How to Add a Link to Your Substack Profile

Substack links are added in two different places: use substack.com/profile/edit for social or website links on your personal profile, and use Publication Settings > Website > Homepage links for links on your newsletter’s public homepage. The two surfaces are separate, so adding a URL to one does not add it to the other.

For the wider placement decision, see what creators should put in their link in bio.

Key figures for Substack links:

• Substack's Help Center states that "your handle will also determine your Substack profile URL: substack.com/@handle," which is the address a profile link is added to (Substack Help).
• Substack's Help Center documents personal-profile Social links and publication Homepage links with no listed fee and no eligibility threshold (Substack Help; Substack Help).
• A custom domain costs "a one-time $50 USD fee," with no sales tax or VAT charged on it, per Substack's Help Center (Substack Help).
• A newly linked Substack custom domain "can take up to 36 hours to fully configure," per Substack's Help Center.
• Substack allows up to 10 publications under a single account, and each publication carries its own Homepage links list.
• On paid subscriptions Substack takes "10% of each transaction" and Stripe adds "a credit card fee (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)," rates unaffected by any link a writer adds.

How do I add a link to my Substack profile?

Add the URL at substack.com/profile/edit, in the Social links field that sits below Name, Handle, and Bio, then select Save. Substack's Help Center states that a Substack profile displays "any social links you've connected," alongside the photo, bio, and publications tied to that identity.

1. Go to substack.com/profile/edit, or select your avatar and then Edit profile.
2. Scroll past Name, Handle, and Bio to Social links.
3. Add the URLs for your social accounts or personal website.
4. Select Save.

Substack's Help Center article "How do I update my Substack profile" describes the profile-edit flow with no fee, follower threshold, or eligibility requirement attached to the Social links field. The Handle set on that same screen is, per Substack's Help Center, a "unique identifier" that can appear on surfaces including your Substack profile and Notes.

What is the URL of my Substack profile?

A Substack profile lives at substack.com/@handle: Substack's Help Center states that "your handle will also determine your Substack profile URL: substack.com/@handle," and that the profile is public. That address is the page your Social links appear on.

Substack's Help Center states that "writers can keep a Substack subdomain or handle indefinitely so long as their publication or profile remains active," so the substack.com/@handle address you share stays stable while the account is in use (Substack Help).

How do I add links to my Substack publication homepage?

Publication homepage links live under Settings > Website > Homepage links, and Substack's Help Center states that each entry takes "any link URL, title and subtitle," plus the group the link belongs to. This surface belongs to the newsletter, not to your personal identity.

1. Open your publication’s Settings page.
2. Select Website in the dashboard.
3. Find Homepage links.
4. Enter the link URL, its title, and its subtitle, then choose the group the link belongs to.

Substack's Help Center documents this exact path — Settings > Website > Homepage links — and describes the resulting links as usable "as a blogroll, to direct readers to other places". That same Help Center page describes the Homepage links flow with no fee and no eligibility restriction attached to it.

Homepage links appear on a publication's public front page, while Social links appear on the personal profile edited at substack.com/profile/edit, and Substack's Help Center documents the two under separate articles (Substack Help; Substack Help). Use the Homepage list for destinations that should be visible to visitors browsing the newsletter itself, such as an archive, a portfolio, or a related project page.

Substack's Help Center states that "Substack allows up to 10" publications under the same account, which means one writer can maintain up to 10 separate Homepage links lists alongside a single personal profile.

How do I link text inside a Substack post?

Select the text in the Substack editor and press cmd + K: Substack's Help Center lists that shortcut, stating "with text selected, press cmd + K to add a link". In-post hyperlinks are separate from profile Social links and publication Homepage links.

Pasting a Substack post URL directly into a draft "will embed a linked preview of the post's first few lines," per Substack's Help Center, so a bare URL in a post can render as a preview card rather than as plain text.

Can I use my own custom domain instead of a substack.com URL?

Yes, but it is a paid step, separate from adding a clickable profile or Homepage link. Substack's Help Center states directly: "Substack charges a one-time $50 USD fee to use a custom domain for your publication," and adds that sales tax or VAT is not charged on that fee.

Substack's Help Center also states that once a custom domain is linked to Substack, "it can take up to 36 hours to fully configure". Redirecting a root domain — yourdomain.com without a www or other subdomain — can likewise take up to 36 hours after the DNS setup is finished, per Substack's Help Center.

A $50 custom domain replaces a publication's substack.com address with a branded domain and does not add a clickable link to the author's personal Substack profile. Substack's Help Center also restricts who can start the process, stating: "You'll need to be the publication's owner or group administrator to connect the custom domain". Writers who cross-post to other platforms can add those accounts as ordinary Social links at substack.com/profile/edit instead, with no owner-level permission and no $50 charge. If Telegram is one of those destinations, set up the right clickable Telegram bio link before adding it to Substack.

