Substack & Paid Newsletter Income Calculator
Estimate monthly recurring subscription revenue (MRR), free-to-paid conversion, and platform fee splits for Substack & Beehiiv.
Substack & Paid Newsletter Income Calculator
Estimate monthly recurring revenue (MRR), paid sub conversions, and platform fee splits.
⚙️ Newsletter & Audience Stats
📊 Fee & Revenue Breakdown
What is the Substack & Paid Newsletter Income Calculator?
The Substack & Paid Newsletter Income Calculator projects your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and net annual earnings from publishing paid email newsletters.
Newsletter publishing has emerged as one of the most stable and high-margin business models in the creator economy. Platforms like Substack, Beehiiv, and ConvertKit allow writers and creators to build direct relationships with their audience without social media algorithm dependencies.
In the newsletter industry, standard free-to-paid conversion rates range between 2% and 5%. For example, a newsletter with 10,000 free subscribers and a 3% paid conversion rate will have 300 paying supporters. At $8/month per subscriber, that yields $2,400/month in gross recurring revenue.
This calculator models your free list size, paid conversion rate, subscription pricing (monthly vs annual), platform fee structures (Substack 10% vs Beehiiv tier vs Stripe processing), and sponsor CPM ad revenue to provide your Net Monthly & Annual Income.
How Does the Substack & Paid Newsletter Income Calculator Work?
1. Enter Free Subscribers — Input your total free email subscriber list size.
2. Set Paid Conversion Rate (%) — Choose estimated free-to-paid conversion percentage (default: 3.0%).
3. Set Monthly & Annual Subscription Price — Set your subscription pricing (e.g. $8/month or $80/year).
4. Choose Platform — Select Substack (10% fee), Beehiiv (0% fee + fixed tier), ConvertKit, or Custom.
5. View MRR, Net Profit & Sponsor Revenue — Instantly review your Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Net Annual Profit, Stripe fees, and optional sponsorship ad revenue.
Formula & Calculation Method
1. Total Paid Subscribers:
$$\text{Paid Subs} = \text{Free Subs} \times \left( \frac{\text{Paid Conversion %}}{100} \right)$$
2. Gross Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR):
$$\text{Gross MRR} = \text{Paid Subs} \times \left[ (\text{Monthly Ratio} \times \text{Monthly Price}) + (\text{Annual Ratio} \times \frac{\text{Annual Price}}{12}) \right]$$
3. Platform & Stripe Processing Fees:
$$\text{Platform Fee} = \text{Substack (10%)} \quad \text{Stripe Fee} = (2.9% \times \text{Gross MRR}) + (\text{Paid Subs} \times $0.30)$$
4. Newsletter Sponsor Ad Revenue:
$$\text{Monthly Ad Revenue} = \text{Issues/Mo} \times \left( \frac{\text{Free Subs} \times \text{Open Rate %}}{1,000} \right) \times \text{Sponsor CPM ($30–$60)}$$
5. Net Monthly Income:
$$\text{Net Monthly Income} = \text{Gross MRR} - \text{Platform Fee} - \text{Stripe Fee} + \text{Monthly Ad Revenue}$$
Example Calculation
Example: Substack Writer with 20,000 Free Subscribers
- Paid Conversion Rate: 3.5% → 700 Paid Subscribers
- Monthly Subscription: $8/mo | Annual Subscription: $80/yr (70% Annual / 30% Monthly)
- Substack Platform Fee: 10% | Stripe Fee: 2.9% + $0.30
Calculation:
- Blended Monthly Price per Sub = (0.30 × $8) + (0.70 × $6.67) = $7.07/mo
- Gross Monthly Revenue: 700 × $7.07 = $4,949/month
- Substack Fee (10%): $495
- Stripe Fee (2.9% + $0.30): $143.50 + $210 = $353.50
- Net Monthly Earnings: $4,949 - $495 - $353.50 = $4,100.50/month ($49,206/year)