How to Make Money on Substack: My Real Numbers
You make money on Substack mostly by getting readers to pay for a subscription. Substack keeps 10%, Stripe keeps about 3–4%, and you keep the rest. Today my Substack, The Real Time Creator, has 174 paid subscribers and brings in about $23,000 a year. Here are my real numbers, month by month, and exactly where my paying readers came from.
How Substack pays you
Free to start. Fees only kick in once readers pay you.Substack is free until someone pays you. Then three fees come out of every payment.
Substack keeps 10% of every paid subscription. Stripe, which handles the credit cards, charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per payment and a 0.7% billing fee on recurring payments.
On a $10-a-month subscription: the reader pays $10.00, Substack takes $1.00, Stripe’s card fee is $0.59, and the billing fee is $0.07. You keep about $8.34, before taxes.
Plan on losing roughly 14% to 17% of what readers pay. Annual plans lose less, because Stripe’s $0.30 hits once a year instead of twelve times.
How much I actually make on Substack
I turned on paid subscriptions in January 2026. “Yearly revenue” is Substack’s gross annualized revenue: what my paid subscribers add up to over a full year, before fees.
| Month (2026) | Paid subscribers | Total subscribers | Yearly revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58 | 2,719 | $6,488 |
| March | 64 | 3,205 | $7,196 |
| April | 115 | 4,711 | $12,610 |
| May | 143 | 5,659 | $18,302 |
| July | 146 | 6,453 | $21,794 |
| September | 174 | 7,577 | $23,182 |
That’s 3.5 times more yearly revenue in nine months. Four months after my first paid subscriber, my Substack earned the Bestseller badge. Growth came in bursts: I barely moved from January to March, then April and May nearly tripled my revenue. You’ll have flat months too. Keep going.
After fees, my $23,182 works out to roughly $19,200 to $20,000 a year in take-home, depending on how many readers pay monthly vs. yearly. Not a million-dollar headline. A real, growing paycheck from one person writing about what she knows. I wrote up that first stretch, including the weeks the line went backwards, in zero to $1,400 a month on Substack in 4 months.
Where my paid subscribers came from
This is the part most “make money on Substack” posts skip. I pulled the source of every paid sign-up from January to September 2026. Tap any card to open it up.
Notes are the engine
More than 100 of my paid sign-ups traced back to Notes. One single Note, about why it’s not too late to start as a creator, brought in 44 paid subscribers by itself.
My best-converting Notes weren’t tips. They were personal stories: getting divorced at 45 and rebuilding my income from scratch, starting over in a 700-square-foot apartment, and the day I hit Bestseller. People pay for a person they trust, not a list of tips.
Substack is its own discovery network
About 100 paid subscribers came from the Substack app and substack.com — people who found me while reading other writers, browsing, or following a recommendation.
This is the biggest difference between Substack and a plain email tool. The platform itself sends you readers, as long as you’re active inside it.
A paywall that makes sense
10 readers upgraded right when they hit a locked post. That only works when the free part is good enough to make them want the rest.
Give the “why” for free and put the “how” behind the paywall. I walk through my setup in how to set up a Substack paywall.
Search is still wide open
Google sent me just 7 paid subscribers in nine months. Almost all of my growth happened inside Substack.
That’s a real opportunity. The people who search “how to make money on Substack” are exactly the readers who want to build one, and very few Substack writers show up for them with real numbers.
How many subscribers do you need to make money on Substack?
Your income is really a free-list number times a paid-rate number. To earn more, grow the list or raise the percentage who pay. Ideally both.
| Goal (take-home) | Paid subscribers needed | Free subscribers needed at 2.3% |
|---|---|---|
| $500 a month | 60 | about 2,600 |
| $1,000 a month | 120 | about 5,200 |
| $2,500 a month | 300 | about 13,000 |
| $5,000 a month | 600 | about 26,000 |
Based on my real 2.3% paid rate and the $8.34 you keep from a $10 monthly subscription. Most newsletters convert 2% to 5% of free readers, so if you’re under 5%, you’re not failing.
