Writers escape the Substack tax

Substack, the once buzzy newsletter platform, is losing a new crop of writers to competing platforms that most people haven’t heard of. Just last month, Anklerone of Substack’s most popular publications, has left for a platform that gives him more control over his site. Others who have left Substack over the past year have expressed similar complaints and cited the platform’s increasing focus on social features as well as a pricing model that puts a stranglehold on their business.

Substack faced a talent drain in 2024 over its Nazi newsletter platform, but now it’s not just the platform’s stance on hate speech that’s pushing creators away.

Sean Haykin, creator of the NBA-focused publication Rose Garden ReportHe tells The VergeHe’s making “more money” after switching from Substack to Ghost last April. “When I first joined, [Substack] “He gave me a huge push and featured me and got me a lot of traffic, which led to a lot of growth,” says Haykin. “But once I wasn’t one of the ‘new designated talents’ they could promote, they stopped featuring me and I saw my growth stagnant.” Highkin now pays $2,052 per year with Ghost and an add-on called Outpost, compared to $4,968 per year on Substack. Rose Garden ReportHaykin says: Facebook’s subscriber base has grown by 22 percent since the end of 2024.

It’s a similar story for creators switching to other platforms like Beehiiv. Matt Brown, inventor Extra pointswhich currently has 71,000 subscribers, moved away from Substack in 2021 and eventually landed on Beehiiv, where it saves thousands of dollars annually. “Given the size of my publication right now, I would need to pay Substack more than $25,000 a year in fees,” Brown says. “I pay Beehiiv a fee of about $3,000.”

Ankler — a popular publication about the entertainment industry — announced plans to leave Substack for Passport, a platform created through a partnership with WordPress.com owner Automattic and Strachry Founder Ben Thompson. “This transformation represents a defining moment in what has been happening now: the transition from newsletters to a fully integrated media company, now brought together in one easy-to-navigate home.” AnklerJanice Min and Richard Rushfield write in a blog post explaining the change.

Maine echoes this in a statement to Oliver Darcy condition Newsletter, Saying Ankler “It needed more flexibility and control over products, revenues and audience relationships than the platform had [Substack] Allowed.” But Ankler Far from the only notable publication or newsletter to have turned into a Substack alternative in recent months. Last October, Study of culture Creator Anne Helene Petersen moved from Substack to Patreon, saying, “I didn’t want to be on a platform that was consistently passionate — and not subtly so.” condition Also reports that The fortMehdi Hassan ZitioAnd Emily Sandberg Feed me We have “quietly explored” moving to another platform.

Substack launched in 2017 as a platform that allows writers to create their own newsletters and manage paying subscribers. Unlike some of its biggest competitors, Substack takes a 10 percent cut of total subscription revenue. This tax may not seem like much at first, but it quickly adds up as creators gain subscribers and start charging more for their subscriptions. The calculator on Substack’s website estimates that for a newsletter that charges $10 a month with 400 subscribers, the total monthly cost — including a 10 percent platform discount and credit card processing fee — would come to $636. This cost jumps to $15,900 per month with 10,000 subscribers and rises to $79,500 per month for 50,000 members — nearly $1 million per year.

Many of Substack’s competitors charge a flat monthly fee, rather than a commission. Ghost, an open source blogging and newsletter platform, starts at $15 per month with 1,000 members to create a website, email newsletter capabilities, and a custom domain. Beehiiv, a builder platform with tools to launch a newsletter, website, and podcast, is free for up to 2,500 subscribers with limited access to certain features, such as a built-in ad network, while its other plans vary in price based on the number of subscribers. For example, someone with 10,000 subscribers would pay $96 per month for Beehiiv’s “Scale” plan. There’s also Kit, a newsletter platform that offers a tiered pricing model similar to Beehiiv, costing $116 per month with 10,000 subscribers on its “Creator” plan.

Pricing on Substack isn’t the only pain point for creators, with critics arguing that it locks writers and their subscribers into a closed ecosystem. For example, Substack has limited integrations with third-party apps, leaving writers with a toolkit built into the platform that may not contain everything they need. It has added many new features over the years, including tools for podcasts, videos, and social media-style features like direct messaging. But it sparked controversy earlier this year with its new TV app and integration with prediction market Polymarket.

Creators also have to deal with the platform’s limited customization options which can make it difficult to stand out in a sea of ​​other newsletters. Substack plasters its branding at the bottom of newsletters, too, while “.substack.com” even appears in a creator’s website address if they haven’t purchased a custom domain.

Meanwhile, competing services like Beehiiv and Ghost offer deeper customization options. In an interview with EdgeBeehiiv founder Tyler Denk likens the platform to Shopify, rather than Amazon, because it gives creators the tools and infrastructure needed to build an audience without plastering their brand on its members’ sites. “We don’t want to take credit for the work of our content creators,” says Dink. Edge. “Shopify powers and builds millions of websites and businesses for these retailers, and you’ll actually have no idea you’re on a Shopify site, which is kind of important.”

Substack is also investing heavily in building out its discovery and recommendation features, and while that may help some creators build an audience, it adds more pressure to engage in writing tweet-shaped “feedback” to appear in a user’s algorithm feed. Users who “follow” a writer through the notes feature aren’t actually subscribing to their newsletters either. This may benefit Substack engagement, but it’s only a plus for writers if they get a new subscriber from it.

This is because Substack owners can only export subscribers – not followers – when they leave the platform. Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie responds to claims that the platform is a “walled garden”, saying “no walled garden will allow you to export your mailing list, content and even payment relationships at any given moment.” But he also admits that this portability doesn’t extend to followers, saying that Notes “is a growth engine that helps you get subscribers, which you can then export.”

Additionally, Substack has begun allowing creators to enable in-app payments on its iOS app, but Apple handles those transactions — not publishing — and takes a 30 percent commission. Creators who leave Substack can’t take their Apple-based billing information with them.

“We’ve always believed that creators should own their relationship with their audience, including the freedom to leave if they choose,” says Hani Winarski, head of new media at Substack, in an emailed statement. “At the same time, there are also many examples of publishers and writers who have returned to Substack after experimenting elsewhere, including SemiAnalogy, Glenn Greenwald, and Joe Posnanski, to name a few.” Substack is expanding its platform into other markets as well, with paid subscriptions for British personalities such as Charli XCX, Jamie Oliver and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer surpassing 500,000.

Platform Creator Casey Newton, who left Substack in 2024, says that although publishing saves money on Ghost, “the most important thing is that we have a home on the open web that we control, and whatever anti-creator changes Substack has to make in the future to live up to its valuation won’t be affected by them.”

The departure of some high-profile figures may not mean the end of Substack, but it may signal a shift that positions the platform as a launching point for posts, rather than a permanent home. However, the rise of competing platforms may make it more difficult to get new Substack posts You don’t want to be limited to just the following: Substacks.