You can get paid for a newsletter in three main ways: charge recurring subscriptions for premium issues, accept one-time reader payments for replies, shoutouts, services, tips, or projects, and sell sponsorship placements to brands. The best fit depends on whether you want recurring revenue, direct reader transactions, or advertiser-funded income.
What are the three ways to get paid for a newsletter?
Newsletters earn money three ways: recurring paid subscriptions billed by your sending platform, one-time reader payments for a specific reply, shoutout, service, tip, or project, and sponsorship placements bought by brands. Subscriptions produce predictable monthly revenue, one-time payments ask no ongoing commitment from the reader, and sponsorships shift the cost from readers to advertisers.
| Method | Who pays and why | Audience requirement | Payment type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid subscriptions | Readers pay to unlock premium issues | No published platform minimum; income depends on free-to-paid conversion | Recurring |
| One-time reader payments | Readers pay for a specific reply, shoutout, service, tip, or project | No subscriber minimum on FanBell | One-time |
| Sponsorships or ads | A brand pays for placement in your newsletter | No universal threshold; you need enough audience and engagement evidence to make the placement attractive | One-time per deal |
Paid subscriptions make sense when you can consistently publish premium content. One-time payments suit readers who want a specific interaction without another subscription. Sponsorships become more practical when you can show prospective advertisers credible audience, engagement, and campaign data; that is planning advice rather than a universal sponsor requirement.
Reader-paid newsletters are a large and fast-growing market. Substack announced 5 million paid subscriptions across its platform in March 2025, up from the 4 million it had reported less than four months earlier (Substack: 5 million). Paid-subscription revenue on beehiiv reached $19 million in 2025, a 138% increase over the $8 million recorded in 2024, and beehiiv projects $35 million for 2026.
Per-newsletter income is far more modest than those platform totals suggest. The median free-to-paid conversion rate across newsletters on beehiiv is 0.62%, and the median paid newsletter charges $10 per month or $100 per year (beehiiv: The State of Paid Newsletters 2026). At those medians, a 5,000-subscriber list converts about 31 paying readers and grosses roughly $3,700 a year before platform and processing fees.
Category matters more than list size. In beehiiv's investing vertical the median monthly price is $27 and the top 10% of publications convert 18.69% of free readers, against 5.55% for the top 10% of technology newsletters (beehiiv: The State of Paid Newsletters 2026). Median subscriber lifetime value on beehiiv runs from $83 to $230 depending on category, with investing newsletters at the $230 top end (beehiiv: The State of Paid Newsletters 2026).
For a broader explanation of reader-funded monetization beyond newsletters, see how to monetize followers directly.
How much do newsletter platforms charge for paid subscriptions?
Platform fees on newsletter subscriptions range from 0% to 10% before payment processing. Substack takes 10% of each transaction, beehiiv and Ghost take 0%, and Kit takes 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction inclusive of processing. Ghost additionally requires a paid hosting plan, while Substack, beehiiv, and Kit let you publish free at small list sizes.
This guide compares Substack, beehiiv, Kit, and Ghost — the four newsletter platforms most commonly used for paid subscriptions — because each publishes its own fee schedule, allowing a direct comparison:
| Platform | Publishing cost | Fee on paid subscriptions | Minimum subscription price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substack | Free to publish (Substack: How much does Substack cost) | 10% platform fee, 2.9% + $0.30 credit-card fee, and a 0.7% recurring-billing fee (Substack: How much does Substack cost) | $5/month or $30/year on US-dollar Stripe accounts (Substack: How do I set up a paid publication) |
| beehiiv | Free for up to 2,500 subscribers | 0% platform fee; 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing (beehiiv pricing) | Not published; the creator sets the price (beehiiv Paid Subscriptions) |
| Kit, formerly ConvertKit | Free for up to 10,000 subscribers (Kit pricing) | 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction, inclusive of processing (Kit help center: Sell digital products with Kit) | Not published; the creator sets the price (Kit pricing) |
| Ghost | $18/month billed yearly on Starter, which excludes paid subscriptions; paid tiers require the $29/month Publisher plan (Ghost pricing) | 0% platform fee; 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing (Ghost pricing) | Not published; the creator sets the price (Ghost pricing) |
Substack's own support documentation states the company takes 10% of each transaction, on top of a 2.9% + $0.30 credit-card fee and a 0.7% billing fee on recurring payments introduced in July 2024 (Substack: How much does Substack cost). Substack also enforces a price floor: the minimum subscription price is $5 per month and $30 per year for US-dollar Stripe accounts (Substack: How do I set up a paid publication).
