Substack Review 2026: Is It Worth It?

You've probably heard about writers making thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars a month on Substack. Maybe you've been toying with the idea of starting your own newsletter, or perhaps you're already publishing somewhere else and wondering if Substack is worth the switch.

Here's the reality: Substack isn't a magic money machine, but it is one of the simplest ways to start building a paid audience around your writing. The question isn't whether Substack works, it clearly does for many writers, but whether it's the right fit for you and your goals.

In 2026, Substack faces more competition than ever. Platforms like Beehiiv, Ghost, and ConvertKit offer features Substack doesn't. Yet Substack continues to attract writers who value its particular approach to newsletter publishing.

This honest review breaks down what Substack actually offers, what it costs, who it works best for, and whether it's worth your time and the 10% cut it takes from your earnings.

What Is Substack?

Substack is a newsletter platform that lets writers publish content directly to their subscribers' inboxes. You can offer free newsletters, paid subscriptions, or a combination of both. The platform handles all the technical complexity, payments, and delivery, so you can focus entirely on writing.

The pitch is simple: write, publish, get paid. No dealing with website hosting, email service providers, payment processors, or any of the technical headaches that traditionally came with independent publishing.

Substack makes money by taking 10% of your paid subscription revenue, plus standard payment processing fees (around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). If you only publish free content, Substack costs you nothing.

Getting Started: How Easy Is Substack Actually?

Let's start with Substack's biggest strength: it's ridiculously easy to use.

Creating a publication takes about five minutes. You pick a name, write a description, choose some colors, and you're ready to publish. The simplicity is intentional, removing every possible barrier between you and your first post.

The writing interface is clean and distraction-free. It's basically a fancy text editor with options for headings, images, links, and embeds. If you can write an email, you can publish on Substack.

Publishing your first post is literally one button click. Substack asks if you want to email it to subscribers or just post it on the web. That's it. No wrestling with plugins, themes, or complicated settings.

For complete beginners, this simplicity is invaluable. You're not spending weeks learning software, you're writing and publishing on day one.

The catch? This simplicity comes with limited customization. If you want your newsletter to look dramatically different from everyone else's Substack, you're largely out of luck. The design options are minimal by design.

Design and Customization: Beautiful but Limited

Substack newsletters look good right out of the box. The typography is clean, the reading experience is pleasant, and everything works perfectly on mobile devices. Substack clearly hired talented designers who understand reading experiences.

You can customize:

• Your publication colors and fonts (from limited options)
• Header image and logo
• Basic layout choices
• Email footer content
• Social media links

You cannot customize:

• The overall template structure
• Detailed typography settings
• Page layouts significantly
• The Substack branding (powered by Substack appears on all publications)
• Advanced design elements

For most writers, Substack's design is perfectly adequate. It looks professional and gets out of the way of your content. But if you're a brand-conscious creator who wants your newsletter to look distinctively yours, the limitations will frustrate you.

The web version of your Substack functions as a simple blog, with archives organized by date. It's functional but basic compared to dedicated blogging platforms.

Writing and Publishing Experience

The writing interface deserves praise. It's focused, intuitive, and stays out of your way. You get a clean editor that supports:

• Basic text formatting (bold, italic, quotes)
• Images and GIFs
• YouTube and other embeds
• Links and buttons
• Polls (though somewhat limited)
• Tables (finally added in 2024)

The editor autosaves constantly, so you'll never lose work. You can save drafts, schedule posts for later, and easily toggle between "post to web only" and "email to subscribers."

One nice touch: Substack shows you a preview of how your email will look before sending, which prevents embarrassing formatting mistakes.

What's missing? Advanced formatting options that some writers want. No custom HTML or CSS. Limited control over image placement and sizing. The table functionality is basic compared to dedicated tools.

For straightforward writing, essays, and commentary, the editor is excellent. For complex formatted content with lots of visual elements, it can feel constraining.

Monetization: The 10% Question

Substack's monetization model is straightforward: turn on paid subscriptions, set your price (they recommend $5-10/month or $50-80/year), and Substack handles everything else.

When readers subscribe, Substack processes the payment, delivers your paywalled content, and deposits money in your account monthly. You don't think about payment processing, fraud prevention, or failed charges, Substack handles it.

The cost: Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue, plus payment processing fees (roughly 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). So on a $10 monthly subscription, you net around $8.50 after all fees.

Is 10% too much? This is the biggest debate around Substack.

