
Free newsletters
- Unlimited subscribers
- Unlimited posts
- Custom domain
- Basic analytics
Paid newsletters
10%
Monetization
- Paid subscriptions
- Payment processing
- Subscriber management
- Community features
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Stripe payment processing fees (approx. 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)
How Substack compares
4 of 5 direct competitors offer a free plan.
| Tool | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Substack | 10% fee | Yes |
| Ghost | $18/month, billing unit not specified | Yes |
| ConvertKit | $33/month, billing unit not specified | Yes |
| Medium | $5/month, billing unit not specified | Yes |
| Patreon | 10% fee | No |
| beehiiv | $43/month, billing unit not specified | Yes |
Substack Pricing FAQ
How much does Substack cost?
Substack has no subscription price: Free for free; 10%.
Does Substack have a free plan?
Yes. Substack offers a free plan called "Free". It includes: Unlimited subscribers, Unlimited posts, Custom domain.
What are alternatives to Substack?
Alternatives to Substack include Ghost, ConvertKit, Medium, Patreon. Ghost starts at $18/month, billing unit not specified; ConvertKit starts at $33/month, billing unit not specified; Medium starts at $5/month, billing unit not specified.
Substack alternatives
Direct competitors. Starting prices match the table above.
Sources
- Official Substack pricing: substack.com (verified Sep 2026)
- Cite this data: Toolradar, Substack pricing verified Sep 2026, toolradar.com/tools/substack/pricing
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