The State of Substack: By the Numbers
A comprehensive breakdown of platform-wide data, plus key benchmarks to help you evaluate your own growth.
Substack is a platform that enables writers to publish email newsletters and receive direct payments from subscribers. Since its launch in 2017, it has become a go-to home for independent journalists, creators, and subject-matter experts, powering everything from niche blogs to media empires.
But just how big is Substack today?
This page compiles the latest Substack statistics, including paid subscriber growth, platform valuation, top-earning publications, paid subscriber rates, and other key metrics. If you want to understand where the platform stands (and where it’s headed), the numbers below tell the full story.
Table of Contents
Substack Business Model
Substack operates on a revenue-sharing model, earning 10% of what writers bring in through paid subscriptions. Unlike traditional media platforms, it doesn’t rely on ads or algorithmic distribution, just direct relationships between writers and readers.
Substack Valuation
Substack is a private company currently valued at $1.1 billion, based on a $100 million Series C funding round led by BOND in July 2025.1
Substack’s Valuation History
Substack Funding
Substack has raised roughly $200 million since its launch in 2017, with its $100 million Series C round from July 2025 being the most recent.5
Substack’s Funding History
2025: $100 million Series C.6
2023: $7.8 million Crowdfunding Campaign
2021: $65 million Series B7
2019: $15.3 million Series A8
2018: $2 million Seed Round.9
Substack Revenue
Substack’s current annualized revenue is estimated to be approximately $45 million. 10
Substack’s Revenue History11
2025: $45 million
2024: $37 million
2023: $30 million
Substack Gross Writer Revenue
Substack’s current annualized gross writer revenue is estimated to be about $450 million.12 Gross writer revenue describes the total revenue writers earn through Substack via subscriptions.
Substack’s Gross Writer Revenue History
Substack Price
Substack is free to use, but the platform takes a 10% cut of all paid subscriptions revenue.
Substack Usage Statistics
Substack serves two core user groups: writers and readers. Writers range from solo creators and journalists to authors, analysts, and even entire editorial teams. Some use it as a side project; others have built full-time businesses or media brands. On the reader side, Substack attracts both casual subscribers and highly engaged, paying audiences who value direct access to voices they trust.
Substack Website Traffic
Substack receives around 125 million monthly website visitors. This does not include visitors to Substack publications with custom domains, so the real number of people regularly using any of Substack’s offerings is likely much higher.16
Substack Active Users
Substack has over 50 million active subscriptions. This includes multiple subscriptions attributed to the same user, so the real number of users is likely lower. 17
Substack Paid Subscriptions
Substack has over 5 million paid subscriptions. This includes multiple paid subscriptions attributed to the same user, so the real number of users who pay for subscriptions is likely lower. 18
Substack Publications
More than 50K publications earn money on Substack, but the total number of publications is likely much higher.19
Substack Platform Benchmarks
Want to know what success actually looks like on Substack? This section highlights real data from top-performing publications, including the most popular newsletters by subscriber count, the highest earners by annual revenue, and average conversion rates for turning free readers into paying subscribers. Whether you’re aiming for a million subscribers or just your first hundred paid, these benchmarks can help you understand what’s possible.
Most Popular Publications on Substack
34 publications on Substack have at least 500K subscribers, with seven publications having more than 1 million subscribers.20
The 10 most popular Substack publications are:
Letters from an American (2.6M subscribers)
American Ambition (2.3M subscribers)
Politibrawl (1.9M subscribers)
The Truth About Cancer (1.1M subscribers)
Lenny’s Newsletter (1.1M subscribers)
Robert Reich (1M subscribers)
The Pragmatic Engineer (1M subscribers)
BROKEN PALATE (973K subscribers)
Eltoro Market Insights (972K subscribers)
Michael Moore (836K subscribers)
Highest-Earning Publications on Substack
The top ten Substack publications collectively earn more than $25 million annually,21 with over 50 publications earning at least $1 million each.22
The 10 top-earning publications are:
Citrini Research
Doomberg
Adam Mancini’s S&P 500 (SPX/ES Futures) Trade Companion
Compounding Quality
Lenny’s Newsletter
Tic Toc’s OrderFlow Newsletter
The Free Press
The Pragmatic Engineer
Noahpinion
Letters from an American
Highest Earning Substack Categories
The categories with the highest-earning Substack publications are Finance, Business, U.S. Politics, Technology, and Health Politics.
Average Substack Paid Subscriber Conversion Rate
The average paid subscriber conversion rate on Substack is 3%. While small, specialized publications may have higher conversion rates, ranging from 4–10%, larger publications with broader, more general audiences tend to fall closer to 1–2%.23
What Do Most Substack Publications Charge?
The most common price Substack publications charge is $5/month or $50/year. Substack requires publications to charge at least $5 a month, but lower prices are possible through discounting. Publications that offer a high volume of content, more specialized topics, or additional perks often charge more than $5.
What These Substack Statistics Really Tell Us
Substack has grown from a niche tool for indie writers to a major force in digital publishing. The numbers discussed here highlight not just the platform’s scale, but the wide range of outcomes possible for creators of all kinds, whether you’re aiming to build a small, sustainable business or join the ranks of million-dollar publications.
But the biggest takeaway? There’s no single blueprint. Writers succeed on Substack in many different ways: with tiny, loyal audiences or massive reach, with free content or tightly gated premium posts. These statistics give you a sense of what’s possible, but your path is yours to design.
To endless possibilities,
Casandra
SimilarWeb Data from August 2025
Very useful information. Thanks for publishing it.
What a great breakdown Casandra! With annual revenue growth ~7% over the past 3yrs, the $1.1B valuation at 24X Revenue means there are some BIG plans for growth and I wonder what they are.