Best Newsletter Platforms for Paid Subscriptions in 2026
If you plan to charge readers for your newsletter, the platform you choose directly affects how much money you keep. The difference between a platform that takes 0% and one that takes 10% adds up to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per year.
This guide compares every major platform's paid subscription support: fees, features, payment processing, and what you actually take home at various revenue levels.
Fee Structure Comparison
| Platform | Platform Fee | Payment Processing | Monthly Cost | Total Take on $100 Sub |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost (self-hosted) | 0% | Stripe ~2.9% + $0.30 | $5-12 (server) | $96.80 |
| Ghost(Pro) | 0% | Stripe ~2.9% + $0.30 | $9-165 | $96.80 |
| Beehiiv | 0% | Stripe ~2.9% + $0.30 | $39-249 | $96.80 |
| Buttondown | 0% | Stripe ~2.9% + $0.30 | $9-249 | $96.80 |
| Kit | 3.5% (Creator plan) | Stripe ~2.9% + $0.30 | $29-466 | $93.30 |
| Substack | 10% | Stripe ~2.9% + $0.30 | $0 | $86.80 |
Revenue Calculator: What You Keep at Each Level
The table below shows your annual take-home after all fees (platform fee + Stripe processing) at various revenue levels. Platform monthly costs are estimated based on typical subscriber counts at each revenue tier.
| Annual Revenue | Ghost (self-hosted) | Ghost(Pro) | Beehiiv | Buttondown | Kit | Substack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $4,695 | $4,395 | $4,222 | $4,547 | $4,319 | $4,195 |
| $10,000 | $9,540 | $9,240 | $8,992 | $9,192 | $8,788 | $8,540 |
| $25,000 | $24,100 | $23,500 | $23,402 | $23,402 | $22,375 | $21,350 |
| $50,000 | $48,350 | $47,330 | $47,402 | $46,810 | $44,958 | $42,850 |
| $100,000 | $96,850 | $95,030 | $95,102 | $93,818 | $90,118 | $85,850 |
| $250,000 | $242,350 | $240,380 | $239,402 | $238,418 | $226,598 | $214,850 |
| $500,000 | $484,850 | $482,880 | $482,402 | $481,418 | $456,598 | $429,850 |
Estimates include Stripe fees (~3.2% average including per-transaction fees), platform percentage fees, and annual platform subscription costs. Actual amounts vary based on subscriber count, average transaction size, and billing frequency.
Platform-by-Platform Breakdown
Ghost - 0% Platform Fee
Ghost charges zero platform fees on membership revenue. You pay only Stripe's processing fees (approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). If you self-host Ghost, the only additional cost is your server ($5-$12/month for most newsletter sizes).
Paid subscription features:
- Native membership tiers (free, paid, and custom tiers)
- Content gating with flexible access controls
- Member portal with self-serve subscription management
- Annual and monthly billing options
- Complimentary (free) membership grants
- Direct Stripe integration with full dashboard access
- Member analytics and revenue tracking
- 0% platform fee on all revenue
- Full control over pricing and tiers
- Self-hosting option for minimal costs
- Open source, full data ownership
- Beautiful themes and custom design
- Self-hosting requires technical ability
- Ghost(Pro) starts at $9/mo (no true free tier)
- No built-in referral program or growth tools
- Smaller ecosystem than Substack or Beehiiv
Best for: Creators earning $25K+ annually from paid subscriptions who want to maximize take-home revenue. Technical users who can self-host save even more.
Beehiiv - 0% Fee + Built-in Growth Tools
Beehiiv charges zero platform fees on paid subscription revenue. You pay a flat monthly subscription for the platform itself, and Stripe processing fees on each transaction. Unlike Ghost, Beehiiv also includes growth tools (referral program, Boosts, SEO hosting) that help you acquire the subscribers who become paying members.
Paid subscription features:
- Premium content gating
- Multiple subscription tiers
- Stripe integration with zero revenue share
- Referral program to incentivize subscriber growth
- Analytics for tracking paid subscriber metrics
- Ad network for supplemental revenue
Pricing note: Paid subscription support requires Beehiiv's Scale plan ($79/mo for up to 25K subscribers). This flat cost is far cheaper than Substack's percentage at any meaningful revenue level.
- 0% platform fee on subscriptions
- Built-in growth tools (referrals, Boosts, SEO)
- Ad network for additional revenue
- Modern editor and analytics
- Flat pricing that scales well
- Paid subs require Scale plan ($79/mo minimum)
- Not open source, no self-hosting option
- Membership portal less customizable than Ghost
Best for: Creators who want to grow and monetize simultaneously. The combination of growth tools and zero revenue share is unmatched.
