Substack Pricing
Substack is a newsletter platform. It is free to start, and takes 10% of the revenue you earn through it.
Prices verified July 2026
Starting price
Free
Free plan
Yes
Unlimited subscribers, unlimited emails, all core features free — Substack only charges when you earn
Plans
2
Free tier included
Pricing Analysis
The free plan (Unlimited subscribers, unlimited emails, all core features free — Substack only charges when you earn) lets you test the platform before committing. It's a reasonable starting point for very small lists, though you'll likely outgrow it once your subscriber count passes the limit.
Free (with free newsletters)
- ✓ Unlimited free subscribers
- ✓ Newsletter publishing (email + web)
- ✓ Podcast hosting
- ✓ Video publishing
- ✓ Substack Notes (microblogging)
- ✓ Chat community features
- ✓ Comments and discussions
- ✓ Recommendations network
- ✓ Basic analytics
- ✓ Mobile app distribution
- ✓ SEO-optimized web pages
Best for: testing Substack or small lists.
Paid Subscriptions (revenue share)
- ✓ All free features included
- ✓ Paid subscription paywalling
- ✓ Stripe payment processing
- ✓ Subscriber management
- ✓ 10% platform fee on revenue
- ✓ ~2.9% + $0.30 Stripe fee per transaction
- ✓ Custom domain ($50 one-time)
- ✓ Founding member pricing tiers
- ✓ Group subscriptions
Best for: testing Substack or small lists.
Prices shown are for the base subscriber count. Cost scales as your list grows.
Free plan available — no credit card required
Compare Substack Pricing to Alternatives
| Tool | Free Plan | Starts At | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substack (this tool) | Yes | Free | 4.4/5 |
| Moosend | No | $9/mo | 4.7/5 |
| Sender | Yes | $10/mo | 4.7/5 |
| MailerLite | Yes | $12/mo | 4.6/5 |
| EngageBay | Yes | $14.99/mo | 4.7/5 |
| Systeme.io | Yes | $17/mo | 4.8/5 |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | Yes | $39/mo | 4.6/5 |