You make money on Substack by turning on paid subscriptions: readers pay a monthly, annual or founding member price you set, Substack keeps 10% and Stripe takes its processing fees. Publishing free costs nothing. Substack doesn't publish typical writer earnings, so what you make depends on how many readers choose to pay.
I've watched a lot of writers move their newsletters to Substack, and the question I hear first is always the same: how does the money work, and how much do people really make? The mechanics are simple. The earnings are entirely about your readers, so I'll keep this practical and stick to what Substack itself says.
How Substack pays writers
Substack is free to publish on, however many subscribers you have. You only pay anything once you switch on paid subscriptions, and then it's a share of each payment rather than a monthly bill. In Substack's own words, it doesn't get paid unless you do.
Readers pay you directly through Stripe, which Substack uses as its payment processor. You connect Stripe from the Payments section of your Settings using the Connect with Stripe button, add your bank details, then set your prices. Money from paying readers goes into your Stripe account, and Stripe pays it out to your bank on its own schedule.
What Substack takes from each subscription
Here's the fee breakdown from Substack's help centre, for a US Stripe account:
| Fee | How it works | Source checked |
|---|---|---|
| Substack fee | 10% of each subscription payment | Substack fees help page |
| Stripe card processing | 2.9% plus 30 cents per payment for US cards | Substack fees help page |
| Stripe Billing | 0.7% on recurring payments | Substack fees help page |
| Local payment methods | Set by Stripe, varies by country | Substack fees help page |
| Custom domain | Optional, a one-time 50 US dollars | Substack fees help page |
Substack doesn't add a fee on top of what readers pay on the web. Two things can change the reader's total: some writers add sales tax or VAT, and subscriptions bought in the Substack iOS app may cost more to cover Apple's fees. Substack's 10% is always worked out on your web price.
If you want to see the exact split on a real payment, open Transactions in your Stripe dashboard, pick a payment marked Succeeded and scroll to the breakdown. It shows Substack's fee and Stripe's fee line by line.
How much do Substack writers make?
Substack doesn't publish an average, and I'd be wary of anyone who quotes one as if it applies to you. What it does publish is an illustration on its going-paid page: a steady base of 1,000 subscribers paying 5 dollars each month comes to 60,000 dollars a year before fees. That's Substack's example of the maths, not a forecast for your newsletter.
The same page says writers keep 90% of their revenue minus card fees. So your real income is simple to work out once you have numbers: paying subscribers, times your price, minus the 10% and Stripe's share. Your Substack dashboard shows the paying count, and Stripe shows what reached you.
One more number worth knowing. Substack says publications that paywall at least some of their posts make, on average, five times as much revenue as publications that keep everything free. That's a good argument for putting at least part of your best work behind the paywall.
Setting up Substack paid subscriptions
Every paid Substack has to offer both a Monthly and an Annual plan; you can't run monthly-only or annual-only. On top of those you can add a Founding member plan, an optional higher tier for your most loyal readers. You can rename it, and Substack's own example calls it a VIP tier.
Once paid is on, each post can go to Everyone, Paid subscribers only, or Free subscribers only. Paid posts appear on your publication page with a lock icon, and free-only emails don't appear there at all, which makes them handy for nudging free readers to upgrade.
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- Connect Stripe from Settings, then Payments.
- Set your Monthly and Annual prices.
- Decide whether to add a Founding member tier and what it includes.
- Write the subscription benefits so readers know what they get.
- Choose which posts sit behind the paywall.
Ways to grow Substack income beyond the price
The price matters less than the number of people willing to pay it, so most of the work is growing and warming your free list. A few approaches I see working:
- A clear promise. Readers pay for a specific outcome or point of view, not for more emails.
- A paywall that bites. Give free readers the useful part and keep the deeper analysis, templates or archive for paid.
- A founding tier with substance. Some writers offer a monthly group call or extra posts; others treat it as a way for fans to support them.
- Brand deals. Once your list is engaged, companies may pay to reach it. Agree the terms directly and label paid placements clearly.
If you also write on Medium, the two work well together. My guide to how the Medium Partner Program pays writers explains why member reads there behave so differently from paid subscribers here.
What to watch for on Substack
Check Stripe's country rules before you plan around Substack income, because local payment fees and payout timing depend on where your Stripe account is registered. Remember that card fees come off every payment, so very low prices lose a bigger share to the fixed part of the Stripe charge.
Tax is yours to handle. Some writers charge sales tax or VAT on top, and your earnings are income where you live, so check with an accountant or your tax authority rather than guessing.
Is Substack a good way to make money writing?
For writers who already have an audience, it's one of the most direct models around: people pay you, and Substack takes a fixed share. For writers starting from zero, it's a slow build, and the honest answer is that most of your early effort goes into growing the free list. If you're weighing it against other options, my list of legitimate ways to make money online helps put it in context, and it pairs well with selling digital products for passive income to the same readers.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Substack take?
Substack keeps 10% of each paid subscription payment. Stripe also charges processing fees, which for US cards are 2.9% plus 30 cents per payment, plus 0.7% for recurring billing.
Is Substack free to use?
Yes. Publishing is free however many subscribers you have. Fees only apply once you turn on paid subscriptions.
How much do Substack writers make?
Substack doesn't publish average earnings. Its own illustration says 1,000 subscribers paying 5 dollars a month comes to 60,000 dollars a year before fees, but your income depends on your paying readers and price.
How do Substack writers get paid?
Readers pay through Stripe, which you connect from Settings and Payments. Stripe then pays the money out to your bank account on its own schedule.
Does Substack make you offer monthly and annual plans?
Yes. Every paid Substack needs a Monthly and an Annual plan. A Founding member tier is optional.
