Substack fees
Publishing on Substack is free. On paid subscriptions Substack keeps 10%, and Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment plus 0.7% for recurring billing. A $5 monthly subscription leaves you $4.01 of each payment and a $50 yearly one $42.90; together the fees take 19.8% and 14.2%.
What one Substack payment leaves you
| Payment | You keep |
|---|---|
| $5 | $4.01 19.8% taken |
| $8 | $6.61 17.4% taken |
| $10 | $8.34 16.6% taken |
| $15 | $12.65 15.7% taken |
| $50 | $42.90 14.2% taken |
| $80 | $68.82 14.0% taken |
| $100 | $86.10 13.9% taken |
| $150 | $129.30 13.8% taken |
After Substack's 10%, Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 and its 0.7% Billing fee, for a US card; monthly and yearly prices alike.
Every fee Substack lists
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Substack | 10% of each subscription payment |
| Stripe card processing | 2.9% + $0.30 per payment for US cards |
| Stripe Billing (recurring payments) | 0.7% |
| Local payment methods | Set by Stripe, by country |
| Custom domain (optional) | $50 once |
In-app purchases: “For in-app purchases, Substack's 10% is based on your web price.” Substack's help article names no payout fee.
Quick answers
How much does Substack take?
10% of each subscription payment. Stripe adds 2.9% + $0.30 per payment on US cards and 0.7% Billing on recurring payments, so $0.99 of a $5 payment goes in fees (19.8%) and $1.66 of a $10 one (16.6%). With 100 subscribers at $5 a month you keep $401 of $500.
What are Substack's Stripe fees?
Stripe's card processing, 2.9% + $0.30 per payment for US cards, and Stripe Billing at 0.7% of recurring payments; local payment methods are priced by Stripe by country. They come out of your earnings next to Substack's 10%.
Do readers pay a fee on Substack?
No fee from Substack: “Substack doesn't add a fee to web payments. Readers pay the price the writer sets.” Readers can pay more in two cases, Substack says: “Tax: some writers add sales tax or VAT on top of their price.” and “In-app purchases: subscriptions bought in the Substack iOS app may cost more to cover Apple fees.”
How much does Substack cost to use?
Nothing to publish: “Publishing on Substack is free, no matter how many subscribers you have. If you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack keeps 10% of subscription revenue, and Stripe charges its own payment processing fees.” The only other cost Substack lists is an optional custom domain, a one-time $50.
Do yearly Substack subscriptions lose less to fees?
Yes, as a share: a yearly subscriber pays Stripe's $0.30 once instead of twelve times. Fees take 19.8% of a $5 monthly payment ($11.88 over twelve months) and 14.2% of a $50 yearly one ($7.10).
Is Substack cheaper than Patreon?
No, slightly dearer. With 100 paying subscribers at $5 a month, Substack leaves $401 and Patreon $405 on its standard plan: both take 10% and the same card rate, and Substack adds Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee.
Substack against the other creator platforms
| Platform | 100 members at $5 a month $500 a month | 50 one-time tips of $5 $250 a month | 50 sales of $25 $1,250 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whop | $456 | – | $1,201 |
| Ko-fi | $443 Gold | $227.50 Free | $1,187 Gold |
| Payhip | $430 Free Forever | – | $1,145 Plus |
| Buy Me a Coffee | $427 | $215 | $1,136 |
| Lemon Squeezy | $422 | – | $1,163 |
| Skool | $411 Hobby | – | – |
| Patreon | $405 Standard | – | $1,074 Standard |
| Substack | $401 | – | – |
| Gumroad | $355 | – | $1,049 |
Kept a month after each platform's subscription, its cut, payment processing and any fee on recurring payments, on whichever of its plans open to new sign-ups leaves the most; US payments, payout fees left out; bold marks the most. A dash: the platform doesn't take that kind of payment.
Head to head: Substack vs Patreon. All the plans side by side: creator payment platform fees.
Source: Substack's help article How much does Substack cost?, read on 7 October 2026.
Prices checked against each platform's own pricing page on .