🔎 Which Substack Publications Have the Most Subscribers (And What We Can Learn from Them)
An analysis of the 29 most popular Substack publications
Welcome back to Really Good Business Ideas! We’re spending a few weeks digging into Substack publications as a business opportunity.
Last week we explored the most expensive Substack publications. This week, we’ll dive into the most popular Substack publications. That is, the publications with the most subscribers (free or paid). Today’s list includes 29 publications, all with more than 200,000 subscribers.
I definitely discovered more publications I was interested in this week than last. This speaks to how narrow last week’s list was. Based on current data, it seems very few publications can charge subscriptions over $100/month. But all kinds of different publications have been able to amass over 200,000 subscribers.
Key Insights
Similar to last week, I’ll share the key insights here at the top. A more detailed look at individual publications follows, and assumptions and limitations are included at the end, as always.
🔎 The 29 most popular publications come from a broad range of categories but several categories are overrepresented.
Last week, we saw that the most expensive publications come from only six categories (out of 29) with most coming from the Finance category. This week, we have twice as many categories represented by the most popular publications (12 out of 29 categories) but more than half come from only three categories: U.S. Politics, Health Politics, and Technology.
It’s shouldn’t be surprisingly that 13 of the 29 most popular publications come from ‘Politics” categories. Politics has become very polarizing these days and polarizing content tends to get more traction online compared to more moderate or balanced content.
Recommendation: While I do hope everyone who reads this shares accurate, thoughtful content, it’s still useful to have a strong point of view. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Focus on your niche and what your audience needs to build traction and loyal fans.
🔎 The majority of the 29 most popular publications are publishing multiple times a week.
Last week we noted that many of the most expensive publications are publishing multiple times a week, adding to their value. It turns out the most popular publications are publishing even more.
This actually makes sense. Each time you publish, you have a new opportunity to expand your reach while learning what does and doesn’t work. Publishing twice as often enables you to get twice as many reps in.
Recommendation: If you want to accelerate your growth, try increasing your publishing frequency. Not only will you learn and improve faster, you’ll have more opportunities to get yourself in front of the audience you want to reach.
🔎 More free subscribers leads to more paid subscribers, too.
Most subscribers are not paying for each of the publications included here. And yet, most of these publications have thousands of paid subscribers, with many counting tens of thousands of paid subscribers. One even has hundreds of thousands!
Recommendation: If you want to grow a large audience, offering a lot of free content can help you reach more readers, some of whom will ultimately become paid subscribers.
🔎 Most of the most popular publications are earning solid revenue from their subscription fees, despite charging below $20/month.
We discussed last week that publications need to be quite niche to charge a lot of money in subscription fees. But most the revenue estimates for the most popular publications are well over $100,000 a year even though they only charge $5-$40/month.
Recommendation: If your publication has a broader appeal, keep you price lower and focus on building the size of your audience instead to maximize revenue.
Top 29 Most Popular Publications Breakdown
1. Letters from an American
Total subscribers: 1,300,000+
Free subscribers: 300,001–1,200,000 (23%–92% of total subscribers)
Paid subscriber tier: Hundreds of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $5,000,000–$59,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #1 in U.S. Politics
2. Broken Palate
Total subscribers: 981,000+
Free subscribers: 980,001–980,900 (99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Hundreds of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $4,000–$59,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #68 in Food & Drink
3. Michael Moore
Total subscribers: 684,000+
Free subscribers: 674,001–683,000 (98%–99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $50,000–$599,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per month
Leaderboard ranking: #18 in U.S. Politics
4. Lenny's Newsletter
Total subscribers: 593,000+
Free subscribers: 493,001–583,000 (83%–98%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $1,500,000–$17,999,820
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #1 in Business
5. The Cryptonite Weekly Rap
Total subscribers: 606,000+
Free subscribers: 605,901–606,000 (99%–100%)
Paid subscriber tier: Less than hundreds of paying subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $0–$10,692
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #214 in Technology
6. The Pragmatic Engineer
Total subscribers: 574,000+
Free subscribers: 474,001–564,000 (83%–98%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $1,500,000–$17,999,820
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #1 in Technology
7. De La Soul
Total subscribers: 557,000+
Free subscribers: 556,901–557,000 (99%–100%)
Paid subscriber tier: Less than hundreds of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $0–$5,940
Publishing frequency: Inconsistent
Leaderboard ranking: #66 in Music
8. ByteByteGo Newsletter
Total subscribers: 500,000+
Free subscribers: 490,001–499,000 (98%–99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $150,000–$1,799,820
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #3 in Technology
9. Steadfast & Loyal by Allen West
Total subscribers: 485,000+
Free subscribers: 484,001–484,900 (99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Hundreds of subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $5,000–$59,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #155 in U.S. Politics
10. XO, MU by Melissa Urban
Total subscribers: 426,000+
Free subscribers: 416,001–425,000 (98%–99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $60,000–$719,928
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #12 in Health & Wellness
11. Racket News
Total subscribers: 393,000+
Free subscribers: 293,001–383,000 (75%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $1,500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #4 in U.S. Politics