Ghost is the only one of the four that gates paid subscriptions behind a paid plan: the $18/month Starter plan (billed yearly, at 1,000 members) does not include paid subscriptions, and enabling paid tiers requires the $29/month Publisher plan. Ghost takes no revenue share, stating that publishers "process payments for your premium subscriptions without any additional transaction fees from Ghost".
Kit charges 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction on USD sales with no monthly Commerce fee and nothing owed until a sale happens (Kit help center: Sell digital products with Kit). beehiiv takes 0% of paid-subscription revenue and passes through the standard processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
For a closer look at Substack, see is Substack worth it for a small newsletter and how much Substack writers actually make.
How much would you keep from a $5 monthly subscription?
A $5 monthly subscription nets an estimated $4.02 on Substack, $4.56 on beehiiv, $4.56 on Ghost, and $4.53 on Kit, calculated from each platform's published fee schedule and a 2.9% + $0.30 card rate. Those are per-transaction figures; Ghost's required $29/month Publisher plan is not spread across subscribers here.
| Platform | Fee calculation on $5 | Estimated net |
|---|---|---|
| Substack | $5 − $0.50 platform fee − about $0.15 processing percentage − $0.30 processing charge − about $0.04 recurring-billing fee | About $4.02 |
| beehiiv | $5 − about $0.15 processing percentage − $0.30 processing charge | About $4.56 |
| Kit | $5 − about $0.18 percentage fee − $0.30 transaction charge | About $4.53 |
| Ghost | $5 − about $0.15 processing percentage − $0.30 processing charge | About $4.56 before the required $29/month Publisher plan |
These are transaction-level estimates based on the published fees. Stripe's standard US rate of 2.9% + $0.30 per successful domestic-card transaction is the processing input used above (Stripe pricing); actual charges vary by payment method and country.
Do you need a certain number of subscribers before charging?
No. None of Substack, beehiiv, Kit, or Ghost publishes a minimum subscriber count for turning on paid subscriptions, and FanBell sets no subscriber minimum for one-time reader payments. List size changes how much you earn, not whether you are permitted to charge — eligibility and income are separate questions.
Substack's pricing documentation lists only the 10% platform fee and payment terms, with no list-size requirement (Substack: How much does Substack cost). beehiiv, Kit, and Ghost likewise publish fees and plan tiers with no subscriber floor for enabling paid subscriptions (beehiiv Paid Subscriptions; Kit pricing; Ghost pricing).
Substack's own going-paid guide states: "We tend to see 5-10% of free subscribers convert to paying subscriptions, with 10% being a rate to aim for" (Substack going-paid guide). At that 5–10% band a 300-subscriber free list would convert 15 to 30 paying readers, while beehiiv's platform-wide median conversion rate of 0.62% would turn the same 300 free readers into about 2 (beehiiv: The State of Paid Newsletters 2026). Treat the Substack figure as an aspirational target and the beehiiv median as the typical outcome.
Sponsorships also have no universal list-size threshold, and at least one major ad marketplace gates access by plan rather than by audience: beehiiv states its Ad Network is "available to anyone on the Scale plan or above, who is actively sending on beehiiv".
Newsletter sponsorships are priced three ways: CPM (cost per thousand opens), CPC (cost per click), or a flat rate per placement. beehiiv defines its CPM payouts against unique opens, stating that "with a $5 CPM, you'll earn $5 for every 1,000 unique opens" delivered in a single send. For click-priced campaigns, beehiiv's worked example is a $2 CPC on 100 payable clicks paying out $200, and Ad Network payouts are processed on the 20th of each month for ads placed the previous month. Rates you negotiate directly with a brand vary by niche and engagement, so a media kit should state subscriber count, average open rate, average click-through rate, audience niche, past sponsor examples, and the CPM, CPC, or flat rate you charge.
What if readers would rather pay once than subscribe?
A one-time payment lets a reader buy one specific thing — a private reply, a shoutout, a service, a tip, or support toward a project — without starting a subscription. It complements paid issues rather than replacing them, and it works at any list size because nothing depends on a recurring billing relationship.
FanBell supports several one-time payment formats:
- A Paid Private Question, where a reader pays to ask and the creator replies by text.
- A Personalized Shoutout.
- A Creator Service, such as editing or feedback.
- A Tip, with nothing owed in return.
