Substack Fee Counter
Substack takes 10% of every paid subscription payment, forever. See the exact dollar figure it's taken from you to date.
How this tool works
Enter your average monthly paid subscription revenue on Substack, how many months you've been earning it, and your current subscriber count. The calculator runs entirely in your browser — nothing is sent to a server until you optionally export a report.
Substack's published fee is 10% of paid subscription revenue, charged on top of standard payment processing (Stripe). The calculator multiplies your monthly revenue by 10% and by the number of months to show the cumulative total taken.
For comparison, it shows what the same period would cost on InfluencersKit: $0 commerce fee on paid subscriptions (every plan, including free), plus the flat monthly plan price for your subscriber count — pulled from the same pricing calculator that powers InfluencersKit's own billing.
This is a comparison of platform economics, not a guarantee — your actual Substack fees depend on your real revenue, and switching platforms involves a migration (export/import, reconnecting payment processing) that this tool doesn't account for.
Methodology & benchmarks
- Substack's fee structure (10% of paid subscription revenue, standard as of 2026) is publicly documented at substack.com/about/pricing — verify current terms there, as platform fees can change.
- InfluencersKit's plan pricing (Starter free/1,000 subs, Creator $49/10,000 subs, Pro $99/25,000 subs, Custom self-serve band above that) is the same calculator used on the live /pricing page and billing system — not a separate marketing estimate.
- The comparison isolates platform fees only. Payment processing fees (~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction via Stripe or Razorpay) apply on both platforms and are not counted in either total, since they're identical regardless of which platform you use.
Frequently asked questions
Does Substack really take 10% of everything?
10% applies to paid subscription revenue specifically — what readers pay for a paid tier. It doesn't apply to free-tier growth, and Substack's own published pricing should be checked for any updates, since platform fee structures do change over time.
Is InfluencersKit really 0% on paid subscriptions?
Yes, on every plan including the free Starter tier — this is a platform-wide policy, not a promotional rate. You still pay standard payment processing fees (Stripe/Razorpay, ~2.9% + $0.30), which apply on any platform.
What does switching from Substack actually involve?
Exporting your subscriber list as a CSV, importing it into InfluencersKit, and reconnecting payment processing so paid subscriptions continue without interruption. It's not instant, and this calculator doesn't estimate migration time — it only compares the ongoing fee structure.
Why does the InfluencersKit total depend on subscriber count, not revenue?
InfluencersKit charges a flat plan price based on how many subscribers you have, not a percentage of what you earn — so your plan cost doesn't rise just because your paid conversion rate improves. Substack's 10% fee, by contrast, scales directly with your revenue.