Substack Fees Explained: Why the 10% Platform Fee is Just the Beginning
You did it. You launched your publication, people are reading, and you just got your first paying subscriber on Substack. It’s an amazing feeling. You check your payout and see the deduction: a 10% platform fee, plus a payment processing fee. "Fair enough," you think. "It's the cost of doing business."
But what if that simple 10% fee is quietly setting a ceiling on your potential? What if it's costing you far more than just a tenth of your revenue?
As your publication grows, this "simple fee" becomes a significant drag on your business. It's not just a cost; it's a growth inhibitor. Let's break down the true cost.
The Obvious Cost: The Direct Math
On the surface, the math is straightforward. Substack takes 10%, and their payment processor, Stripe, takes an additional fee (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).
So for a $10/month subscriber, your breakdown looks like this:
- Substack's Cut: $1.00 (10%)
- Stripe's Cut: $0.59 (2.9% + $0.30)
- Your Take-Home: $8.41
You're paying nearly 16% in total fees. It stings, but the real damage isn't in this single transaction. It's in the hidden costs that emerge as you scale.
The Hidden Cost #1: The Opportunity Cost
That extra ~8-10% that goes to the platform isn't just lost income; it's lost investment capital. This is money that you could be reinvesting directly into your growth.
Imagine you're making $1,000/month. On Substack, around $130-$160 vanishes in fees. On a platform with a lower fee structure (like Postion's 5%), you'd keep an extra $80 of that.
What could you do with an extra $80 every month?
- Run targeted ads to find new subscribers.
- Pay for a premium design tool like Canva or Figma.
- Buy that new microphone for your podcast.
- Invest in a course to improve your writing.
Platform fees aren't just a tax on your earnings; they are a tax on your future growth.
The Hidden Cost #2: The Scaling Trap
A percentage-based fee is a classic scaling trap. The more successful you become, the more you pay in absolute dollars. It actively punishes your growth.
Let's see how this plays out at different revenue levels:
| Monthly Revenue | Substack Fees (~13%) | Postion Fees (5% + ~3%) | Your Extra Earnings on Postion |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | ~$65 | ~$40 | $25/month ($300/year) |
| $2,000 | ~$260 | ~$160 | $100/month ($1,200/year) |
| $10,000 | ~$1,300 | ~$800 | $500/month ($6,000/year) |
At $10,000 a month, Substack is taking $15,600 a year from you. That's the price of a used car, a marketing hire, or a life-changing vacation. You did the work, you built the audience, but the platform reaps a disproportionate reward for providing the infrastructure.
The Solution: A Creator-First Philosophy
This isn't just about a lower fee; it's about a fundamental difference in philosophy.
At Postion, we believe that creators should keep the vast majority of the value they create. That’s why our platform fee is just 5%.
We built Postion because we saw creators getting stuck in the scaling trap. We saw them paying exorbitant fees while lacking the tools they needed for SEO, customization, and community building.
Your success shouldn't be penalized. It should be celebrated and compounded. Keeping more of your revenue allows you to build a sustainable, independent business, not just a publication that's beholden to its platform.
The choice of a platform is one of the most critical financial decisions you'll make as a creator. Don't let a "simple" 10% fee become a multi-thousand-dollar problem.
Ready to see how much you could save and reinvest in your growth? Explore the Postion difference and see why we're the next logical stop for serious creators.