- Project Support toward a stated goal.
FanBell charges no monthly fee and sets no subscriber minimum: signup and page setup cost nothing, and the only FanBell charge is a 12% platform fee taken from a payment when a reader actually pays (FanBell pricing).
FanBell payments are processed through Stripe, and payouts are sent to the creator's connected Stripe account (how FanBell works). Stripe's processing charge is separate and is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful domestic-card transaction in the US.
For a side-by-side look at transaction and platform costs, see creator platform fees compared.
How much would you keep from a one-time $20 payment?
A one-time $20 FanBell payment nets an estimated $16.72. FanBell's 12% platform fee takes $2.40 and Stripe's US domestic-card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 takes about $0.88. There is no monthly plan cost to subtract on top of that.
The full calculation for a $20 payment:
- FanBell’s 12% platform fee is $2.40.
- Approximate Stripe processing is $0.88: 2.9% of $20 is $0.58, plus $0.30.
- The estimated creator net is $16.72: $20 − $2.40 − $0.88.
The 12% platform fee comes from FanBell pricing and the processing rate comes from Stripe pricing. Actual Stripe charges vary by payment method and country.
How do you set up newsletter payments?
Setting up newsletter payments takes five steps: choose the payment model, define exactly what the buyer receives, decide where the payment happens, publish the price and terms, then deliver. Subscriptions are configured inside your sending platform, while one-time reader payments run on a separate link you place in the newsletter footer.
- Choose the payment model. Use subscriptions for recurring premium content, one-time payments for specific interactions, or sponsorships for advertiser-funded placements.
- Define what the buyer receives. State the premium publishing schedule, one-time deliverable and turnaround, or sponsorship placement clearly.
- Select where payment happens. Substack, beehiiv, Kit, and Ghost handle subscriptions directly. For one-time reader payments, add a FanBell link to your newsletter footer or creator bio.
- Publish a clear offer. Explain the price, deliverable, timing, and whether the payment recurs.
- Fulfill or manage the transaction. Publish premium issues as promised or complete the paid request within the stated turnaround. Card payments processed through Stripe can still be reversed by a dispute (chargeback), which debits the payment amount plus a dispute fee from the recipient's balance; Stripe's published US dispute fee is $15.00 for each dispute received, refunded only if you win. Collecting payment is therefore not protection from non-fulfillment.
A newsletter can use more than one model at the same time—for example, recurring subscriptions for premium issues and one-time payments for readers who want a reply, service, shoutout, or tip.
Create your free FanBell page and add a reader-payment link to your newsletter alongside whatever subscription setup you already run.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a certain number of subscribers to get paid for my newsletter?
No. FanBell has no subscriber minimum for one-time reader payments, and Substack, beehiiv, Kit, and Ghost publish no minimum list size for paid subscriptions on their cited pricing pages. Subscriber count still determines income: at beehiiv's median free-to-paid conversion rate of 0.62% and median $10 monthly price, 1,000 free subscribers convert to about 6 paying readers, or roughly $62 a month before fees (beehiiv: The State of Paid Newsletters 2026).
What is the cheapest way to get paid for a newsletter?
It depends on transaction volume and whether you need a paid hosting plan. beehiiv charges a 0% platform fee and is free up to 2,500 subscribers, making it the cheapest subscription option at small scale. Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers but charges 3.5% + $0.30 per paid transaction (Kit pricing), Substack charges 10% plus processing with no publishing cost (Substack: How much does Substack cost), and Ghost takes 0% but requires its $29/month Publisher plan to enable paid tiers. For one-time payments, FanBell has no monthly fee and charges a 12% platform fee only when a reader pays.
Can I combine paid subscriptions with one-time reader payments?
Yes. A subscription platform can handle recurring premium content while FanBell provides a one-time option for direct replies, shoutouts, services, tips, or project support. Readers can then choose the payment format that matches what they want.
Does my newsletter have to be on Substack to get paid?
No. beehiiv, Kit, and Ghost all support paid subscriptions with different fee structures: 0% on beehiiv, 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction on Kit, and 0% on Ghost above its $29/month Publisher plan (beehiiv Paid Subscriptions; Kit pricing; Ghost pricing). You can also accept one-time reader payments without moving your newsletter to any subscription platform.
Ready to start getting paid by your readers?
You do not need a subscriber minimum or a monthly FanBell plan to begin accepting one-time reader payments. Create your free FanBell page — it is free to start, with a 12% platform fee only when a reader actually pays.
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