Updated September 2026 · prices from vendor's pricing page

Substack pricing

Substack has 1 plan: Standard. There is no free plan. Fees: 10% Substack platform fee + 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe processing + 0.7% Stripe Billing fee for recurring payments (legacy creators pre-July 2024 had 0.5% billing fee, grandfathering period lapsed June 30 2025)

• Standard

  —

  • Publishing is free regardless of subscriber count
  • 10% of each transaction (Substack fee)
  • 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe card processing fee
  • 0.7% Stripe Billing fee for recurring payments (since July 2024)

Free plan limits

Publishing free with unlimited subscribers; fees only apply once paid subscriptions are enabled

Fees

10% Substack platform fee + 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe processing + 0.7% Stripe Billing fee for recurring payments (legacy creators pre-July 2024 had 0.5% billing fee, grandfathering period lapsed June 30 2025)

Combined take rate roughly 13-16% typical. Substack Pro (legacy invite-only advance program with revenue-share terms) is not on the current official pricing page and could not be verified as still active.

Full Substack review →Substack alternatives →Official pricing page ↗

Alternatives with a free plan

• 

  beehiiv

  Free · $49+

  Newsletters · Monetization

  Newsletter platform built by ex-Morning Brew staff, offering a website builder, ad network, and 0% cut on paid subscriptions.

• 

  Kit

  Free · $25+

  Newsletters · Monetization

  Email marketing and automation platform for creators to grow lists and monetize via newsletters and digital products.

• 

  SendPulse

  Free · $9.6+

  DM automation · Newsletters

  A multichannel marketing platform whose chatbot product automates Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, Viber, and TikTok DMs, comments, and story replies.

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Facebook

Sources: support.substack.com