Home › Guides › Substack paid subscribers (2026)
Ad disclosure: we earn a commission if you sign up through links marked paid link, at no extra cost to you. Rankings are by cost only. Details
Substack paid subscribers (2026): how to turn on paid, what counts, Bestseller badges and what 10 to 1,000 paying readers earn
Last verified against official pricing pages · published 30 Oct 2026
Prices change often. Each price was checked on the platform's official pricing page on the date shown; plans, promos and taxes vary. Confirm on the official site before you buy. Not financial advice.
Short answer: you get paid subscribers on Substack by connecting Stripe and turning on payments (minimum $5/month or $30/year), then using Substack's paywall, free-trial, metering and referral tools to upgrade free readers. Substack keeps 10% and Stripe about 2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% of each payment, so each $8/month paid subscriber leaves you $6.61 a month and 100 of them about $661. Nobody outside your dashboard sees your exact paid count: readers see only a Bestseller badge (hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands).
Rules from Substack's help center (articles listed under Sources, checked 2026-10-30). Fees from Substack: How much does Substack cost? (checked 2026-10-27) and Stripe pricing. Substack publishes no average paid subscriber count or conversion rate, so this page has none. Substack doesn't pay us for this page.
How to turn on paid subscriptions
- Settings → Payments → Connect with Stripe, and fill in the details Stripe asks for.
- Back in Settings, set your monthly, yearly and optional founding member prices. The minimums are $5/month and $30/year on US-dollar Stripe accounts; there is no yearly-only option. See Substack subscription price for what to charge.
- Toggle Enable payments. Readers don't see a paid option until you do.
You need a country Stripe supports. Substack notes exceptions: for creators in India and Brazil it currently charges no 10% fee (Stripe's fees still apply) and says the fee will eventually apply.
Not ready yet? Pledges are on by default for free Substacks: readers enter a card and promise to pay (suggested pledges at least $5/month or $30/year), nothing is charged, and pledges turn into paid subscriptions automatically when you enable payments. If your launch price is higher than a pledge, you choose whether to accept pledges at the pledged price.
What counts as a paid subscriber
| Type | In your dashboard | Revenue (GAR) | Bestseller badge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly, yearly, founding | Counted as paid | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Counted as paid, shown as "Free trials" | Only once they start paying | No |
| Comped (free paid access you grant) | Has paid access | No (GAR drops to $0 when a reader is comped) | No |
| Pledge (payments off) | Not paid; listed under Pledges | "Pledged annualized revenue" only | No |
Gross annualized revenue (GAR) is Substack's yearly figure from your current paid subscriptions. Comps can last 7 days to forever (comp options).
Who can see your paid subscriber count
- You: the exact number on Home (Paid subscribers, Total subscribers, GAR) and in Stats, with paid retention, churn and cancel reasons for paid publications (metrics guide).
- Readers: only a Bestseller badge, based on paid subscribers at that time:
| Badge colour | Substack's definition |
|---|---|
| White | hundreds of paid subscribers |
| Orange | thousands of paid subscribers |
| Purple | tens of thousands of paid subscribers |
- You can hide the badge (profile → Activity privacy, or the Team section in Settings), but you can't show one you haven't earned.
- Your profile shows an approximate total subscriber count (free and paid together), which you can hide with "Show approximate subscriber count" in Settings → Privacy.
- Leaderboards rank by recent paid subscription growth (Rising, updated every few hours) and by annual recurring revenue (Top Bestsellers, daily); country leaderboards exist for the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
- A reader who pays shows a flower badge (1+, 5+, 10+ paid subscriptions); gifted and comped subscriptions don't count.
Substack's own tools for turning free readers into paid
| Tool | What it does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Paywall + free preview | You place the paywall anywhere in a paid post and email free subscribers the preview with an Upgrade button | Post editor → More → Paywall |
| 7-day trial at the paywall | Free readers who hit a paywall get a 7-day trial offer (card required, charged unless they cancel) | Settings → Payments |
| Free trial links | A special-offer link with a trial length you choose, to share or email | Settings → Payments → Special offers |
| Metered paywall | Free subscribers read 1 to 50 paid posts a month (default 3), then see an upgrade prompt | Settings → Payments → Metering |
| Paid subscriber gifts | New and top paid subscribers can send up to five one-month gifts; recipients need no card and become free subscribers if they don't convert | Settings → Growth features |
| Subscriber referrals | Rewards readers for bringing free sign-ups; default rewards for paid publications are comped paid time at 2, 10 and 25 referrals | Settings → Growth |
| Founding member plan | A higher annual price for readers who want to pay more | Settings → Payments |
Comments on paywalled posts are limited to paid subscribers, and readers who already pay for another Substack can upgrade in one click with their saved card. Substack doesn't publish how much any of these tools raise conversion, so we don't estimate it.
What your paid subscribers earn you
Per month after Substack's 10% and Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% Billing per US card payment, monthly plans. Sales tax or VAT not included; iOS in-app purchases carry Apple's fee on top.
| Paid subscribers | You keep at $5/mo | You keep at $8/mo | Substack's 10% at $8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 paid | $40.20/mo $482.40/yr | $66.10/mo $793.20/yr | $8/mo |
| 50 paid | $201/mo $2,412/yr | $330.50/mo $3,966/yr | $40/mo |
| 100 paid | $402/mo $4,824/yr | $661/mo $7,932/yr | $80/mo |
| 500 paid | $2,010/mo $24,120/yr | $3,305/mo $39,660/yr | $400/mo |
| 1,000 paid | $4,020/mo $48,240/yr | $6,610/mo $79,320/yr | $800/mo |
Per subscriber: $5/month leaves $4.02 (80.4%), $8/month leaves $6.61 (82.6%). Same maths as our Substack fees guide.
