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site.substack.com fees: 10% of paid subscriptions, and the $50 custom domain

What Substack charges, in Substack's and Stripe's own words, what that means for a paid newsletter, and the cost of sending from your own domain instead.

Published by
MarkRelay Research
Updated
Sources
5 primary sources, linked below

Summary

Substack describes itself as free to start and free to leave. When readers pay, writers keep 90% of revenue minus credit card fees, so Substack's share is 10%, and Stripe's standard rate for domestic cards is 2.9% + 30¢ per payment. A custom domain is a one-time $50 per publication. At 100 readers paying $5 a month, the lowest price in Substack's calculator, that is $94.50 a month in fees out of $500. Selling on your own site still pays card fees but not the 10%; MarkRelay then sends the newsletter from your own domain for $99 a year plus Cloudflare's per-email price, without Substack's network or payments.

Key findings

  1. 1Substack calls itself "free to start and free to leave".
  2. 2Writers keep 90% of paid-subscription revenue minus credit card fees; Stripe's standard rate for domestic cards is 2.9% + 30¢ per payment.
  3. 3A custom domain is a one-time $50 per publication; after that, domains can be added and removed at no extra cost.
  4. 4Substack's own example: 1,000 subscribers paying $5 a month earn $60,000 a year before its share and card fees.

Questions this report answers

Asked by real people, quoted as they wrote them.

“Thinking of starting a newsletter/blog — is Substack actually worth it?”

r/Substack, 30 comments

Starting costs nothing, and Substack brings its own reader network. For a paid newsletter it keeps 10% of revenue before card fees. Sending from your own domain removes that share but leaves you to handle sign-ups, payments and growth.

“how much does substack cost”

Google and Bing search suggestion

Nothing to start. On paid subscriptions, 10% of revenue plus Stripe's card fees (2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card payment). A custom domain is $50 once.

“substack with custom domain”

Google and Bing search suggestion

Substack charges a one-time $50 per publication to use a custom domain, and you buy the domain itself from a registrar.

“How can I get a domain for free (or close to free) for a newsletter?”

r/webdev, 30 comments

Connecting a domain to Substack is $50 once on top of the domain. If the domain is on Cloudflare, MarkRelay sends from it with no per-domain fee, for $99 a year plus Cloudflare's per-email price.

What Substack charges

Starting a publication

Cost
Free to start

Paid subscriptions

Cost
10% of revenue, before card fees

Card processing (Stripe, domestic cards)

Cost
2.9% + 30¢ per payment

Custom domain

Cost
$50 once per publication

Source: Substack: about, Substack: going paid, Substack: custom domains, Stripe pricing.

Monthly costs of a paid newsletter

100

Revenue
$500
On Substack
$94.50
Own site + MarkRelay
$57.75

500

Revenue
$2,500
On Substack
$472.50
Own site + MarkRelay
$235.75

1,000

Revenue
$5,000
On Substack
$945
Own site + MarkRelay
$458.60

Monthly payments on domestic cards through Stripe. "Own site + MarkRelay" is Stripe's card fees plus MarkRelay sending a weekly issue to the paid readers: the $99 license spread over twelve months, Cloudflare Workers Paid ($5) and $0.35 per 1,000 emails beyond 3,000. It does not include a site or payment page. Source: Stripe pricing, Cloudflare Email Service pricing.

What you would replace by leaving

Substack says its business model depends on writers' success and runs on a revenue share. Leaving means doing yourself what the share pays for: a sign-up form and payment page on your own site, the subscriber list, and a way to send. MarkRelay covers the sending, from your own domain and Cloudflare account; it does not take payments or bring readers.

Where MarkRelay fits

A good fit when

  • A newsletter or announcements to a list you already have, sent from your own domain at Cloudflare's per-email price.
  • Lists that grow faster than you mail them, where contact tiers keep raising the bill.

Look elsewhere when

  • Automation flows, landing pages, sign-up forms and e-commerce integrations: MarkRelay does not have them.
  • Selling paid subscriptions: MarkRelay sends, but does not take payments.

Common questions

How much does Substack take?

10% of paid-subscription revenue; credit card fees come on top.

How much is a custom domain on Substack?

A one-time $50 per publication, plus the cost of the domain from a registrar.

Sources and method

  1. Substack: about (substack.com/about)
  2. Substack: going paid (substack.com/going-paid)
  3. Substack: custom domains (on.substack.com/p/new-add-a-custom-domain-to-your-substack)
  4. Stripe pricing (stripe.com/pricing)
  5. Cloudflare Email Service pricing (developers.cloudflare.com/email-service/platform/pricing/)

Facts are taken from each vendor's own pricing pages, documentation or terms as of the updated date above; prices are in US dollars per month unless stated. Cost comparisons apply each vendor's published rates to the same volume. MarkRelay is not affiliated with Substack;"site.substack.com" in the title names the site these facts come from. MarkRelay sells a self-hosted email app, which this page mentions where it fits. Spotted something outdated? Tell us.

Revisions

  • : First published; every fact checked on the vendor's own pages.

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