12. Dr. Mercola's Censored Library
Total subscribers: 380,000+
Free subscribers: 280,001–370,000 (74%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #1 in Health Politics
13. The North Star with Shaun King
Total subscribers: 348,000+
Free subscribers: 338,001–347,000 (97%–99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $100,000–$1,199,880
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #7 in News
14. The Bulwark
Total subscribers: 323,000+
Free subscribers: 223,001–313,000 (69%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of the thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $1,000,000–$11,999,880
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per day
Leaderboard ranking: #3 in U.S. Politics
15. Who is Robert Malone
Total subscribers: 317,000+
Free subscribers: 217,001–307,000 (68%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #3 in Health Politics
16. Scott’s Newsletter
Total subscribers: 313,000+
Free subscribers: 312,901–313,000 (99%–100%)
Paid subscriber tier: Less than hundreds of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $0–$17,820
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #378 in Business
17. Robert Reich
Total subscribers: 312,000+
Free subscribers: 212,001–302,000 (68%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #8 in U.S. Politics
18. Popular Information
Total subscribers: 298,000+
Free subscribers: 198,001–288,000 (66%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$7,199,928
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #6 in U.S. Politics
19. Steady
Total subscribers: 294,000+
Free subscribers: 194,001–284,000 (66%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #10 in U.S. Politics
20. House Inhabit
Total subscribers: 287,000+
Free subscribers: 187,001–277,000 (65%–97%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $700,000–$8,399,916
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #1 in Culture
21. a newsletter
Total subscribers: 278,000+
Free subscribers: 178,001–268,000 (64%–96%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per month
Leaderboard ranking: #2 in Food & Drink
22. The Pomp Letter
Total subscribers: 259,000+
Free subscribers: 249,001–258,000 (96%–99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $100,000–$1,199,880
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #2 in Crypto
23. Axial
Total subscribers: 254,000+
Free subscribers: 253,901–254,000 (99%–100%)
Paid subscriber tier: Less than hundreds of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $0–$14,256
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #119 in Technology
24. Unreported Truths
Total subscribers:246,000+
Free subscribers: 146,001–236,000 (59%–96%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $600,000–$7,199,928
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #2 in Health Politics
25. The Lead-Lag Report
Total subscribers: 236,000+
Free subscribers: 235,001–235,900 (99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Hundreds of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $32,000–$467,532
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #39 in Finance
26. Steve Kirsch's newsletter
Total subscribers: 235,000+
Free subscribers: 135,001–225,000 (57%–96%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #5 in Health Politics
27. Your Local Epidemiologist
Total subscribers: 220,000+
Free subscribers: 120,001–210,000 (55%–95%)
Paid subscriber tier: Tens of thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $500,000–$5,999,940
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #1 in Science
28. Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Total subscribers: 211,000+
Free subscribers: 111,001–201,000 (53%–95%)
Paid subscriber tier: Thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $600,000–$7,199,928
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #9 in U.S. Politics
29. Doomberg
Total subscribers: 207,000+
Free subscribers: 197,001–206,000 (95%–99%)
Paid subscriber tier: Thousands of paid subscribers
Annual subscriptions revenue: $300,000–$2,999,700
Publishing frequency: Multiple times per week
Leaderboard ranking: #1 in Finance
Note: This publication only offers annual subscription options.
Assumptions & Limitations of Analysis
Publications with annual subscription fees that are so discounted subscribers would logically only ever choose the annual subscription (thus lowering the effective monthly price) were excluded.
Publications without a Bestseller Badge are assumed to have less than a hundred paid subscribers. It is possible some may have chosen to hide their bestseller badge but this is unlikely because:
The badge provides a form of social proof that can help the publication grow
The badge is enabled by default so there is friction to removing it.
This data was originally collected from Leaderboard pages, which seems to include paid subscribers data even when the author has opted out of showing the badge. For example, Steve Kirsch's newsletter doesn’t display a Bestseller Badge, but its blurb on the Leaderboard page for Health Politics still tells us it has Tens of thousands of paid subscribers.
Minimum annual subscriptions revenue is calculated using:
The annual price, which is typically discounted (10% is common) compared to the monthly price
The lower bound of the paid subscriber tier based on the bestseller badge
Maximum annual subscriptions revenue is calculated using:
The monthly price
The upper bound of the paid subscribers tier based on the bestseller badge
The data used in this analysis is a snapshot based on the date it was compiled. Metrics like leaderboard ranking, subscribers, and price will all change over time.
This analysis does not consider alternative sources of revenue outside of subscription fees. As discussed previously, there are several other ways to monetize a Substack publication.
The dataset used to identify this list includes the top 500 publications in each category based on Leaderboard ranking; however, not all categories have 500 publications.
Coming Up Next Week 📩
That’s all for this week. Join me next week as we jump into an analysis of the highest earning Substack publications and see how that list overlaps with the highest-priced and most popular publications. After that I’ll share resources you can use to launch your own Substack publication and we’ll wrap up with a list of specific opportunities for new Substack publications. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!
To endless possibilities,
Casandra
Substack Dataset Access
Paid subscribers can access the full dataset I created by using the spreadsheet linked below. Explore over 8000 publications and do your own analyses.