Substack Free Plan Review: You Get Some, You Lose Some?

Look, I’ve spent months wrestling with Substack’s free plan, and honestly? It’s both better and worse than you’d expect. Let me walk you through what actually matters if you’re considering this platform for your newsletter.

What is the Substack Pricing Plan?

Here’s the thing about Substack’s pricing — it’s dead simple. No monthly fees, no complicated tiers, no “starter” vs “pro” nonsense. You write, you publish, and it costs you nothing. Until you start charging readers, that is. Then Substack takes 10% of whatever you earn, plus Stripe’s payment processing fees (another 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, plus 0.7% for recurring billing).

Is that a lot? Depends who you ask. When you’re starting out and making maybe $100 a month, paying $10 feels like nothing compared to shelling out $42 upfront for something like Beehiiv. But fast forward to earning $5,000 monthly? That’s $500 disappearing each month for features you could get elsewhere for way less.

The beauty — and the trap — is that you only pay when you’re making money. No risk, but potentially massive costs down the line.

A Quick Overview of Substack and Its Features

Substack started as this refreshingly simple newsletter tool back in 2017. No fancy marketing speak, no “growth hacking” features — just write and send. Now? It’s morphed into something bigger. You’ve got podcasts, video posts, and this Twitter-like thing called Notes where everyone’s sharing hot takes between newsletters.

The platform still nails the basics though. Write your post, hit publish, and it goes everywhere — email inboxes, your Substack website, the mobile app. No messing with SMTP settings or worrying about deliverability.

They handle the boring stuff like subscription management and payments through Stripe. You can reply to comments, build little communities around your writing, even gate certain posts for paying subscribers only.

And here’s something I didn’t expect — their discovery features actually work. New readers can stumble across your publication through the app, which beats shouting into the void on social media.

What Do You Get with the Substack Free Plan?

More than you’d think, actually. The free plan isn’t some stripped-down trial version designed to frustrate you into upgrading. You get the whole publishing toolkit — write as much as you want, build your list as big as you can manage, publish daily if you’re that motivated. No subscriber caps, no “you’ve reached your monthly limit” warnings.

You keep your subscriber list, too. Export it whenever you want — it’s yours. That might seem obvious, but some platforms make this surprisingly difficult. You also get basic analytics (think: how many people opened your email, where new subscribers came from).

Nothing fancy, but enough to know if people actually care about what you’re writing. And yes, you can still turn on paid subscriptions whenever you’re ready. The infrastructure’s all there, waiting.

Key Features of the Free Plan

The free tier is surprisingly generous. Unlimited subscribers — whether that’s 10 or 10,000 people. Post as often as you like (though maybe warn your subscribers if you’re planning to email them three times a day). You get all the content formats: long articles, short Notes, audio posts, even video if that’s your thing.

Customization exists, kind of. Pick your colors, upload a header image, write a tagline. It won’t win any design awards, but it’s enough to not look completely generic. Want to run multiple newsletters? Go ahead — create as many publications as you want under one account.

Plus you get comment moderation, basic subscriber management, and post scheduling. Not revolutionary stuff, but solid basics that actually work.

Publishing and Distribution

The writing experience is… refreshing? No bells and whistles, just a clean editor that stays out of your way. Type your thoughts, add some images, maybe embed a tweet or YouTube video. Done. The platform handles all the technical delivery stuff — making sure your emails actually reach inboxes instead of spam folders.

What’s neat is the multi-channel distribution. Write once, and it goes everywhere: subscriber inboxes, your Substack site, the mobile app. Schedule posts for optimal times if you’re into that sort of thing. You can embed rich media from the usual suspects (YouTube, Twitter, Spotify), which helps break up walls of text. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it all just works without you having to think about it.

Monetization Capabilities

Even on the free plan, you’ve got everything needed to charge for subscriptions. Set your own prices (minimum $5/month), offer annual discounts, whatever. Every post, you choose who sees it: everyone, just paid subscribers, or only free readers. It’s flexible enough to experiment with different paywall strategies.

Stripe handles the money stuff — credit cards, international payments, the works. You can run limited-time discounts, offer free trials, even create “founding member” tiers for superfans willing to pay extra. One catch though: you can’t sell one-off products. No $27 ebooks or $197 courses. It’s subscriptions or nothing, which feels limiting when everyone else is diversifying revenue streams.

Community Building Tools

This is where Substack surprises people. Comments actually work — readers engage, discussions happen, little communities form around shared interests. The Notes feature lets you stay visible between newsletters, like tweeting but to people who already care about your work.

There’s a chat function for live discussions (think: AMA sessions), and writers can recommend each other’s publications, creating these organic discovery networks. You can add team members if you’re doing a group publication or want guest contributors. It’s not Discord-level community building, but for a newsletter platform? Pretty solid.

