I am a huge fan of independent journalism and the folks who are bringing a variety of point-of-views to the media landscape. Over the course of the past couple of months and even years, legacy media organizations have been coined by multiple waves of layoffs. Besides that, employees of those organizations had to deal with employers trying to control what opinions their employees express on social media, worry about work getting published that contradicts their values, or getting fired for the opinions they are holding.

Loads of journalists went independent, building their own publications.

However, as Molly White pointed out in her remarkable piece I am my own legal department: the promise and peril of "just go independent", the world of independent journalism, or working as an independent writer is not for everyone.

What I like to call the first wave of journalists going independent, ended in multiple writers building their new "publications" on Substack. I put the term publications in quotes for a reason, since if you are using Substack, you are not building a publication, you are just setting up a temporary home on someone else's platform. More importantly, and this brings us into the present, you are building your publication on a platform that supports Nazis, and monetizes their content.

Substack's Nazi problem led to multiple journalists and independent writers leave the platform, realizing that there are loads of alternatives, some of them even provide a way better experience for both the writer and the reader. Ghost, Beehiiv, Buttondown are all solid alternatives. However, if you grew your publication on Substack to thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of subscribers, you suddenly get hit with a hefty subscription fee with those other platforms, since compared to Substack, most of them only have limited free plans (Kit's Newsletter Plan* is one of the most generous though, being free for up to 10k subscribers), but then you have to pay for a specific plan if you went over that limit.

What makes Substack so attractive to writers (and that has also been the reason I used it for a year before making the switch to Ghost) is that there are no subscription fees. You just sign up for an account and start writing. Once you start to sell paid memberships, this is where Substack comes in, and takes a 10% cut of whatever you are making. This might not sound like that much, but it is a hefty cut, especially once you start growing, and if you are pursuing the dream of becoming an independent writer supported by paid subscriptions from your readers, that 10% is setting you back. Let us do some quick maths. I am choosing some larger numbers on purpose, since there are multiple independent writers with huge "publications" on Substack, claiming that they can not afford to move to a truly independent solution, like hosting their own Ghost publication for example. Imagine a publication with 75.000 subscribers. 10% of that are paying subscribers at $50 per year subscriptions, which means 7.500 x $50 = $375.000 per year. Now, Substack takes a 10% cut of that, which is $37.500 per year that you have to "pay" to Substack to use its platform.

Now, with that number in mind, let us check some Substack alternatives and their costs:

  • 75.000 subscribers at Kit* cost you $4.990 per year
  • 75.000 subscribers at beehiiv* cost you $3.052 per year
  • 75.000 subscribers at Buttondown* cost you $3.790 per year
  • 75.000 subscribers at Ghost Pro cost you $4.980 per year

Side-note: for the sake of simplicity I have only factored in platform fees, but be aware that there are also payment processing fees by Stripe, so in fact you would pay even more with that amount of subscribers on Substack.

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And this is the exact reason why I can only frown whenever I read online that some independent writer yet again stated that they have no choice than staying on Substack. It can not be because of the costs, since with each of the above mentioned alternatives, you are able to save at least $32.510 per year (Molly White did even more math and found out that once you have 18 paying subscribers at $5 per month, Ghost or Buttondown both become cheaper than Substack). So, what is holding writers back to leave Substack? Is it because they believe that Substack will help them grow a monetizable audience while Substack is instead stealing your audience and your revenue? Is it because they like cozying up with nazis? Is it because they are scared about losing Substack's bullshit recommendation service (Kit and beehiiv are offering the non-bullshit versions of that)? Is it because it is just too comfortable writing on Substack?

The allure of independence and the promise of creative freedom while not having to think about growth or marketing, has driven many journalists to Substack. However, it is crucial to weigh these benefits against ethical and financial implications. There are only benefits when becoming an independent writer and becoming a master of the writing AND the business side of an independent publication. The goal of an independent writer and publication should be to reclaim their voices, shushed by billionaires in media and tech. When you are staying on Substack, you are bowing down to those very same billionaires, as Substack is funded by some of the worst venture capitalist on this planet, including Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.

Substack is not supporting or empowering independent media. And all those independent writers staying on that platform should know better.

The landscape of independent journalism is rich with alternatives that not only offer competitive pricing but also align more closely with the values of integrity and independence. There is no doubt that it became essential for journalists and writers to critically evaluate the platforms they choose to host their work. The decision to stay on Substack or migrate to another platform should not be dictated by comfort or convenience but by a commitment to ethical journalism and financial prudence.

Independent journalism is here to foster a diverse and vibrant media landscape. If you are part of that landscape, the least you could do is to make informed choices about the platforms you use, so we can all contribute to a more equitable and principled future for independent writing.

I am dreaming of this independent media landscape that is supported by folks who are striving to build publications that reflect their values and support their aspirations. Let us all ensure that our work truly belongs to us and our readers.

Till next time! 👋‌‌‌‌

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