Feb 22, 2024 - Business

Substack says it now has more than 3 million paid subscriptions

Sara Fischer

Substack on Thursday will announce that more than 3 million customers subscribe to paid newsletters on its platform, up from 2 million announced last year and 1 million in 2021.

The big picture: Substack raised tens of millions of dollars at a lofty valuation with the assumption that it could reach a critical enough mass of paid subscribers that it could one day become profitable and self-sustaining.

Details: In a note shared with Axios, Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie and product VP Sachin Monga credit new efforts to improve its recommendations feature for growing its paid subscriber base.

The company said it plans to expand the recommendations feature, which helps writers promote other newsletters in its network, to include more newsletters that can be recommended at a time.
The company makes money by taking a 10% cut of all paid subscriptions in on its platform in exchange for offering support to the writers and podcasters it works with.

What to watch: The latest subscription milestone suggests there’s still room for growth within Substack’s current model, but the firm is experimenting with other ideas to improve it.

Earlier this month Axios reported that the company is trying to quietly help some of the creators on its platform sell ads.

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Substack says it now has more than 3 million paid subscriptions

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