Substack Earnings Calculator
Substack paid-newsletter income after the 10% platform fee and Stripe processing — monthly and annual subscribers, net revenue and the subscribers needed for an income goal.
How it works
Net per charge = price × (1 − 10% − 2.9%) − $0.30; annual charges are billed once and spread over 12 months
Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue and Stripe takes about 2.9% + 30¢ per charge, so creators keep roughly 86% on an $8 monthly plan and slightly more on annual plans, where the fixed 30¢ is paid once a year. Annual subscribers also churn less. Most paid newsletters convert 5–10% of free readers, so the free list needed is 10–20× the paid count.
Worked example
120 monthly at $8 and 80 annual at $70: gross $1,427; net $1,224 a month (about $6.67 and $5.05 per subscriber).
Frequently asked questions
Does Substack charge on free subscribers?
No — free newsletters cost nothing; fees apply only to paid revenue.
How does it compare with Ghost or Beehiiv?
Those charge a flat monthly fee instead of 10%, which becomes cheaper above roughly $500–1,000 a month in revenue.
Related calculators
Fee rates are typical published figures and change often — every rate here is editable; check the platform’s current fee page before pricing.