Arguments for it being reasonable:

• You get payment processing, hosting, delivery, and support included
• No upfront costs or monthly fees
• They only make money when you do
• The infrastructure is reliable and proven

Arguments against:

• Other platforms charge less (Ghost: 0%, Beehiiv: lower fees)
• As you scale, 10% becomes significant money
• You're building on someone else's platform
• The percentage never decreases with volume

For new writers finding their first paid subscribers, the 10% is usually worth the simplicity. For established writers making $5,000+ monthly, that $500 monthly fee starts feeling expensive compared to alternatives.

Growing Your Audience on Substack

Here's where things get complicated. Substack provides limited built-in growth tools compared to competitors.

What Substack offers for growth:

• Recommendations: Successful publications can recommend yours to their subscribers
• Substack Discover: Editorial curation of notable publications
• Network effects: Being on Substack makes you discoverable to other Substack readers
• Easy sharing: Clean URLs and simple subscribe buttons

What Substack doesn't offer:

• Referral programs (like Beehiiv's viral growth features)
• Advanced analytics showing detailed subscriber behavior
• A/B testing for subject lines or content
• Sophisticated segmentation tools
• Built-in SEO optimization

Growing on Substack requires building audience through external channels: social media, word-of-mouth, guest posts elsewhere, or getting featured by larger publications.

The recommendation network helps, but you need to get big enough first for others to recommend you. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation.

Substack's editorial team does actively promote publications they like, which can lead to growth spikes. But you can't count on being chosen.

Analytics: Basic but Sufficient

Substack's analytics show you the essentials:

• Subscriber count and growth over time
• Open rates for individual emails
• Most popular posts
• Subscriber sources (where people found you)
• Paid subscription metrics and revenue

The data is presented clearly and helps you understand what content resonates. You can see which posts drove the most subscriptions or had the highest engagement.

What's missing: Deep behavioral analytics. You can't see detailed reader journeys, time spent reading, scroll depth, or sophisticated segmentation data that platforms like Beehiiv provide.

For most writers, Substack's analytics are enough to understand your audience and improve content. Data nerds will want more.

Community Features and Engagement

Substack has added community features over the years, though they're still developing:

What exists:

• Comments on posts
• Chat feature for real-time subscriber discussions
• Threads (a Twitter-like feed for quick updates)
• Polls within posts
• Subscriber-only discussions

How well it works:

The comment sections can be lively on popular publications. The quality depends entirely on your audience and moderation. Substack provides basic moderation tools, though they're not as sophisticated as dedicated community platforms.

Chat is interesting but doesn't feel essential. Some writers use it actively; others ignore it completely. It's nice to have but won't replace dedicated community platforms like Discord or Circle for serious community building.

Threads feels like Substack's attempt to compete with Twitter, but most writers still use external social media for quick updates and engagement.

Mobile Experience

Substack's mobile apps (iOS and Android) are well-designed for readers. Subscribers can read your newsletters, listen to audio posts, and engage with content seamlessly on phones.

For writers, the mobile experience is more limited. You can write and publish from your phone, but the editor isn't as comfortable for long-form writing. Most writers draft on desktop and use mobile for quick edits or publishing.

The app helps with discovery, letting readers browse and subscribe to new publications. This creates some network effect, though it's not as powerful as platforms with algorithmic recommendations.

Audio and Video Features

Substack lets you add audio and video to posts, which is great for creators who want multimedia content.

Audio: You can record audio directly in the platform or upload files. Many writers use this for voicing their written posts, creating podcast-style versions of their newsletters.

Video: You can embed videos or upload directly. The video player is clean and functional.

Podcasting: Substack can generate an RSS feed for your audio content, effectively turning your Substack into a podcast. The functionality is basic compared to dedicated podcast hosts but serviceable.

These features work, but they're clearly secondary to Substack's text-focused identity. Serious podcasters or video creators will want specialized platforms.

Support and Community

Substack provides support through email and has an extensive resource library. Response times are generally reasonable, though not instant.

More valuable is the Substack community itself. Many successful writers share tips, answer questions, and support each other. The Substack resource center includes guides on everything from starting your newsletter to growing paid subscriptions.

Substack also runs programs for new writers, sometimes offering grants or promotional support to promising publications. You can't count on being selected, but it's a nice bonus if you are.

What Substack Does Best

After using it extensively, here's what Substack genuinely excels at:

Simplicity: Nothing compares for getting started quickly. You can go from idea to published newsletter in under an hour.

