Substack
Paid newsletters
10%Paid subscriptions
You keep 90% before other fees
- Start
- Free
- Card fees
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Stripe Billing
- + 0.7%
All rates and sources
| Rate | When |
|---|---|
| Substack | |
| 10% | Paid subscriptions |
A custom domain costs $50 once.
Compare newsletter fees: Substack, beehiiv and more
Compare newsletter subscription fees with fixed publishing plans and writer earnings programs. Check payment processing and who sets the subscription price.
11 platforms
US / USD unless labelled
Last checked
Sources and dates
Substack
Checked
- Earnings model
- Paid newsletter subscriptions Source
- Plan cost
- Free to publish; optional custom domain is $50 once. Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Substack takes 10% of each paid subscription transaction Source
- Payment processing
- US cards: 2.9% + $0.30 per charge; Stripe Billing adds 0.7% to recurring payments Source
- Price control
- Writers set monthly and yearly prices; app-store and non-card payment costs vary Source
- Pricing and feessupport.substack.com
beehiiv
Checked
- Earnings model
- Paid subscriptions and ad network Source
- Plan cost
- Launch is free through 2,500 subscribers; Scale starts at $43/month billed annually at a selected tier, with up to 100,000 subscribers shared across workspace publications. Enterprise is custom above 100,000. Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- 0% beehiiv fee on paid subscriptions; the feature starts on Scale Source
- Payment processing
- US Stripe card fee: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction; other Stripe rates vary Source
- Price control
- Creators set subscription tiers, prices, currencies, benefits, and billing options Source
- Plans and feesbeehiiv.com
- Subscriber tiersbeehiiv.com
- Subscription setupbeehiiv.com
Ghost
Checked
- Earnings model
- Paid publication memberships using Stripe Source
- Plan cost
- At 1,000 members, Publisher is $29/month billed annually. The comparison table lists Starter/Publisher at 1,000, Business at 10,000, Custom unlimited; the overview conflicts on Business. Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Ghost charges 0% on paid memberships Source
- Payment processing
- US Stripe domestic cards: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction; other card rates vary Source
- Price control
- Creators set monthly and yearly prices; Publisher supports three paid tiers Source
- Plans and termsghost.org
- Stripe integrationghost.org
- Stripe ratesstripe.com
Kit
Checked
- Earnings model
- Paid newsletters, subscriptions, and digital products Source
- Plan cost
- Free supports paid newsletters and up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator is $33/month at the 1,000-subscriber tier Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Kit charges a 0.6% platform fee on paid-newsletter transactions Source
- Payment processing
- US total charge is 3.5% + $0.30 per sale, including card processing; currency rates vary Source
- Price control
- Creators set monthly, annual, or custom prices and can offer multiple subscription tiers Source
- Plans and feeskit.com
- Newsletter feeskit.com
- Currency feeshelp.kit.com
Buttondown
Checked
- Earnings model
- Paid newsletter subscriptions Source
- Plan cost
- Newsletter is free for the first 100 subscribers; paid subscriptions are a $9/month add-on Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Buttondown takes 0% of subscription revenue; the paid-subscription add-on is billed monthly Source
- Payment processing
- US Stripe domestic cards: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction; other card rates vary Source
- Price control
- Fixed subscriptions can be monthly/yearly; pay-what-you-want is a one-time amount; per-email billing charges for each send. Source
- Pricingbuttondown.com
- Paid subscriptionsbuttondown.com
- Stripe setupdocs.buttondown.com
- Stripe ratesstripe.com
Medium Partner Program
Checked
- Earnings model
- Eligible paywalled stories earn from member reading/listening time, engagement, and Boosts Source
- Plan cost
- Active Medium membership required: US Member $5/month or $50/year; Friend $15/month or $150/year. Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- No fixed per-story rate; earnings vary with member activity and the story’s engagement Source
- Payment processing
- Stripe payout minimum $10; payouts usually start by the 10th and take 5–7 business days. Verified tax details and supported bank country required. Source
- Price control
- Not applicable: readers buy a Medium-wide membership; writers do not set its price Source
- Earnings formulahelp.medium.com
- Payoutshelp.medium.com
- Eligibilityhelp.medium.com
- Membership pricinghelp.medium.com
Vocal
Checked
- Earnings model
- Read earnings and creator subscriptions require Vocal+; tips and leaderboard bonuses are open to all creators Source
- Plan cost
- Free is $0; Vocal+ costs $9.99/month or $99/year before tax Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Vocal+ read earnings use a variable CPM; the current rate is listed on the Vocal+ membership page Source
- Payment processing
- Vocal transfer fee: 7% Free or 2.9% Vocal+; Stripe processing varies by method/country. Minimum payout $35/$20; approved withdrawals reach Stripe within 5 business days. Source
- Price control
- Vocal sets Creator Subscription prices and terms; tips are offered in fixed amounts Source
- Creator termsvocal.media
- Vocal+ pagevocal.media
- Publishing changesvocal.media
Paragraph
Checked
- Earnings model
- Current product docs describe a site, newsletter and subscriber list, not paid memberships. Terms allow publisher transactions, but current paid-feature availability is unclear. Source
- Plan cost