#3 Buttondown - Flat Fee, No Revenue Share
Buttondown charges a flat monthly fee with no percentage-based revenue share. Paid subscription support starts on the Professional plan ($29/mo). It is a minimal, developer-friendly platform that works well for small to mid-sized paid newsletters.
Paid subscription features:
- Paid subscription tiers
- Content gating per issue
- Stripe integration
- Subscriber management
- API access for custom integrations
Best for: Solo creators who want a simple, no-frills paid newsletter without percentage fees. Good fit for developers comfortable with minimal tooling.
#4 Kit (ConvertKit) - Native Commerce with 3.5% Fee
Kit supports paid subscriptions and digital product sales natively. The Creator plan charges a 3.5% transaction fee on top of Stripe processing. This is less than Substack's 10% but more than Ghost, Beehiiv, and Buttondown's 0%.
Paid subscription features:
- Recurring subscriptions and one-time payments
- Digital product sales (courses, downloads, templates)
- Visual automation builder for subscriber journeys
- Subscriber tagging and segmentation by payment status
- Landing pages optimized for conversion
Best for: Creators who sell a mix of subscriptions and digital products. Kit's commerce tools are more versatile than pure newsletter platforms, but the 3.5% fee adds up at scale.
#5 Substack - Simplest Setup, Highest Fees
Substack is the easiest platform to enable paid subscriptions on. Flip a switch, set a price, and you are accepting payments. The tradeoff is the cost: Substack takes 10% of every dollar your subscribers pay, on top of Stripe's fees. At scale, this makes Substack the most expensive platform for paid newsletters.
Paid subscription features:
- One-click enable for paid subscriptions
- Monthly and annual billing
- Group subscriptions
- Gift subscriptions
- Founding member tier (readers can pay more)
- Built-in reader network for discovery
- Easiest setup (literally one toggle)
- No monthly fee (only percentage)
- Reader network helps with discovery
- Gift and group subscription options
- 10% platform fee is the highest in the industry
- No way to reduce the fee at any scale
- Limited design customization
- No automations for subscriber management
- Minimal analytics on paid subscriber behavior
Best for: Writers earning under $5,000/year from paid subs who value simplicity over cost savings. At higher revenue, the 10% fee makes Substack the worst financial choice.
Which Platform Costs Least at Each Revenue Level?
Under $5,000/year: Substack or Buttondown
At low revenue, Substack's 10% fee ($500 on $5K) is comparable to Buttondown's $9-$29/month ($108-$348/year). Both are cheaper than Beehiiv's Scale plan ($948/year). If you value simplicity, Substack wins. If you want to avoid the percentage model, Buttondown is the cheapest flat-fee option.
$5,000 - $25,000/year: Ghost or Buttondown
Ghost self-hosted costs $60-$144/year (server only). Buttondown Professional costs $348/year. Both charge 0% on revenue. Substack would cost $500-$2,500 in fees at this range. The savings justify the switch.
$25,000 - $100,000/year: Ghost or Beehiiv
Ghost self-hosted remains the cheapest ($60-$144/year). Beehiiv Scale ($948/year) adds growth tools worth the premium. Substack would cost $2,500-$10,000 in platform fees alone. At $50K in revenue, switching from Substack to Ghost saves you roughly $5,000/year.
$100,000+/year: Ghost (self-hosted)
At six figures and above, Ghost self-hosted is the clear winner. Your total costs are roughly $150/year for server hosting plus Stripe's 2.9% processing fee. Substack would take $10,000-$50,000+ in platform fees at this level. Even Ghost(Pro) managed hosting ($1,980/year at the Business tier) saves you $8,000+ compared to Substack on $100K revenue.
What About Payment Processing?
Every platform on this list uses Stripe for payment processing. Stripe charges approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. This fee is unavoidable regardless of which platform you use. When comparing platforms, focus on the platform fee (the percentage or flat rate the platform itself charges on top of Stripe).
Stripe fees are slightly lower on annual subscriptions because the per-transaction $0.30 is charged once per year instead of twelve times. If most of your subscribers pay annually, your effective Stripe rate drops to roughly 3.0-3.2% instead of 3.5-4.0% with monthly billing.
Migration Considerations
If you are currently on Substack and want to switch, here is what you need to know:
- Subscriber export: All platforms let you export your subscriber list as a CSV. Free and paid subscriber emails transfer easily.
- Active Stripe subscriptions: This is the tricky part. You cannot directly transfer active Stripe subscriptions between platforms. Options include: migrating at renewal, running both platforms in parallel during a transition period, or asking subscribers to re-subscribe on the new platform.
- Content archive: Most platforms can import your Substack archive. Ghost and Beehiiv both have dedicated Substack import tools.
- SEO: Set up 301 redirects from your old Substack URLs to preserve search rankings.
For most paid newsletter creators: Beehiiv offers the best balance of zero revenue share and built-in growth tools to acquire the paying subscribers in the first place.
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