Beautiful defaults: Your newsletter looks professional immediately without any design work.

Payment handling: The monetization just works. No wrestling with payment processors or subscription management.

Writing focus: The interface keeps you focused on writing, not fiddling with settings.

Reliability: Email delivery is consistently solid, and the platform rarely has technical issues.

Zero upfront cost: You pay nothing until you're making money.

For writers who want to write and not think about technology, Substack delivers beautifully.

What Substack Does Poorly

To be fair, here's where Substack falls short:

Limited customization: You get what you get design-wise. No significant personalization.

Expensive at scale: 10% feels steep when you're earning significant revenue.

Weak growth tools: Competitors offer referral programs, A/B testing, and better discovery features.

Basic analytics: You get the essentials but none of the deep data power users want.

Platform dependence: You're building on Substack's platform, subject to their rules and changes.

Substack branding: Your publication always shows it's powered by Substack, which some creators dislike.

Who Should Use Substack?

Substack is perfect for:

• Writers just starting their first newsletter
• Creators who want simplicity over customization
• Authors testing paid subscriptions without upfront investment
• People who find technical platforms overwhelming
• Writers who value writing time over platform optimization
• Anyone who wants to launch quickly and iterate later

Substack isn't ideal for:

• Established creators making significant revenue (10% gets expensive)
• Brand-conscious businesses wanting custom design
• Growth hackers who need advanced audience-building tools
• Creators who want complete platform ownership
• Technical users who want deep customization
• People building complex membership communities

Alternatives Worth Considering

Before committing to Substack, consider these alternatives:

Beehiiv: More growth features, comparable simplicity, lower fees at scale Ghost: Complete ownership, no transaction fees, more customization ConvertKit: Better for creators with multiple revenue streams Medium: Built-in audience discovery, different monetization model

Each has tradeoffs, but they might fit your specific needs better than Substack.

Real Talk: Can You Actually Make Money?

The honest answer: maybe, but it's hard work.

Some writers make life-changing money on Substack. Others struggle to get past a few dozen subscribers. Success depends on:

• Your existing audience (easier if you already have followers)
• Content quality and consistency
• Your niche (some topics attract paying subscribers better than others)
• Marketing effort (you need to promote yourself constantly)
• Patience (growth is usually slow at first)

Substack doesn't guarantee income. It provides the infrastructure, but you bring the audience. If you don't have followers on social media, a reputation in your field, or a platform elsewhere, building paid subscriptions from scratch will take time.

Realistic expectations:

• First 100 subscribers: Mostly friends and colleagues
• First year: If you're consistent, maybe 500-2,000 free subscribers
• Paid conversions: Typically 5-10% of free subscribers convert to paid
• Meaningful income: Most writers take 1-2 years to reach $1,000+ monthly

The writers making $10,000+ monthly are outliers with significant existing platforms or truly exceptional content.

The Verdict: Is Substack Worth It in 2026?

For beginners: Yes, absolutely. The simplicity and zero upfront cost make it the easiest way to test newsletter publishing. You'll learn what works, build initial audience, and can always migrate later if needed.

For intermediate creators: Maybe. Evaluate whether Substack's limitations bother you. If you're happy with basic features and don't mind the 10% fee, it's still solid. If you want more control or growth tools, alternatives exist.

For established creators: Probably not. At scale, the 10% fee is expensive, and the feature limitations become more apparent. Platforms offering more control and lower fees make more financial sense.

The bottom line: Substack succeeds at making newsletter publishing accessible. It removes technical barriers and lets writers focus on writing. The tradeoff is limited customization and a notable percentage of your revenue.

For many writers, especially those starting out, that tradeoff is absolutely worth it. The platform has enabled countless writers to build audiences and income streams that wouldn't exist otherwise.

But "worth it" depends entirely on your situation, goals, and alternatives available to you.

Conclusion

Substack isn't perfect, but it's genuinely good at what it does: making newsletter publishing simple and accessible. In 2026, it faces more competition than ever, yet it remains one of the most popular platforms for good reasons.

The question isn't whether Substack works, it's whether it's the right tool for your specific needs. Consider your technical comfort, growth goals, design preferences, and business model before committing.

If you're on the fence, just start. Substack costs nothing to try, and you can always migrate later if you outgrow it. Many successful writers began on Substack and either stayed or graduated to other platforms as they scaled.

Your writing deserves an audience. Substack provides one clear path to building that audience. Whether it's the best path depends on you.

Ready to start writing?

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