Do your best work, supported by your subscribers
Substack lets independent writers and podcasters publish directly to their audience and get paid through subscriptions.
The home for great writers & podcasters
Emily Oster
Author of Expecting Better and Cribsheet, professor of economics Emily Oster writes a biweekly dispatch unpacking pregnancy and parenting topics, with a focus on Covid-19 decisions, through data and statistics.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Since retiring from the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has authored 17 books and written award-winning columns. He joined Substack to create his own “community of fans, friends and others who share my interests.”
Boston College professor Heather Cox Richardson started publishing daily essays in 2019. Today, she’s the highest-earning writer on Substack and was invited to interview President Biden.
Matt Taibbi
Author and investigative reporter Matt Taibbi left Rolling Stone for Substack in 2020. He challenges the establishment with coverage of politics, culture, and the media.
Patti Smith
The iconic singer-songwriter and poet invites Substack subscribers into her creative life, forging an intimate relationship through writing, voice notes, videos, and more.
George Saunders
Beloved author and teacher George Saunders offers a masterclass in storytelling on his Substack. The concept is modeled after his latest book, A Swim in the Pond in the Rain.
A new model for publishing
You wrote it, you own it.
You always own your intellectual property, mailing list, and subscriber payments. With full editorial control and no gatekeepers, you can do the work you most believe in.
Create your Substack
Grow your audience.
Marketing isn’t all on your shoulders. More than 30% of all new free subscriptions and around 10% of paid subscriptions to Substacks come from within our network.
Create your Substack
Let us handle everything else.
A Substack combines a blog, newsletter, payment system, and customer support team — all integrated seamlessly with a simple interface. We handle the admin, billing, and tech so you can focus on your best work.
Create your Substack
A world-class reading and listening experience
We make it easy to start a subscription podcast. Share episodes to Substack subscribers and to all the major podcast players with one click.
Create your Substack
Upload or record videos directly into a Substack post. Make videos available to everyone or only paid subscribers.
Create your Substack
On Substack, you’re not publishing into a void. Comments and community threads connect you and your subscribers directly.
Create your substack
“I can still remember standing in the kitchen in March 2020 and watching the first $1.00 I made come through, from sharing my own research. A year later and it’s now my full-time ‘job’.”
– Conor Mac, Investment Talk
Substack basics
What is a Substack?
Substack helps anyone set up a blog and email newsletter. No tech knowledge is required. Without ads and algorithms to get in the way, you can sustain a direct relationship with your readers and retain full control over your creative work.
Do I need to pay for Substack?
It’s free to get started on Substack. If you turn on paid subscriptions, Substack will keep a 10% cut of revenues for operating costs like development and customer support. There are no hidden fees and we only make money when writers do.
Do I own what I publish on Substack?
You will always own your content and your relationships with your subscribers. We make it easy to import and export your archive, email list, and payments information to and from other platforms.
Will Substack help me grow my audience?
Yes. More than 30% of all new free subscriptions and around 10% of paid subscriptions to Substacks come from within our network.
How do I move my past work to Substack?
If you already have an audience on Wordpress, Mailchimp, Medium, Tumblr, or another platform, you can easily import your posts and your email list in the Substack setup process.
Get started in minutes
