How much does Substack cost?

Substack does not publish a fixed monthly entry price — pricing is quoted rather than listed.

Does Substack have a free plan?

Yes. Substack publishes an ongoing free tier — not a countdown trial. Limits vary by plan, so check what the free tier covers before you commit.

What is Substack used for?

Free to run; takes a percentage of paid subscriptions. Includes a discovery network, notes and podcast hosting. People mainly use it to start a newsletter, monetise a newsletter, publish a blog.

What are the best alternatives to Substack?

The closest alternatives in the same category are beehiiv, Ghost, Newslet, Flodesk. beehiiv publishes a free plan.

Substack

Publish and charge, with no monthly fee

Free plan availableNewsletters & PublishingSince 2017

FreeVisit substack.com

What Substack is

Free to run; takes a percentage of paid subscriptions. Includes a discovery network, notes and podcast hosting.

People use it to

Current offers

Free plan

Free plan, no card required

Ongoing free tier published by the vendor. Limits vary by plan.

Substack alternatives

Other tools in newsletters & publishing that cover similar ground. Full comparison.

beehiiv

beehiiv.com

Newsletter platform built to monetise

from $49/moFree plan

Ghost

ghost.org

Open-source publishing with memberships

from $18/moFree trial

Newslet

newslet.ai

Writes and sends your weekly newsletter from your website

from $69/moFree trial

What the rest of Newsletters & Publishing charges

Substack publishes no fixed monthly price, so it is not plotted. Here is what the rest of the category charges.

What Newsletters & Publishing costsEntry price a month, cheapest first

7 of these 8 prices were read from the vendor's own pricing page; the rest are marked * and are indicative. The median is taken across the 6 verified prices in Newsletters & Publishing. 2 more tools in this category do not publish an entry price and are not plotted.

Substack pricing questions

How much does Substack cost?: Substack does not publish a fixed monthly entry price — pricing is quoted rather than listed.
Does Substack have a free plan?: Yes. Substack publishes an ongoing free tier — not a countdown trial. Limits vary by plan, so check what the free tier covers before you commit.
What is Substack used for?: Free to run; takes a percentage of paid subscriptions. Includes a discovery network, notes and podcast hosting. People mainly use it to start a newsletter, monetise a newsletter, publish a blog.
What are the best alternatives to Substack?: The closest alternatives in the same category are beehiiv, Ghost, Newslet, Flodesk. beehiiv publishes a free plan.