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Substack shipped in 2017 as a service that allows writers to create their own newsletters and manage paying subscribers
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A calculator on Substack’s own website estimates that for a newsletter charging $10 per month with 400 subscribers, the total monthly cost, including the platform’s 10 percent cut and credit card processing fees, would add up to $636.
Key facts
- That cost jumps to $15,900 per month with 10,000 subscribers and skyrockets to $79,500 per month for 50,000 members, nearly $1 million per year
- A calculator on Substack’s own website estimates that for a newsletter charging $10 per month with 400 subscribers, the total monthly cost, including the platform’s 10 percent cut and credit card
- A person with 10,000 subscribers, for example, will pay $96 per month for Beehiiv’s “Scale” plan
- The Rose Garden Report ’s subscriber base has grown 22 percent since the end of 2024, Highkin says
Summary
A new wave of writers is porting their publications to rivals like Ghost and Beehiiv. Substack, the once buzzy newsletter platform, is losing a new swath of writers to rival platforms most people haven’t heard of. Substack faced talent drain in 2024 linked to its platforming of Nazi newsletters, but now it’s not the platform’s stance on hate speech that’s driving away creators. Sean Highkin, the creator of the NBA-focused publication The Rose Garden Report, tells The Verg e that he makes “significantly more money” after switching from Substack to Ghost last April. It’s a similar story for creators switching to other platforms like Beehiiv.