Substack, once a buzz-worthy newsletter platform, is now losing a whole host of writers to rival platforms most people haven’t heard of. Just last month, The AnklerOne of Substack’s most popular publications, moved to a platform that gives it more control over its site. Others who left Substack within the past year expressed similar complaints and cited the platform’s increased focus on social features as well as the pricing model as a deterrent to their business.
Substack faced a brain drain related to its platforming of Nazi newsletters in 2024, but the platform’s stance on hate speech isn’t the only thing turning away creators anymore.
Sean Hykin, creator of the NBA-focused publication Rose Garden Reporttells Social classE that he makes “significantly more money” after switching from Substack to Ghost last April. “When I first joined, [Substack] “Gived me a big push and got me featured and brought me a lot of traffic, which led to a good amount of growth,” says Hykin. “But once I was no longer one of the ‘newly recruited talents’ they could promote, they stopped featuring me and I noticed my development stalled.” Highkin now pays $2,052 per year using add-ons called Ghost and Outpost, compared to $4,968 per year on Substack. Rose Garden ReportHaikin says the customer base has grown by 22 percent since the end of 2024.
It’s a similar story for creators switching to other platforms like Beehiiv. Matt Brown, creator of extra pointswho currently has 71,000 customers, moved away from Substack in 2021 and eventually landed on Beehive, where he saves thousands of dollars per year. “Given the size of my publication right now, I have to pay Substack over $25,000 a year in fees,” says Brown. “I pay the Beehive about $3,000 in fees.”
The Ankler — a popular publication about the entertainment industry — announced plans to leave Substack for Passport, a platform built through a partnership with WordPress.com owner Automattic and. stratcherry Founder Ben Thompson. “This transformation marks a defining moment in what’s going on: a move beyond newsletters into a fully integrated media company, now all brought together in a single, easy-to-navigate home,” The AnklerJanice Min and Richard Rushfield wrote a blog post explaining the change.
“I didn’t want to be on a platform that was constantly – and not so secretly – enslaving.”
Min reiterated this in a statement to Oliver Darcy Situation Newsletter, Saying The Ankler “There is a need for more flexibility and control over products, revenue and audience relationships than platforms [Substack] allows.” But The Ankler This isn’t the only major publication or newsletter that has switched to Substack alternatives in recent months. Last October, cultural studies Creator Anne Helen Peterson moved from Substack to Patreon, saying: “I didn’t want to be on a platform that was constantly – and not so surreptitiously – enslaving.” Situation It also reports bulwarkMehdi Hassan’s zeteoand Emily Sundberg feed me Have “quietly explored” moving to another platform.
Substack was launched in 2017 as a platform that allows writers to create their own newsletters and manage paying subscribers. Unlike some of its biggest competitors, Substack takes a 10 percent cut of total subscription revenue. This tax may not seem substantial at first, but it grows rapidly as creators get subscribers and start charging more for their subscriptions. A calculator on Substack’s own website estimates that for a newsletter charging $10 per month with 400 subscribers, the total monthly cost — including the platform’s 10 percent cut and credit card processing fee — would add up to $636. This cost increases to $15,900 per month with 10,000 subscribers and increases to $79,500 per month for 50,000 members – approximately $1 million per year.
Many Substack rivals charge a flat monthly fee rather than commissions. Ghost, an open-source platform for blogs and newsletters, starts at $15 per month with 1,000 members for website building, email newsletter capabilities, and a custom domain. Beehive, a creator platform with tools to launch newsletters, websites, and podcasts, is free for up to 2,500 subscribers, with limited access to some features like a built-in ad network, while its other plans vary in price depending on subscriber number. For example, someone with 10,000 subscribers will pay $96 per month for Beehive’s “Scale” plan. There’s also Kit, a newsletter platform that offers a tiered pricing model similar to Beehive, which costs $116 per month for up to 10,000 subscribers on its “Creator” plan.
Pricing on Substack isn’t the only problem for creators, as critics argue that it also locks authors and their customers into a closed ecosystem. For one, Substack has limited integration with third-party apps, leaving writers with the platform’s built-in set of tools, which may not have everything they need. It has added many new features over the years, including tools for podcasts, videos, and social networking-style features like DMs. But earlier this year it caused controversy due to its new TV app and integration with prediction market Polymarket.
Creators also have to contend with the platform’s limited customization options that can make it difficult to stand out in a sea of other newsletters. Substack also sticks its branding at the bottom of newsletters, while “.substack.com” also appears on a creator’s website address if they don’t purchase a custom domain.
Meanwhile, rival services like Beehiiv and Ghost offer deeper customization options. in an interview with The VergeBeehiiv founder Tyler Denk has compared the platform to Shopify rather than Amazon, as it gives creators the tools and infrastructure to build an audience without sticking their brand on their members’ websites. “We don’t want to take credit for the work of our content creators,” explains Denk. The Verge. “Shopify is powering and building these retailers’ own websites and businesses, and you won’t actually know you’re on a Shopify website, which is kind of the point.”
Substack also invests heavily in building out its own search and recommendation features, and while this may help some creators build an audience, it adds more pressure to participate, writing tweet-style “notes” to appear in a user’s algorithmic feed. Users who “follow” an author through the Notes feature do not actually subscribe to their newsletter. This may benefit Substack’s partnership, but it’s only a plus for writers if they get a new client from it.
This is because Substack owners can only export subscribers – not followers – when they leave the platform. Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie rejected claims that the platform is a “walled garden”, saying, “No walled garden will let you export your mailing list, content, and even paid relationships at any time.” But he also acknowledges that this portability doesn’t extend to followers, noting “there’s a growth engine that helps you get subscribers, which you can export.”
Additionally, Substack began allowing creators to enable in-app payments on their iOS apps, but Apple handles these transactions – not publishing – and takes a 30 percent commission. Creators leaving Substack cannot take their Apple-based billing information with them.
“We’ve always believed that creators deserve to maintain their relationship with their audiences, including the freedom to leave if they wish,” Hanne Wynarski, head of new media at Substack, said in an emailed statement. “Also, there are many examples of publishers and authors who have returned to Substack after experimenting elsewhere, including Semianalysis, Glenn Greenwald, and Joe Posnansky, to name a few.” Substack is also working to expand its platform to other markets, with paid subscriptions topping 500,000 for UK luminaries like Charli XCX, Jamie Oliver and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
platformer Creator Casey Newton, who left Substack in 2024, says the publication is saving money on Ghost, “More importantly, we have a home on the open web that we control, and we won’t be swayed by whatever anti-creator changes Substack is forced to make in the future to live up to its valuation.”
Some high-profile departures may not signal the end of Substack, but it could signal a shift that positions the platform as a starting point for publications rather than a permanent home. Still, the rise of rival platforms may make it more difficult to obtain new Substack publications that do not want to be limited to Substack only.
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