- Free: $0/2,000 subscribers; Starter: $20 monthly or $16 monthly billed annually/10,000; Growth: $100/$80/100,000; Scale: $200/$160/250,000; Enterprise custom. Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Current public terms do not list a creator revenue-share percentage. Source
- Payment processing
- Current terms do not name a processor for publisher offers; a 2023 guide mentions Stripe. Source
- Price control
- Current terms do not list membership billing intervals; a 2023 guide describes monthly and yearly tiers. Source
- Plans and featuresdocs.paragraph.com
- Plan pricingparagraph.com
- Membership termsparagraph.com
- Membership setupparagraph.com
- Stripe ratesstripe.com
- Terms of Useparagraph.com
note
Checked
- Earnings model
- Paid articles, magazines, memberships, and tips Source
- Plan cost
- Memberships are free to run; subscription magazines require note Premium at ¥500/month Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- 10% for articles, magazines, tips, and memberships; 20% for subscription magazines, after payment fees Source
- Payment processing
- Payment-method fee is deducted from creator sales before note’s platform fee; cards 5%, carrier 15%, PayPay/Amazon Pay 7%, points 10%, PayPal 6.5%. Payout fee ¥270. Source
- Price control
- Creators set content and membership prices; standard range ¥100–¥50,000, with higher limits for Premium/Pro Source
- Feeshelp-note.com
- Memberships and magazineshelp-note.com
- Pricinghelp-note.com
WordPress.com paid content
Checked
- Earnings model
- Paid newsletters, memberships, and gated content Source
- Plan cost
- Paid newsletters are available on the Free plan; other Payments blocks require Premium or higher. Paid plans start at $4/month billed annually Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Platform fee by plan: Free 10%, Personal 8%, Premium 4%, Business 2%, Commerce 0% Source
- Payment processing
- US Stripe domestic cards: 2.9% + $0.30 per payment; other Stripe rates vary by region and method Source
- Price control
- Creators set monthly, yearly, one-time, or pay-what-you-want payment plans Source
- Plans and availabilitywordpress.com
- Pricing and feeswordpress.com
- Plan priceswordpress.com
- Payments block feeswordpress.com
Write.as
Checked
- Earnings model
- Current pricing lists Web Monetization on Free, Pro, and Team plans. Source
- Plan cost
- Free plan is $0 but registration is closed; Pro starts at $6/month billed annually or $9 month-to-month. Source
- Platform fee or writer share
- Current public pricing does not state a creator/platform share for micropayments. Source
- Payment processing
- Public pages do not identify a current wallet/provider or payout fees. Source
- Price control
- A 2023 staff reply said Web Monetization/Uphold would continue after Coil wound down, with further details pending. Source
- Planswrite.as
- Web Monetizationwrite.as
- Pro featureswrite.as
- Coil note, 2023discuss.write.as
beehiiv
Newsletters
0%Paid subscriptions
You keep 100% before other fees
- Paid subs need
- Scale plan
- Scale
- From $43 a month
- Card fees
- 2.9% + 30¢ Stripe
All rates and sources
| Rate | When |
|---|---|
| beehiiv | |
| 0% | Paid subscriptions |
The free Launch plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers.
Ghost
Publications and newsletters
0%Paid memberships
You keep 100% before other fees
- Publisher
- $29 a month, yearly
- Card fees
- 2.9% + 30¢ Stripe
- Paid tiers
- 3 on Publisher
All rates and sources
| Rate | When |
|---|---|
| Ghost | |
| 0% | Paid memberships |
Ghost prices its plans by the number of members.
Kit
Email and paid newsletters
0.6%Platform fee
You keep 99.4% before other fees
- Free plan
- Up to 10,000 subs
- Total fee
- 3.5% + 30¢
- Creator plan
- $33 a month
All rates and sources
| Rate | When |
|---|---|
| Kit | |
| 0.6% | Platform feeInside the 3.5% + 30¢ total |
Kit’s 3.5% + 30¢ total already includes card processing.
Buttondown
Newsletters
0%Subscription revenue
You keep 100% before other fees
- Paid add-on
- $9 a month
- Card fees
- 2.9% + 30¢ Stripe
- Free plan
- 100 subscribers
All rates and sources
| Rate | When |
|---|---|
| Buttondown | |
| 0% | Subscription revenue |
You can charge monthly, yearly, per email, or pay what you want.
Medium Partner Program
Paywalled writing
Paid by engagementMember reading and activity
- Needs
- Medium membership
- Minimum payout
- $10
- Price
- Set by Medium
Sources
Earnings depend on how long members read and engage with your stories.
Vocal
Writing platform
Pay per 1,000 readsVocal+ rate varies
- Vocal+
- $9.99 a month
- Transfer fee
- 2.9% on Vocal+
- Minimum payout
- $20 on Vocal+
Sources
Read earnings need Vocal+. Free members pay a 7% transfer fee.
Paragraph
Newsletters
Share not disclosedCreator share
- Free plan
- 2,000 subscribers
- Starter
- $20 a month
- Paid features
- Unclear
Sources
Paragraph’s current terms do not list a revenue share or payment provider.
note
Paid writing, Japan
10%Articles and memberships
20%Subscription magazines
You keep 90% before other fees
- Premium
- ¥500 a month
- Card fee
- 5% first
- Payout fee
- ¥270
All rates and sources
| Rate | When |
|---|---|
| note | |
| 10% | Articles and memberships |
| 20% | Subscription magazines |
Payment method fees come off first, from 5% for cards to 15% for carrier billing.
WordPress.com paid content
Paid posts and newsletters
10%Free plan
0%Commerce plan
You keep 90% before other fees
- Plans
- From $4 a month
- Card fees
- 2.9% + 30¢ Stripe
- Payment types
- Monthly to one-time
+ 3 more rates
| Rate | When |
|---|---|
| By plan | |
| 10% | Free plan |
| 8% | Personal |
| 4% | Premium |
| 2% | Business |
| 0% | Commerce plan |
Paid newsletters work on the free plan. Other payment blocks need Premium or higher.
Write.as
Blogging
Fee not disclosedCreator fee
- Pro
- $6 a month, yearly
- Free plan
- Signups closed
- Micropayments
- Web Monetization
Sources
Write.as does not say which wallet provider it uses now.