STOA's verdictRating 6.3 out of 10
Substack is a great fit for small business owners, consultants, or experts who want to build an audience and earn money through a paid newsletter without dealing with complex tech.
The biggest win is that it's completely free to start — Substack only takes a 10% cut when you charge subscribers, so there's no upfront risk. The downside is that 10% fee gets expensive fast as your subscriber revenue grows, and you have limited control over design and branding.
Five factors, weighted · rubric v1How we rate
- SMB Fit 30%6.0 out of 10
It is built for a single writer or a small newsroom publishing under one publication, with no seat-based team pricing shown for a multi-person business.
