Substack features: publish, grow, and earn in one place

One place to publish, grow, and make money

Substack lets you write, send, record, livestream, chat, sell subscriptions, and understand your business without stitching together a stack of tools.

Publish everywhere

Posts, newsletters, podcasts, video, live streams, and pages all live in one publishing flow.

Grow on the network

Recommendations, Notes, leaderboards, referrals, and search help readers find your work on-platform.

Own the relationship

Keep your subscriber list, connect your domain, export your data, and only pay when you start earning.

Why creators choose Substack

The whole system works together

Instead of separate tools for publishing, email, community, payments, and analytics, Substack connects them in one workflow so every post can help you reach readers and build a business.

Audience growth is built in

Discovery features are part of the product itself, so publishing, sharing, and subscriber growth reinforce one another.

Monetization comes standard

Free and paid posts, podcasts, subscriptions, trials, gifting, and group plans are all available without extra systems.

You keep your leverage

Bring your audience with you, export your data anytime, and build on a publication that is branded as your own.

Everything you need to run a publication

Browse the platform by outcome: create, grow, monetize, customize, and migrate. Each section below highlights the core tools in that part of the product.

Make great work in every format

Move from post to inbox to audio to live video without changing products or rebuilding your workflow.

Writing & Publishing

Substack's editor supports long-form articles, threads, podcasts, video posts, and static pages. It includes a rich text editor, post scheduling, drafts with autosave, version history, post templates, and SEO metadata controls. Creators can gate content behind a paywall at any point in a post, A/B test headlines, and cross-post between web and email.

Newsletter & Email

Every Substack post can be sent as an email newsletter. Creators can send targeted ad-hoc emails, set up automated drip campaigns, customize email CSS, and track metrics.

Podcasting

Substack includes podcast hosting with automatic RSS distribution to platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and tools for analytics.

Video

Substack supports native video hosting, live streaming, and automatic distribution to YouTube and LinkedIn.

Reach readers where discovery already happens

Recommendations, Notes, search, and community features help every post travel farther and pull new readers back to you.

Audience Growth & Discovery

Substack's built-in discovery network helps creators find readers without relying on external platforms.

Notes (Social Layer)

Notes is Substack's built-in short-form social feed.

Community & Chat

Substack includes built-in community features: threaded comments on posts and configurable moderation tools.

Reader Experience

Substack's reader experience includes a personalized algorithmic home feed, full-text search, live stream viewing, and granular notification controls.

Turn attention into a real business

Subscriptions, pricing, analytics, and collaboration tools help you understand what works and scale it with your team.

Monetization & Payments

Substack handles payments through Stripe and offers various subscription models and payment options.

Analytics & Insights

Substack provides detailed analytics covering subscriber growth, retention cohorts, email performance, and more.

Team & Collaboration

Substack supports multiple team roles and co-authored posts.

Shape the publication around your brand

Customize the site, connect your domain, and distribute your work across the channels your audience already uses.

Design & Customization

Substack offers a visual website editor with multiple homepage layouts and color/font customization.

Custom Domain & Branding

Substack supports custom domains and DNS configurations.

Distribution & Integrations

Substack generates RSS feeds and integrates with various tracking tools and social media platforms.

Migrate confidently and keep control

Substack supports importing posts and subscribers from multiple platforms and allows data export.

Import & Export (Data Portability)

Support for importing from platforms like WordPress, Ghost, Medium, and more.

Mobile Apps

Substack has native iOS and Android apps for managing publications and reading.

Infrastructure & Platform

Substack is free to start and handles various backend services for users.

Programs & Creator Support

Recognition programs and in-app support for creators.

Frequently asked questions

What is Substack?

Substack is a publishing platform where writers, podcasters, and video creators build subscription-based publications.

How much does Substack cost?

Substack is free to use with a revenue share only when a creator earns money.

Can I use my own domain on Substack?

Yes.

Can I import my subscribers from another platform?

Yes.

Can I export my data from Substack?

Yes.

Does Substack support podcasting?

Yes.

Does Substack support video?

Yes.

How does Substack help me grow my audience?

Through its built-in discovery network.

What makes Substack different from Mailchimp, Beehiiv, or Ghost?

It combines publishing with audience discovery.

Does Substack have an app?

Yes.

Can I accept payments through Substack?

Yes.

Can I customize the design of my Substack?

Yes.

Does Substack provide legal support for writers and creators?

Yes.