7 ways to make money on Substack, in the order I’d add them
Paid subscriptions are the main one, but they’re not the only one. Don’t try all seven at once.
1. Paid subscriptions
Readers pay monthly or yearly to read your locked posts. This is where most of the money is.
2. Annual plans
Offer a yearly price that’s cheaper than 12 months. You get the cash up front and lose less to fees.
3. A founding member tier
Let your biggest fans pay more for extra perks.
4. Your own digital products
Link to your ebooks, templates, or guides inside your posts. One product is plenty to start.
5. Coaching or services
Your free posts prove you know your stuff. Some readers will want your help one-on-one or in a group.
6. Affiliate links
Recommend tools you really use and earn a commission.
7. Sponsorships
Once your list is big and engaged, brands will pay to reach it. Don’t chase this early.
How to get your first 100 paid subscribers
Check these off as you go.
“People pay for a person they trust, not a list of tips.”— Lori Ballen
Frequently asked questions
Can you really make money on Substack?
Yes. Substack lets you charge readers for subscriptions and pays you through Stripe. Most writers earn a modest side income. The top earners make millions, but they’re rare. I earn about $23,000 a year in gross revenue from 174 paid subscribers.
How much does Substack take from your earnings?
Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue. Stripe adds 2.9% plus $0.30 per payment and a 0.7% billing fee on recurring payments. On a $10 monthly subscription, you keep about $8.34.
Is Substack free to use?
Yes. Publishing on Substack is free with no monthly fee. Substack only takes a cut once readers start paying you. If you’re still choosing a platform, see my comparison of the best newsletter platforms for beginners.
How many free subscribers turn into paid subscribers?
Most newsletters convert 2% to 5% of free readers into paid subscribers. My rate is 2.3%.
How long does it take to make money on Substack?
You can get your first paid subscriber within weeks if you already have an audience, but real income takes months. My yearly revenue went from about $6,500 to $23,000 in nine months, and my Substack earned the Bestseller badge four months after my first paid subscriber.
What’s the fastest way to grow on Substack?
For me, it’s Substack Notes. More than 100 of my paid sign-ups traced back to Notes, and one Note alone brought in 44 paid subscribers.
The 3-Bucket Business Field Notes
The simple way I run a one-person business in three buckets so it keeps working without me chasing every shiny thing. Enter your email and I will send the field notes.
If you’re ready to build your own paid Substack
Substack 101: A No-Fluff Guide to Building and Growing a Paid Newsletter
The step-by-step version of everything on this page: setup, Notes, the paywall, and turning free readers into paid ones.
Side Hustle to Six Figures
The system for turning one skill into recurring income without hiring anyone. How your Substack fits into a bigger one-person business.
Related reading
Zero to $1,400 a Month on Substack
The honest month-by-month version of my first four months, including the stretch where the line went backwards.
How to Set Up a Substack Paywall
What to give away free, what to lock, and how to make the upgrade feel like the obvious next step.
My Substack Banner and Cover Setup
The sizes and setup I wish I’d known when I started, so your publication looks serious from day one.
Best Newsletter Platforms for Beginners
Substack vs Beehiiv vs Ghost, with real pricing, if you’re still picking where to start.
One Video, a Month of Substack Content
How I turn one YouTube video into a month of Notes and posts without writing everything from scratch.
How to Make $10,000 a Month as a Writer
Where Substack fits among five income streams in a writing business.
Stop guessing. Build a Substack that actually pays you.
Inside Substack SKOOL, my community for Substack creators, we work on real Notes, real paywalls, and real numbers together, so you’re not figuring it out alone.
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I also use AI tools to help research and create content for you! While I love sharing strategies to help you succeed, please remember that everyone's journey is unique—individual results vary, and there are no guarantees. Thanks so much for stopping by!
