Newsletter LedgerPaid newsletter revenue calculator
Subscribers × conversion × price is the headline number. This calculator subtracts what each platform actually takes (plan price, revenue share and Stripe's per-charge fees) and shows what you keep in a year. Prices last checked .
5,000 subscribers × 5% = 250 paying (175 monthly at $8.00, 75 yearly at $80.00) · gross $22,800.00/year ($1,900.00/month) · platform billed yearly
Disclosure: links to platforms go through /go/ redirects. Some may become affiliate links, which would pay us a commission at no cost to you. That never changes the numbers or the order of results. Full disclosure.
| Platform | Plan | Platform fee / year | Stripe / year | All costs / year | You keep / year | Per paying reader / year | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | Free (up to 10,000) $0.00/yr |
$136.80 | $1,313.70 | $1,450.50 6.36% of revenue |
$21,349.50 $1,779.13/mo |
$85.40 | VerifiedDetails & sourcesAll figures in this row were read on the official page. Sources: kit.com, help.kit.com |
| Buttondown | Standard (up to 5,000) $456.00/yr |
$0.00 | $1,313.70 | $1,769.70 7.76% of revenue |
$21,030.30 $1,752.53/mo |
$84.12 | Has unverified figuresDetails & sources
Sources: buttondown.com, sequenzy.com |
| MailerLite | Comfort (up to 5,000) $529.20/yr |
$0.00 | $1,313.70 | $1,842.90 8.08% of revenue |
$20,957.10 $1,746.43/mo |
$83.83 | Has unverified figuresDetails & sources
Sources: emailoctopus.com, emailforbeginners.com |
| Ghost (Pro) | Publisher (up to 5,000) $756.00/yr |
$0.00 | $1,313.70 | $2,069.70 9.08% of revenue |
$20,730.30 $1,727.53/mo |
$82.92 | Has unverified figuresDetails & sources
Sources: luxethemes.com, typeflo.io |
| beehiiv | Lite (up to 5,000) $1,140.00/yr |
$0.00 | $1,313.70 | $2,453.70 10.76% of revenue |
$20,346.30 $1,695.53/mo |
$81.39 | Has unverified figuresDetails & sources
Sources: emailoctopus.com |
| Substack | Substack (no plan fee) $0.00/yr |
$2,280.00 | $1,313.70 | $3,593.70 15.76% of revenue |
$19,206.30 $1,600.53/mo |
$76.83 | VerifiedDetails & sourcesAll figures in this row were read on the official page. Sources: support.substack.com |
Sorted by what you keep, highest first; the order comes only from the numbers. Plan choice and platform fees follow the same rules as the true cost calculator. Stripe is charged per payment: monthly readers are charged 12 times a year, yearly readers once, so yearly plans pay fewer $0.30 fixed fees. Taxes, international cards, refunds, failed payments, churn and app-store fees are not included. Methodology.
What you keep at different conversion rates
Same inputs as above, varying only the share of your list that pays (paying readers in brackets). Bold = highest on that row. * = includes a figure not yet confirmed on the official page.
| Paying | Substack | beehiiv | Kit | Ghost (Pro) | Buttondown | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1% (50) | $3,841.26 | $3,157.26 * | $4,269.90 | $3,541.26 * | $3,841.26 * | $3,768.06 * |
| 2% (100) | $7,682.52 | $7,454.52 * | $8,539.80 | $7,838.52 * | $8,138.52 * | $8,065.32 * |
| 3% (150) | $11,523.78 | $11,751.78 * | $12,809.70 | $12,135.78 * | $12,435.78 * | $12,362.58 * |
| 5% (250) | $19,206.30 | $20,346.30 * | $21,349.50 | $20,730.30 * | $21,030.30 * | $20,957.10 * |
| 8% (400) | $30,730.08 | $33,238.08 * | $34,159.20 | $33,622.08 * | $33,922.08 * | $33,848.88 * |
| 10% (500) | $38,412.60 | $41,832.60 * | $42,699.00 | $42,216.60 * | $42,516.60 * | $42,443.40 * |
How the numbers are worked out
- Paying readers = subscribers × conversion %, rounded. The yearly-plan share of them is rounded too; the rest pay monthly.
- Gross per year = monthly payers × monthly price × 12 + yearly payers × yearly price.
- Plan: the cheapest self-serve plan that covers your whole list and supports paid subscriptions, × 12 (plus Buttondown's $9/month paid add-on).
- Platform fee: Substack 10%, Kit 0.6%, others 0% of gross (sources in each row).
- Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 per charge (Stripe's standard US card rate).
- You keep = gross − plan − platform fee − Stripe. Before tax.
This is arithmetic, not a forecast. Conversion rates vary widely between newsletters, so try a range rather than relying on one number. We do not publish “typical” conversion rates because we have not measured them.