500K+ Subscribers? These 34 Publications Are Doing It
A data-backed look at the biggest Substack newsletters and the trends behind their growth.
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Substack gets more than 100 million monthly visitors1, yet who’s actually winning (and why) isn’t always obvious. Who are the biggest writers on Substack, and what do their publications have in common?
To find out, I analyzed the 34 largest Substack publications, each with over 500K total subscribers. The goal wasn’t just to list who’s winning. It was to understand why they’re winning, so you can reverse-engineer what works.
Some insights were expected (politics dominates), while others were more surprising (many top newsletters post just once a week). And while big audiences help, they don’t always mean big revenue.
Whether you’re just getting started or looking to grow, these patterns reveal what it really takes to scale a Substack today.
🔎 The most popular publications come from a wide range of categories, but U.S. Politics dominates more than ever.
Last year, we observed that more than half of the most popular publications fell into just three categories: U.S. Politics, Health Politics, and Technology.
Now, with updated data on publications with 500K+ subscribers, the dominance of politics is even more stark:
15 out of 34 top publications (over 40%) focus on U.S. Politics.
While the rest of the list spans a variety of topics:—Business (4), Technology (3), Food & Drink (2), Finance (2), and several single-hit categories like Health Politics, Music, Sports, and Humor—the distribution is top-heavy. U.S. Politics leads by a wide margin.
That’s not a coincidence. Political content, especially in today’s climate, is emotionally charged, identity-driven, and often polarizing. Those characteristics tend to drive higher engagement and subscriber growth.
It’s also a reminder that while there’s room for many topics, breakout success often hinges on a strong point of view.
Recommendation: If you want to stand out, you need to stand for something. The most popular publications aren’t trying to please everyone; they go deep on a specific angle or worldview. Own your niche, sharpen your perspective, and don’t be afraid to be bold.
🔎 Publications that Launched Earlier Are More Likely to Have More Subscribers
The 34 top publications have a moderate negative correlation between launch date and total subscriber count (r = –0.42, p = 0.03). This means that, on average, publications that launched earlier tend to have more subscribers than those that started more recently.
The trend reflects the advantage of time: older publications have had more years to build trust, grow an audience, and benefit from compounding effects like word of mouth and SEO. Some of the biggest newsletters on Substack were launched as early as 2016–2018.
However, some newer publications have already surpassed 500K subscribers, often because they brought their audiences with them from other platforms. Substack makes it easy to import subscribers, which can give newer writers a head start, compressing years of growth into a much shorter window.
Recommendation: The best time to start was five years ago. The second-best time is now. Whether you’re growing organically or importing an existing list, consistency still wins. Start now, and keep showing up. Time is your best multiplier.
🔎 Most Top Substacks Publish Weekly or More
Among the 34 publications with over 500K subscribers, 30 of them post at least once a week, and 8 publish multiple times per day. Just a handful post less than weekly, and one has been completely inactive since 2022.
This suggests that consistency and cadence still matter. Weekly publishing appears to be the sweet spot: it’s manageable for writers, and frequent enough to stay top-of-mind for readers. At the same time, some of the largest publications operate at much higher volumes, especially in fast-moving categories like politics and news.
The takeaway isn’t that everyone needs to post daily, but that showing up regularly is a common denominator among the biggest newsletters on the platform.
Recommendation: You don’t need to post every day, but it pays to pick a rhythm and stick to it. Weekly is a reliable baseline for growth, especially for solo writers. Readers reward consistency, and Substack’s growth engine does too.
🔎 The Most Popular Substack Publications Aren’t Always the Highest Earning
When comparing the most popular Substack publications to the highest-earning ones, there’s surprisingly little overlap. Out of 34 top publications in each group, only 9 appear on both lists.
Some newsletters with massive audiences under-monetize their audience through paid subscriptions. In contrast, others with smaller followings earn significantly more, often through higher pricing, focused positioning, or strong paid conversion rates.
This reinforces a key insight: the size of your audience isn’t the same as the size of your income. Popularity helps, but monetization depends more on strategy than scale.
Recommendation: A big audience helps, but it’s not the only path to revenue. Define your value, price it clearly, and focus on turning readers into paying supporters. You don’t need to be the biggest to build a meaningful business.
🔎 Only 7 Publications Have Over 1 Million Subscribers
Out of the 34 Substack publications with 500K+ subscribers, just 7 have crossed the 1 million mark. That’s only about 20% of the list; proof that hitting 1M is still rare, even among the most popular newsletters.
- (2.6M subscribers)
- (2.3M subscribers)
- (1.9M subscribers)
- (1.1M subscribers)
- (1.1M subscribers)
- (1M subscribers)
- (1M subscribers)
Recommendation: Remember, you don’t need a million subscribers to be successful, but those who get there tend to know their niche and publish consistently. Growth compounds when the fundamentals are in place.
Detailed List of Every Substack Publication With 500K+ Subscribers
Only 34 publications on Substack have crossed 500K subscribers. Here’s the complete breakdown, including current subscriber count, how often they post, what they write about, and when they started.