Substack Profit Calculator
Substack revenue $1468 on 150 paid subs looks great until 10% Substack fee + 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe takes $235, then content writing/editing $300 + tools $60 leaves $873 profit before tax. Enter free subscribers, monthly and annual paid counts, monthly price, discounts, fee rates, monthly content and tools costs, and tax reserve to see gross, total fees, net after fees, operating costs, net profit, margin, per-subscriber profit, and after-tax profit.
Instant calculations · Editable fee assumptions · Export-ready results
Inputs
Values update results instantly. Adjust fee assumptions to match your seller dashboard.
Audience
Total free subscribers for conversion context.
Pricing
Monthly price per paid subscriber.
Discount vs 12× monthly, e.g. 16%.
Paid subscribers
Subscribers on monthly plan.
Subscribers on annual plan.
Fees
Substack takes 10% flat.
Stripe percent, typically 2.9%.
Fixed per charge, typically $0.30.
Operating costs
Writing, editing, design, research costs per month.
Email tools, hosting, plugins per month.
Taxes
Estimated income tax % on profit.
Results
Live estimates based on your inputs and editable fee assumptions.
Total gross monthly
$1,195.20
Monthly + annual monthly equivalent.
Total fees monthly
$191.06
Substack + Stripe.
Net after fees monthly
$1,004.14
Gross minus fees.
Content costs
$300.00
Writing, editing, research.
Tools costs
$60.00
Tools, hosting.
Total operating costs
$360.00
Content + tools.
Net profit before tax
$644.14
Net after fees minus operating costs.
Profit margin
Excellent53.9%
Net profit ÷ total gross.
Profit per paid sub monthly
$4.16
Net profit ÷ total paid.
Free to paid conversion
7.2%
Paid ÷ total audience.
Tax reserve estimate
$161.04
Tax % of profit.
After-tax profit
$483.11
Net profit minus tax.
Net annual profit projection
$7,729.73
Net profit ×12.
What this means
Gross $1195.20 monthly ($960.00 monthly subs + $235.20 annual equiv at $80.64 annual). Fees $191.06 → net after fees $1004.14. Content $300.00 + tools $60.00 = $360.00 costs → profit $644.14 margin 53.9%, $4.16/paid sub/month, conversion 7.2% (155 paid of 2155). Tax $161.04 → after-tax $483.11 monthly, $5797.30 annual.
Substack profit breakdown
Interactive breakdown of fees, costs, and remaining profit.
Distribution
- Fees$191.0616.0%
- Content$300.0025.1%
- Tools$60.005.0%
- Net profit$644.1453.9%
Total $1,195.20 · 4 segments · interactive
Line-item breakdown
Dollar amounts, share of revenue, and visual proportion.
- Free subs
- 2,000
- Paid monthly
- 120
- Paid annual
- 35
- Total paid
- 155
- Monthly price
- $8.00
- Annual price
- $80.64
- Total gross monthly
- $1,195.20
- Substack fee monthly
- $119.52
- Stripe fee monthly
- $71.54
- Total fees
- $191.06
- Net after fees
- $1,004.14
- Content costs
- $300.00
- Tools costs
- $60.00
- Operating costs
- $360.00
- Net profit
- $644.14
- Profit margin
- 53.9%
- Profit per paid sub
- $4.16
- Conversion rate
- 7.2%
- Tax reserve
- $161.04
- After-tax profit
- $483.11
- Net annual profit
- $7,729.73
Assumptions used
- • Gross $1195.20 = $960.00 + $235.20 annual equiv
- • Fees $191.06 = Substack $119.52 + Stripe $71.54
- • Profit $1004.14 - $300.00 - $60.00 = $644.14
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Substack Profit Calculator
Generated 8/4/2026, 2:49:29 PM · Currency USD
Inputs
- Free subscribers: 2000
- Monthly subscription price: 8
- Paid monthly subscribers: 120
- Paid annual subscribers: 35
- Annual plan discount % you offer: 16
- Substack platform fee %: 10
- Stripe processing %: 2.9
- Stripe fixed per transaction: 0.3
- Content costs — writing, editing, research monthly: 300
- Tools and software monthly: 60
- Tax reserve % on profit: 25
Results
- Free subs: 2,000
- Paid monthly: 120
- Paid annual: 35
- Total paid: 155
- Monthly price: $8.00
- Annual price: $80.64
- Total gross monthly: $1,195.20
- Substack fee monthly: $119.52
- Stripe fee monthly: $71.54
- Total fees: $191.06
- Net after fees: $1,004.14
- Content costs: $300.00
- Tools costs: $60.00
- Operating costs: $360.00
- Net profit: $644.14
- Profit margin: 53.9%
- Profit per paid sub: $4.16
- Conversion rate: 7.2%
- Tax reserve: $161.04
- After-tax profit: $483.11
- Net annual profit: $7,729.73
Interpretation
Gross $1195.20 monthly ($960.00 monthly subs + $235.20 annual equiv at $80.64 annual). Fees $191.06 → net after fees $1004.14. Content $300.00 + tools $60.00 = $360.00 costs → profit $644.14 margin 53.9%, $4.16/paid sub/month, conversion 7.2% (155 paid of 2155). Tax $161.04 → after-tax $483.11 monthly, $5797.30 annual.
How it works
Methodology & formulas
This calculator is transparent by design. Review the steps and formulas so you can trust the estimate and adjust assumptions when your dashboard differs.
Calculation steps
- 1Calculate annual price and monthly equivalent
- 2Total gross monthly = monthly subs gross + annual equivalent
- 3Calculate Substack fee monthly = gross × substack%
- 4Stripe fee monthly = gross × stripe% + effectiveTransactions × fixed
- 5Total fees = substack + stripe
- 6Net after fees = gross - fees
- 7Operating costs = content + tools
- 8Net profit = net after fees - operating
- 9Margin = netProfit ÷ gross ×100
- 10Per sub profit = netProfit ÷ totalPaid
- 11Conversion = totalPaid ÷ (free+totalPaid) ×100
- 12Tax = max(0, profit) × tax%
- 13After-tax = profit - tax
Formulas
- AnnualPrice = monthly×12×(1-discount%)
- TotalGrossMonthly = monthly×monthlySubs + annual×annualPrice÷12
- Fees = gross×(substack%+stripe%) + trans×fixed
- NetAfterFees = gross - fees
- NetProfit = netAfterFees - content - tools
- Margin = netProfit ÷ gross ×100
Important assumptions
- Gross revenue same as substack revenue calculator: annualPrice = monthly×12×(1-discount)
- Fees calculation same as revenue calc: Substack 10% + Stripe 2.9% + effective transactions × $0.30
- Net after fees = totalGrossMonthly - totalFeesMonthly
- Operating costs = contentCosts + toolsCosts
- Net profit = netAfterFees - operatingCosts
- Tax only when profit >0
Worked example
Substack 2000 free, 120 monthly, 35 annual at $8, $300 content, $60 tools
Free 2000, paid monthly 120 at $8, annual 35 with 16% discount, 10% Substack, 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe, content $300, tools $60, tax 25%
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