Substack Revenue Calculator
Substack takes 10% flat platform fee on paid subscription revenue. Stripe takes about 2.9% + $0.30 per recurring payment. Annual plans often have a discount you offer, like 15% off. Enter free subscriber count, paid monthly subscribers, monthly price, annual subscriber count, annual discount, and see gross monthly revenue, Substack fees, Stripe fees, net monthly, net annual projection, and blended revenue per subscriber.
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, not billed).
Paid subscribers
Subscribers on monthly billing plan.
Subscribers on annual plan.
Pricing
Monthly price per paid subscriber.
Discount vs 12× monthly price, e.g. 15%.
Fees
Substack takes 10% flat.
Stripe percent, typically 2.9%.
Fixed per charge, typically $0.30.
Results
Live estimates based on your inputs and editable fee assumptions.
Gross monthly revenue (monthly subs)
$960.00
Monthly subs × monthly price.
Annual subs monthly equivalent gross
$235.20
Annual revenue spread monthly.
Total gross monthly
$1,195.20
Monthly + annual equivalent.
Substack 10% fee monthly
$119.52
10% of total gross monthly.
Stripe fees monthly
$71.54
Processing percent + fixed per sub.
Total fees monthly
$191.06
Substack + Stripe.
Net monthly revenue
$1,004.14
Gross minus all fees.
Net annual projection
$12,049.73
Net monthly ×12 + annual net normalized.
Free to paid conversion rate
7.2%
Paid / (free+paid).
Net per paid subscriber
$6.48
Net monthly per paid sub.
What this means
Gross monthly $1195.20 (monthly $960.00 + annual equiv $235.20). Substack $119.52 (10%) + Stripe $71.54 = $191.06 fees, net $1004.14 monthly, $12049.73 annual projection. 155 paid of 2155 total = 7.2% conversion, $6.48 net per paid sub, effective fee 16.0%.
Substack monthly revenue breakdown
Interactive breakdown of fees, costs, and remaining profit.
Distribution
- Monthly subs$960.0040.2%
- Annual equiv$235.209.8%
- Fees$191.068.0%
- Net$1,004.1442.0%
Total $2,390.40 · 4 segments · interactive
Line-item breakdown
Dollar amounts, share of revenue, and visual proportion.
- Free subscribers
- 2,000
- Paid monthly
- 120
- Monthly price
- $8.00
- Monthly gross
- $960.00
- Annual subs
- 35
- Annual price
- $80.64
- Annual gross total
- $2,822.40
- Annual monthly equiv
- $235.20
- Total gross monthly
- $1,195.20
- Total gross annual
- $14,342.40
- Substack fee monthly
- $119.52
- Stripe fee monthly
- $71.54
- Net monthly
- $1,004.14
- Net annual projection
- $12,049.73
- Conversion rate
- 7.2%
- Net per paid sub
- $6.48
Assumptions used
- • Annual price $8.00×12×84% = $80.64
- • Total gross monthly $960.00 + $235.20 annual equiv = $1195.20
- • Fees Substack 10% $119.52 + Stripe 2.9% + $0.30×122.9 trans = $71.54
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Substack Revenue Calculator
Generated 7/30/2026, 5:15:07 AM · Currency USD
Inputs
- Free subscribers: 2000
- Paid monthly subscribers: 120
- Monthly subscription price: 8
- Paid annual subscribers: 35
- Annual plan discount % you offer: 16
- Substack platform fee %: 10
- Stripe processing %: 2.9
- Stripe fixed per transaction: 0.3
Results
- Free subscribers: 2,000
- Paid monthly: 120
- Monthly price: $8.00
- Monthly gross: $960.00
- Annual subs: 35
- Annual price: $80.64
- Annual gross total: $2,822.40
- Annual monthly equiv: $235.20
- Total gross monthly: $1,195.20
- Total gross annual: $14,342.40
- Substack fee monthly: $119.52
- Stripe fee monthly: $71.54
- Net monthly: $1,004.14
- Net annual projection: $12,049.73
- Conversion rate: 7.2%
- Net per paid sub: $6.48
Interpretation
Gross monthly $1195.20 (monthly $960.00 + annual equiv $235.20). Substack $119.52 (10%) + Stripe $71.54 = $191.06 fees, net $1004.14 monthly, $12049.73 annual projection. 155 paid of 2155 total = 7.2% conversion, $6.48 net per paid sub, effective fee 16.0%.
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 annualPrice as monthlyPrice ×12 × (1-discount%)
- 2Gross monthly from monthly subs = paidMonthly × monthlyPrice
- 3Gross annual total = paidAnnual × annualPrice
- 4Annual monthly equivalent = grossAnnual ÷12
- 5Total gross monthly = monthlyGross + annualEquivalent
- 6Substack fee monthly = totalGrossMonthly × substack%
- 7Stripe monthly = totalGrossMonthly × stripe% + (paidMonthly + paidAnnual/12) × fixed
- 8Total fees = substack + stripe
- 9Net monthly = totalGrossMonthly - totalFees
- 10Net annual projection = grossMonthly×12 + grossAnnual - fees annual (substack 10% annual + stripe annual percent + paidAnnual×fixed)
- 11Conversion = totalPaid ÷ (free+totalPaid) ×100
Formulas
- AnnualPrice = monthly×12×(1-discount%)
- MonthlyGross = monthlySubs × monthlyPrice
- AnnualMonthlyEquiv = (annualSubs × annualPrice) ÷12
- TotalGrossMonthly = monthlyGross + annualEquiv
- SubstackFee = totalGross ×10%
- Stripe = totalGross×2.9% + effectiveTransactions×$0.30
- NetMonthly = totalGross - fees
Important assumptions
- Substack fee 10% flat on gross paid revenue
- Stripe fee = gross ×2.9% + (monthly subs + annualSubs/12) × $0.30 simplified as monthly recurring charges — annual subscribers billed once yearly, but for monthly breakdown we divide annual processing
- Annual price = monthlyPrice ×12 × (1 - annualDiscount%)
- Monthly equivalent from annual subs = annualPrice × annualSubs ÷12
- Net annual projection = netMonthly ×12; total gross annual = monthly×12 + annual×annualPrice
- Free subscribers used only for conversion rate = totalPaid ÷ (free+totalPaid)
Worked example
Substack with 2000 free, 120 monthly, 35 annual
2000 free, 120 monthly at $8, 35 annual with 16% discount, 10% Substack, 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe
FAQ
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