Which Substack link option should I use?

Choose by where the reader will be standing. Social links reach people who click your name in comments and Notes; Homepage links reach visitors browsing the newsletter; a custom domain changes the publication's web address for a one-time $50 USD fee and can take up to 36 hours to configure, per Substack's Help Center.

Only one of the three placements carries a published price: the custom domain, at a one-time $50 USD with no sales tax or VAT, per Substack's Help Center.

Where should the link actually point?

Point a profile Social link at your single most relevant personal destination — website, portfolio, or one page that collects your offers — and point Homepage links at resources tied to that newsletter's subject. Substack's Help Center notes each Homepage link carries a title and a subtitle, so the label itself can set expectations. Musicians can compare that with Spotify artist profile link options before choosing where to send readers.

• Personal profile: your website, portfolio, social account, or a single page collecting your main destinations.
• Publication homepage: a resource, service, community, or offer relevant to that newsletter’s audience.
• Custom domain: the publication itself under a branded web address.

Keep the destination focused. One clear next step is generally easier to understand than an unrelated list of feeds and offers. For a broader framework, see what creators should put in their link in bio. If the destination has a commercial purpose, how to monetize your link in bio explains how to choose and price the offer behind it.

Does adding a link change how Substack pays you?

No — Substack's published rates do not vary with the links a writer adds. Substack's Help Center states that on a paid publication, "From Substack: 10% of each transaction," while Stripe charges "a credit card fee (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)" plus a billing fee for recurring subscriptions.

Substack's Help Center sets the floor for paid subscriptions at "$5 per month and $30 per year" for US-dollar Stripe accounts, a minimum unaffected by profile or Homepage links. For more on the subscription model, see Substack's fees and how much Substack writers actually make.

A linked external service may have its own payment terms, so review those terms separately before directing readers to a paid offer.

What should the link point to before I add it?

Confirm three things before pasting a URL into either Substack field: the purpose of the click, the destination's relevance to that specific surface, and whether the landing page explains the next step immediately. A Homepage link gives you a title and a subtitle to state that purpose in the link itself (Substack Help).

1. Purpose: Decide whether readers should view information, contact you, support a project, or purchase something.
2. Relevance: Match the destination to either your personal identity or the publication’s subject.
3. Clarity: Make sure the destination immediately explains what readers can do next.

One optional destination, separate from Substack's own settings, is a FanBell page for paid private questions, tips, shoutouts, or project support — pricing details are covered in the closing section below.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between my Substack profile and my publication homepage?

Your profile is tied to your personal Substack identity and includes Social links edited at substack.com/profile/edit. Your publication homepage belongs to the newsletter, and its links are managed under Settings > Website > Homepage links (Substack Help).

Adding a URL to one surface does not add it to the other.

What is my Substack profile link?

Your Substack profile link is substack.com/@handle, because Substack's Help Center states that "your handle will also determine your Substack profile URL: substack.com/@handle". Substack's Help Center adds that writers can keep that handle "indefinitely so long as their publication or profile remains active".

How many links can I add to my Substack profile?

Substack's cited profile and Homepage-link Help Center articles explain how to add links but do not state a single combined numerical limit across both surfaces (Substack Help; Substack Help). Add only the most relevant destinations so readers can quickly choose where to go.

Do I have to pay to add a link on Substack?

No listed fee applies to ordinary personal-profile Social links or publication Homepage links; both are part of standard account settings (Substack Help; Substack Help).

The separate custom-domain option costs a one-time $50 USD fee, per Substack's own Help Center, and changes the publication’s web address rather than adding an ordinary clickable link.

How long does a Substack custom domain take to start working?

Substack's Help Center states that once a custom domain is linked to Substack, "it can take up to 36 hours to fully configure," and that root-domain redirects can also take up to 36 hours after DNS setup (Substack Help; Substack Help).

Does adding a Substack link affect the 10% platform fee?

No. Substack's Help Center puts the platform's cut at "10% of each transaction" plus Stripe's "2.9% + $0.30 per transaction" credit card fee, a rate set by the paid-subscription product rather than by any link a writer adds to a profile or homepage.

Where should a Substack writer point a profile link?

A profile link should lead to the writer’s most relevant personal destination, such as a website, portfolio, social account, contact page, or focused reader-support page. Publication-specific resources generally belong in the separate Homepage links area.

How can I get started?

If you want a paid destination for that link rather than a free one, FanBell is one option: no follower minimum, free to start, and a 12% platform fee charged only when a reader pays (FanBell pricing). Readers pay the full price upfront as guests by card, then you answer by text in a private thread on your own schedule, with no live calls to book (how FanBell works).

Create your free FanBell page — optional, and separate from the Substack steps above.