When the 10% starts to cost more than a flat fee
Substack's cut grows with every paid subscriber: $80 a month at 100 paid subscribers on $8, $800 at 1,000. beehiiv and Ghost charge a monthly plan fee and take 0% of subscriptions. The lowest total in each row is the cheapest at that size:
| Subscribers (5% pay $8) | Substack | beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $69.40 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $88.40 (Lite) | $64.40 (Publisher) |
| 5,000 | $347 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $256 (Lite) | $222 (Publisher) |
| 10,000 | $694 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $433 (Lite) | $399 (Publisher) |
| 25,000 | $1,735 (Free + 10% of paid revenue) | $934 (Lite) | $904 (Publisher) |
Per month, monthly billing. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack, AWeber and Flodesk); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees.
Try your own paid count and price in the calculator →
Before you move paying readers: on Substack, Disconnect Stripe refunds and cancels every paid subscriber, so follow a migration guide instead (Substack to beehiiv, Substack to Ghost).
Related: Substack subscription price · Substack fees · Is Substack worth it? · Substack vs Patreon · beehiiv vs Substack · Substack pricing
Sources
- Substack help (checked 2026-10-30): Set up a paid publication, Stripe setup, Supported countries, Pledges, Bestseller badge, Profile badges, Subscriber count on profile, Leaderboards, Metrics guide, Free trial at paywall, Free trial links, Free previews, Metered paywalls, Gift referral program, Subscriber referrals, Comped subscriptions, Gross annualized revenue, Upgrading to paid, Turn off paid subscriptions
- Substack help: How much does Substack cost? (checked 2026-10-27)
- Stripe pricing and Stripe Billing pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- beehiiv pricing and Ghost pricing (checked 2026-10-27)
We earn a commission from some links, at no extra cost to you.
See Substack plans See beehiiv plans paid link See Ghost plans
Links marked “paid link” earn us a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. They never change our numbers or rankings. Disclosure.
FAQ
How do I get paid subscribers on Substack?
First turn on payments: Settings → Payments → Connect with Stripe, set monthly (at least $5), yearly (at least $30) and founding prices, then toggle "Enable payments". Then use Substack's own conversion tools: paywalls with free previews, 7-day free trials at the paywall, special-offer trial links, metered paywalls (free subscribers read a set number of paid posts per month), gift and subscriber referrals, and the founding member plan. If you haven't turned on payments yet, Pledges let free readers promise to pay; they convert automatically when you enable payments.
Can you see how many paid subscribers a Substack has?
Not the exact number. Substack shows a Bestseller badge on publications with paid subscribers in the hundreds (white), thousands (orange) or tens of thousands (purple), and writers can hide it. The number on a Substack profile is an approximate total subscriber count (free and paid), which the writer can also hide. Only the writer sees the exact paid count in their dashboard.
How many paid subscribers does the average Substack have?
Substack doesn't publish an average, and neither does it publish an average free-to-paid conversion rate, so we don't quote one. What Substack does publish: Bestseller badges start at hundreds of paid subscribers, and leaderboards rank publications by paid subscriber growth (Rising) and by annual recurring revenue (Top Bestsellers).
Do free trials and comped subscriptions count as paid subscribers?
In your dashboard, readers on a free trial are counted as paying subscribers (shown as a "Free trials" category) but don't count toward gross annualized revenue until they start paying. For the Bestseller badge, Substack excludes both free trials and comped subscriptions. Gifted and comped subscriptions also don't count toward a reader's paid subscriber badge.
How much does Substack take per paid subscriber?
10% of each payment, plus Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment and 0.7% Stripe Billing. On a $5/month subscriber you keep $4.02 a month (80.4%); on $8/month you keep $6.61 (82.6%). 100 paid subscribers at $8/month leave you about $661 a month, of which Substack's own share is $80.
How much do 1,000 paid subscribers make on Substack?
At $8/month, about $6,610 a month or $79,320 a year after Substack's 10% and Stripe's card and billing fees, before tax or VAT. At the $5 minimum, about $4,020 a month. Yearly plans leave more because Stripe's $0.30 fixed fee is charged once a year.
Related guides: Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost · Substack fees (2026) · Is Substack worth it for writers in 2026? The 10% cut vs flat-fee platforms, and how to leave · Substack vs Medium for writers (2026) · Substack vs Patreon fees (2026) · Substack subscription price (2026) · Substack to beehiiv migration · Substack to Ghost migration · all guides
Comparisons: beehiiv vs Substack · Substack vs Ghost · beehiiv vs Ghost · Cheapest for 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000 subscribers
Get alerted when Substack changes its fees
We re-check Substack's fee article and every newsletter platform's pricing page each week and email you the before/after numbers when a price, limit or fee changes. Plus one monthly cost report. Free. What you get →
Recently flagged: Kit: 25% off the first year of Pro on annual billing (limited-time offer) (20 Oct 2026) · beehiiv renames plans and raises prices (Scale → Lite, Max → Pro) (1 Oct 2026)