At a glance
Substack
- Free plan
- Free at any number of subscribers, with no monthly fee. Welcome emails, drip campaigns and segments included.
- Paid plans from
- No paid plans. Substack keeps 10% of paid subscription revenue, plus Stripe fees.
- Best for
- Writers who want to publish free, grow on Substack's network and maybe charge readers later
- Skip it if
- You'll earn a lot from paid subscriptions, or you need marketing tools beyond a newsletter
Prices checked 2026-10-21 · Sources
Quick answer
Yes, Substack is free to publish, at any number of subscribers and with no monthly fee. Substack makes money only when you do: if you turn on paid subscriptions, it keeps 10% of every subscription payment, and Stripe takes its own processing fees on top. Welcome emails, drip campaigns, segments, a website, podcast hosting and exports are all included. The cost question is really about paid income: the more you earn from readers, the more that 10% adds up compared with a flat-fee tool.
Is the free plan enough?
Enough for you if you write a newsletter and want it free. Substack includes, at no cost:
- unlimited subscribers, and every post can be sent as an email newsletter
- welcome emails for free, paid, imported and founding subscribers
- drip campaigns: automatic email sequences triggered by events such as a new free or paid subscriber, an upgrade to founding member, or a cancellation
- segments (saved filters) and targeted emails to a subset of subscribers
- sections, so readers can choose which of your newsletters they get
- a website, free podcast hosting, and recommendations and Notes on the Substack network
Not enough if you need:
- a general marketing tool. Substack is built around publishing posts, not around selling products by email.
- to keep 100% of paid subscription revenue (Substack keeps 10%)
Sources: Substack costs, Substack features, welcome emails, segments.
What it costs when you charge readers
Substack has no plans or tiers. What you pay depends only on your paid subscription income:
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Publishing, any list size | Free |
| Substack fee on paid subscriptions | 10% of each subscription payment |
| Stripe card processing (US cards) | 2.9% + $0.30 per payment |
| Stripe Billing (recurring payments) | 0.7% |
| Custom domain (optional) | $50 one-time |
Source: support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost, checked 2026-10-21. Prices change; the vendor's page is the final word.
Local payment methods have their own Stripe fees, which vary by country. For in-app purchases, Substack's 10% is based on your web price.
- An example from those numbers: on a $5 monthly subscription paid by US card, Substack keeps $0.50, Stripe takes $0.445 for card processing and $0.035 for billing, and you keep about $4.02.
- At $1,000 a month in paid subscriptions, Substack's 10% comes to $100 a month, before Stripe fees.
- Readers pay your price. Substack doesn't add a fee to web payments. Prices in the Substack iOS app can be higher to cover Apple's fees, unless you choose to keep them the same.
Sources: Substack costs.
Catches to know
- The 10% never stops. It applies to every subscription payment for as long as you charge readers, and Stripe's fees come on top (Substack costs).
- Imported lists can be held for review. Every imported contact must have opted in. Risky lists may be flagged for Substack's Standards & Enforcement team, which aims to review them within 72 hours. Very large lists need a verification review (how imports work, import size).
- Names don't come with you. Names aren't imported, and Substack's subscriber export can't include subscriber names. You do get emails and other columns as a CSV (export your list, import size).
- Welcome emails can wait. In "profile" mode, welcome emails only start after you've published 2 posts. Switching the theme to "Custom" removes that rule (welcome emails).
- Your footer needs a mailing address. Substack shows a mailing address at the bottom of all emails; it can be a P.O. box, and you edit it in your publication settings (email footers). Substack's help pages don't say whether it supplies a shared address for you, so we don't count one.
On the plus side, Substack says the list is yours: the email list, content and payment relationships belong to the writer, who can take them when leaving. You can export your full publication data at any time (Substack for authors, Substack features).
Substack vs beehiiv, Kit and MailerLite at a glance
| Substack | beehiiv Free | Kit Free | MailerLite Free | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free subscribers | No limit | Up to 2,500 | Up to 10,000 | 250 |
| Free sends | Every post can go by email | Unlimited | No sending limits | 2,500 a month |
| Automations on Free | Welcome emails and drip campaigns | Welcome email only | None | 3, up to 5 steps each |
| Cost to charge readers | 10% + Stripe fees | Lite from $59 a month; 0% + Stripe fees | 3.5% + 30¢, card fees included | Not covered here |
| Custom domain | $50 one-time | Lite and up | Not covered here | Not covered here |
| Free footer address | Not stated | Yes, beehiiv's business address | Yes, Kit's shared address | No |
Sources: Substack costs, Substack features, beehiiv pricing, Kit pricing, MailerLite pricing. More detail in our beehiiv, Kit and MailerLite reviews, and in beehiiv vs Substack.
Who should pick Substack, and who should skip it
Pick Substack if you want to publish a newsletter for free at any size, with welcome emails and drip campaigns included, and you'd like readers to find you through Substack's network. If you charge readers but earn under about $490 a month, Substack's 10% costs less than beehiiv Lite billed yearly ($49 a month).
Skip Substack if you expect large paid-subscription income and don't want to give up 10% of it (beehiiv takes 0% on its paid plans), or you need a marketing tool for selling products rather than a publishing platform.
FAQ
Is Substack really free?
Yes. Publishing is free at any number of subscribers. Substack only takes money if you turn on paid subscriptions: 10% of each payment, plus Stripe's fees.
How much does Substack take from paid subscriptions?
10% of each subscription payment. Stripe also charges 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment and 0.7% for recurring billing.
Can I use my own domain on Substack?
Yes. A custom domain is optional and costs a one-time $50.
Do I own my Substack list?
Substack says the email list, content and payment relationships belong to the writer, and you can export your data at any time. The subscriber export doesn't include names.
Does Substack have automations?
Yes. Besides welcome emails, Substack lists drip campaigns: automated email sequences triggered by events such as a new free or paid subscriber, a founding-member upgrade or a cancellation.
What changed
- 2026-10-21: Written from Substack's official pricing and help pages.
Sources
All accessed 2026-10-21 (America/New_York).
- Substack, "How much does Substack cost?": https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost
- Substack features: https://substack.com/features
- Substack, "How do I set up welcome emails on Substack?": https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/24034796625428-How-do-I-set-up-welcome-emails-on-Substack
- Substack, "What are subscriber segments on Substack?": https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/52113249525140-What-are-subscriber-segments-on-Substack
- Substack, "How do I export my email list on Substack?": https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/6314498343700-How-do-I-export-my-email-list-on-Substack
- Substack, "How do email list imports work?": https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044079591-How-do-email-list-imports-work
- Substack, "Is there a limit to the mailing list size I can import?": https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037829971-Is-there-a-limit-to-the-mailing-list-size-I-can-import
- Substack, "How do I edit email headers and footers on Substack?": https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056142311-How-do-I-edit-email-headers-and-footers-on-Substack
- Substack for authors and publishers: https://substack.com/book
- beehiiv pricing (checked 2026-10-21): https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing
- Kit pricing (prices checked 2026-10-19; fees checked 2026-10-21): https://kit.com/pricing
- MailerLite pricing (checked 2026-10-21): https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing