Substack Newsletter Earnings Calculator

Calculate your Substack newsletter earnings after Substack's 10% platform fee and Stripe credit card fees. Model your gross and net publisher profits.

Mathematical Audit

Substack Revenue Formulas

Calculate gross monthly subscription and sponsorship revenues, and subtract Substack flat fee and credit card transaction fees.

Total Paid Subscribers = Total Subscribers × (Paid Conversion Rate ÷ 100)
Monthly Paying Subscribers = Total Paid × (1 - Annual Split ÷ 100)
Annual Paying Subscribers = Total Paid × (Annual Split ÷ 100)
Monthly Gross Subscription = (Monthly Paying × Monthly Price) + (Annual Paying × [Annual Price ÷ 12])
Substack Fee = Monthly Gross Subscription × 10%
Stripe Fee = Monthly Paying × Card Fee + Annual Paying × Card Fee (amortized)
Total Monthly Net Revenue = Monthly Gross Subscription + Sponsorships - Substack Fee - Stripe Fee

Stripe processing fee is modeled at 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, with annual payments amortized monthly.

Operational Guide

How to Calculate Substack Earnings

1

Enter total subscriber count

Input the total number of newsletter subscribers (both free and paid list combined).

2

Set paid subscriber rate

Enter the percentage of your list that pays for subscriptions (standard conversion is 2-3%).

3

Input subscription pricing details

Input the monthly and annual subscription rates you charge (e.g. $5/mo and $50/yr).

4

Set annual subscriber split percentage

Enter what percent of your paying list chooses the annual plan rather than monthly billing.

5

Optional: Add sponsorship income

If you monetize free emails with sponsors, input your average monthly sponsorship revenue.

Real-World Scenario Example

"A creator has 10,000 subscribers, a 3% paid rate, charges $6/mo and $60/yr (with a 25% annual split), and earns $500/mo in sponsorship revenue."

Inputs

totalSubscribers:10000
paidSubscriberRate:3
monthlySubPrice:6
annualSubPrice:60
annualSubSplit:25
monthlySponsorship:500

Result

300 paid subscribers. Monthly subscription gross: $1,687.50. Substack fee: $168.75. Stripe fee: $122.06. Net monthly earnings: $1,896.69 (including sponsorship).

Important Disclaimer

Earnings estimates are projections. actual publisher revenues fluctuate based on regional tax withholding rates, subscriber churn cycles, and payment processor transaction failure rates.

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