Kit vs Substack: real cost comparison

All-in monthly cost — platform fee, revenue share, and card processing — computed from each platform's own published pricing (last verified 2026-06-10).

Cost at three list sizes

ScenarioGross / moKitSubstackCheaper
Starting out — 1,000 subscribers, 50 paid at $8/mo$400$29/mo$69.40/moKit
Growing — 5,000 subscribers, 250 paid at $10/mo$2,500no eligible plan$415/mo—
Established — 25,000 subscribers, 1,000 paid at $10/mo$10,000no eligible plan$1,660/mo—

Assumes monthly billing for every paid subscriber; platform fees use annual-billed rates where cheaper. Run your own numbers in the calculator.

Kit

  • Revenue share: 3.5%
  • Processing: Kit Commerce (processing bundled into revenueShare)
  • Paid plans: free (platform monetizes via revenue share)
Full Kit fee profile →

Substack

  • Revenue share: 10%
  • Processing: Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% recurring
  • Paid plans: free (platform monetizes via revenue share)
Full Substack fee profile →

Fine print that changes the math

  • Kit: PARTIAL DATA: pricing page only renders prices at 1,000 subscribers; Creator/Pro prices at 5k/10k/25k require the slider's underlying API — scraper TODO before publishing any above-1k cost claims.
  • Kit: Paid Recommendations earnings carry a separate 23.5% Kit fee.
  • Kit: Affiliate commission terms are from prior knowledge, not verified this session.
  • Substack: Effective all-in cost on paid revenue is roughly 13-16% of gross once Stripe card + recurring billing fees are included.
  • Substack: Annual subscriptions incur fewer per-transaction fees than monthly ones, so all-in percentage varies with billing mix.

Frequently asked questions

What fees does Kit charge?

Kit takes 3.5% of paid-subscription revenue, with no monthly platform fee.

What fees does Substack charge?

Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue, with no monthly platform fee.

Sources