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Substack Fee Calculator

Substack's 10% sounds simple — until Stripe's cut is added. Enter your subscribers and price to see your real monthly take-home. Free, instant, fully editable.

Your newsletter
Fee rates (editable)
What you keep
Your monthly take-home
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Gross revenue
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Total fees
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You keep
Substack takes a 10% platform fee, and Stripe adds payment processing (~2.9% + $0.30, plus a recurring-billing fee ~0.5–0.7%). All-in, writers typically keep ~83–86% of subscription revenue. There's no monthly fee — you only pay when subscribers do. Estimate only.

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How Substack fees work (2026)

Substack is free to start and charges nothing until you turn on paid subscriptions. Then two fees apply:

So on a $10/month subscription you keep roughly $8.30–$8.60. The 10% headline understates it once Stripe is included — and as you scale, that 10% becomes the bigger reason writers eventually consider lower-fee platforms.

Estimates as of 2026; verify current rates in Substack's and Stripe's documentation.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Substack take?

A 10% platform fee, plus Stripe processing (~2.9% + $0.30 and a small billing fee). All-in you keep about 83–86% of subscription revenue.

Are there any other fees?

No monthly or hosting fees — Substack only earns when you do. The costs are the 10% + Stripe. (Founding-member tiers and gift subs follow the same fee math.)

Is Substack cheaper than Patreon?

They're close — both ~10% plus processing. The difference is the product: Substack is built around email newsletters, Patreon around memberships and perks. Run your numbers in both with these calculators.