Substack

Substack is a publishing platform that lets writers, journalists, and creators start a newsletter, build an audience, and earn money through paid subscriptions — without any upfront or monthly fees. You publish posts by email and web, grow a subscriber list, and can turn on paid subscriptions when ready; Substack takes a flat 10% of subscription revenue (plus payment processing) instead of charging a platform fee. Its simplicity and creator-friendly economics made it the defining platform of the paid-newsletter movement, now expanded into podcasts, video, chat, and a social/recommendation network.

The platform bundles everything a creator needs to publish and monetize. It provides the newsletter editor and email delivery, subscriber management, free and paid tiers (monthly/annual, plus founding-member and group options), a website for your publication, and podcast and video support. Substack's network effects — recommendations, the app, Notes (its social feed), and cross-promotion — help creators find new readers, while analytics track growth and revenue. Because there is no monthly cost, it is especially attractive to writers starting out or testing paid content.

Substack serves independent writers, journalists, and creators monetizing an audience through subscriptions. There are no monthly platform fees: publishing free newsletters is free, and on paid subscriptions Substack takes 10% of revenue plus payment processing (Stripe's ~2.9% + $0.30). This model is most cost-effective at lower revenue; above roughly $1,000/month in subscription revenue, flat-fee platforms often cost less. It competes with beehiiv, Ghost, Kit (ConvertKit), and Mailchimp, differentiating on zero upfront cost, a built-in reader network, and subscription-native publishing.