What’s Missing in the Substack Free Plan?

Here’s where things get frustrating. No custom domains on the free plan — you’re stuck with yourname.substack.com. Looks amateur, especially if you’re trying to build a serious brand. No email automation either. New subscribers get one welcome email and that’s it. Want to nurture them with a 5-email sequence? Too bad.

The segmentation is laughably basic. You can separate free from paid subscribers. That’s it. No tagging people based on interests, no tracking who clicked what, no sending targeted content to specific groups.

For comparison, even free Mailchimp gives you more segmentation options. And forget about A/B testing subject lines or integrating with other tools through APIs. Substack is a closed system — what you see is all you get.

Restricted or Limited Features

The restrictions pile up fast once you dig deeper. No custom HTML or CSS means every Substack looks basically the same. Sure, you can change colors and fonts, but want to create a unique design that stands out? Not happening. Dynamic content? Personalization? Advanced analytics? Nope, nope, and nope.

The automation thing really stings. Picture this: someone subscribes on Monday, but your next newsletter isn’t until Sunday. They wait six days hearing nothing from you. In that time, they’ve forgotten why they subscribed or who you even are. Other platforms would let you set up a welcome series, maybe share your best posts. Substack? Radio silence.

Hidden Costs and Limitations

The 10% cut seems reasonable until you do the math. Making $2,000 a month? That’s $200 to Substack, plus another $70ish in payment processing. Meanwhile, Ghost charges $42 flat. The break-even point hits around $500-700 monthly — after that, you’re overpaying for simplicity.

iOS subscriptions are another gotcha. When readers pay through Apple’s in-app purchase, Apple takes up to 30%. Substack adjusts prices automatically to compensate, but now your iOS subscribers pay more than everyone else. Awkward.

And you’re building on rented land. Substack controls everything — they could change terms tomorrow, kill features, or decide your content violates some new policy. You own your email list, sure, but the rest? You’re at their mercy.

Who’s the Substack Free Plan Perfect For?

Independent writers who just want to write? Perfect match. You’re not drowning in marketing features you’ll never use. Journalists building personal brands, fiction writers serializing novels, academics sharing research — Substack gets out of their way and lets them focus on words.

If you’re making under $500/month, the math works. No upfront costs beat paying $30-50 monthly for features you might not need yet. Hobbyists who write for fun, not profit? Even better — stay free forever. The platform especially suits anyone with name recognition or expertise that commands premium prices. Your reputation does the marketing; Substack just handles the boring stuff.

But if you’re running an actual business, selling courses, building sales funnels? Look elsewhere. This isn’t for you.

How Does the Substack Free Plan Compare to Paid Plans?

There’s no “Substack Pro” or premium tier — everyone gets the same features. The only difference is whether you’re paying nothing (and not charging readers) or paying 10% of your revenue. Compare that to the competition: Kit wants $29/month after 10,000 subscribers but only takes 3.5% of sales. Beehiiv charges $42/month but takes zero commission. Ghost runs $42/month with no revenue share.

Between $500-3,000 monthly revenue, the decision gets interesting. Substack’s simplicity might be worth the extra cost — depends how much you value your time. But past $3,000? You’re literally paying hundreds extra each month for fewer features. That’s when most creators start shopping around.

Feature Comparison

Looking at this table, Substack’s trade-off becomes crystal clear: maximum simplicity, minimum features. Whether that’s genius or limiting depends entirely on your needs.

When It Makes Sense to Upgrade

The tipping point usually comes down to three things. First, money — once you’re earning over $1,000 monthly, you’re overpaying. Second, automation needs — if you’re manually managing what could be automated, you’re wasting time. Third, business complexity — selling multiple products, running campaigns, needing detailed analytics.

Watch for these signs: You’re exporting subscribers weekly to email them separately. You’re turning down sponsorships because Substack can’t handle them properly. You’re losing sales because you can’t segment audiences or test different approaches. That frustration you feel when you can’t do something basic? That’s your cue to graduate.

Some creators stick around anyway. They value simplicity over savings, or their audience lives on Substack and moving means losing readers. Fair enough. But at least make that choice consciously, not by default.

Final Thoughts — Is Substack Free Plan Enough?

Substack’s free plan is like training wheels for newsletter creators — incredibly helpful when you’re starting, limiting once you know what you’re doing. For writers who just want to write and maybe make some money? It’s honestly great. Dead simple, no financial risk, and it actually works.

But here’s my advice: start with Substack if you’re testing the waters. Build your audience, find your voice, prove people will pay for your work. Then, around 500-1,000 paid subscribers, seriously evaluate whether simplicity is worth the price. Because at that point, you’re running a real business, and Substack might be holding you back.

The platform nails one thing perfectly — removing every possible barrier between writers and readers. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need. Sometimes it’s not nearly enough.