Which Newsletters Do Best on Substack and How Much Money They Make?
A summary of the average number of likes and comments of 3 top newsletters in 7 selected topic categories
When my article explaining why I was switching from Medium to Substack went viral, I knew this was a topic that a lot of Medium readers were interested in.
To serve my readers better, I tried to answer the question “how much money top Substack writers are making?”
I made an unscientific survey of the top 3 newsletters published across 7 selected Substack categories by calculating the average number of likes and comments for the top 3 posts of each newsletter.
You can see the results below.
Observations
Here are my general observations on the basis of this short survey:
(1) All of these top newsletters are making serious money. That’s for sure.
When a newsletter reaches 100 paid subscribers or more, Substack programmatically adds the phrase “Hundreds of paid subscribers” to the home page of the newsletter.
When a newsletter reaches 1,000 paid subscribers or more, Substack programmatically adds the phrase “Thousands of paid subscribers” to the home page of the newsletter.
When a newsletter reaches 10,000 paid subscribers or more, Substack programmatically adds the phrase “Tens of thousands of paid subscribers” to the home page of the newsletter.
Thus if you see a newsletter in this list that charges $5 a month and there is the phrase “Thousands of paid subscribers” in its description , you can be sure that that newsletter is earning at least $5,000 a month for its publisher.
You can do the math easily for every newsletter.
(2) On average, only one in 25 readers would take the time to like an article. That’s my best-educated estimate.
Thus if a newsletter on average has 1,000 likes, take it as an indication that at least 25,000 people have read that piece. That should give you a better sense of the popularity of a newsletter than the number of likes alone.
I’d say the same is true for the number of comments/responses. But this estimate is more tricky since when 100 readers post a comment, it does not mean that all are positive comments.
So at this point, I’m not sure yet how to interpret the number of comments. The verdict is not as clear as that for the number of likes.
With that, I present to you…
>>> Top 3 FEATURED Substack Newsletters as of March 2022
Letters from an American
Boston College Professor
“Historians are fond of saying that the past doesn’t repeat itself; it rhymes. To understand the present, we have to understand how we got here.”
Tens of thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022
3569 Likes and 614 Responses
Common Sense
A journalist
“There are tens of millions of Americans who aren’t on the hard left or the hard right who feel that the world has gone mad. Science is at the mercy of politics. Identity trumps ideas. In the name of progress, art is erased and history is rewritten. Obvious truths are dangerous to say out loud. This newsletter is for those people.”
Tens of thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022
1698 Likes and 513 Responses
TK News by Matt Taibbi
Regular news and features by award-winning author and investigative reporter.
Tens of thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022
1917 Likes and 1867 Responses
>>> Top 3 Paid Substack Newsletters in TECHNOLOGY Category
The Pragmatic Engineer
A weekly column with advice, observations, and inspiration across the software engineering industry. Especially relevant for engineering managers and senior engineers at big tech and startups.
By Gergely Orosz · Thousands of paid subscribers at $15 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
51 Likes and 4 Responses
Platformer
News at the intersection of Silicon Valley and democracy. Delivered Monday through Thursday at 5PM Pacific.
By Casey Newton · Thousands of paid subscribers at $10 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
39 Likes and 5 Responses
The Diff
Inflections in finance and tech
Thousands of paid subscribers at $20 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
32 Likes and 25 Responses
>>> Top 3 Paid Substack Newsletters in CULTURE Category
Proof
Know Better.
By Seth Abramson · Thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
190 Likes and 24 Responses
Culture Study
Think more about the culture that surrounds you
By Anne Helen Petersen · Thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
123 Likes and 116 Responses
Blocked and Reported
A Podcast About Internet Nonsense
Thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
316 Likes and 322 Responses
>>> Top 3 Paid Substack Newsletters in BUSINESS Category
Lenny’s Newsletter
A weekly advice column about product, growth, working with humans, and anything else that’s stressing you out about work
Thousands of paid subscribers at $15 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
151 Likes and 30 Responses
Noahpinion
Economics and other interesting stuff
By Noah Smith · Thousands of paid subscribers at $9.99 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
146 Likes and 92 Responses
The Ankler
Don’t eat lunch in this town without it
Thousands of paid subscribers at $17 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
10 Likes and 10 Responses
>>> Top 3 Paid Substack Newsletters in SPORTS Category
Cup of Coffee by Craig Calcaterra
Everything you need to know about baseball before your first cup of coffee
By Craig Calcaterra · Thousands of paid subscribers at $6 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
178 Likes and 167 Responses
The Draft Scout
The latest college football and NFL Draft news, rankings, rumors and mock drafts from NFL draft scout and insider Matt Miller, Mello and Corey Seeley.
Thousands of paid subscribers at $10 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
23 Likes and 24 Responses
Joe Blogs
Mostly sports. A substack by Joe Posnanski
Thousands of paid subscribers at $7 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
509 Likes and 350 Responses
>>> Top 3 Paid Substack Newsletters in MUSIC Category
Starship Casual
Jeff Tweedy shares songs, advice, general musings, and whatnot…
Thousands of paid subscribers at $6 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
329 Likes and 116 Responses
The Honest Broker
A trustworthy guide to music, books, arts, and culture
By Ted Gioia · Hundreds of paid subscribers at $6 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
116 Likes and 185 Responses
The Lung
Who are Nature?
By Neko Case · Hundreds of paid subscribers at $6 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
115 Likes and 68 Responses
>>> Top 3 Paid Substack Newsletters in FOOD & DRINK Category
a newsletter
recipes. stories. unsolicited advice.
Tens of thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
97 Likes and 29 Responses
David Lebovitz Newsletter
A tasty mix of recipes, Paris food bites, personal stories (irreverent and otherwise…), and more on food and travel. Sign up and get my newsletter delivered right to your Inbox!
Thousands of paid subscribers at $5 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
187 Likes and 73 Responses
The Bittman Project
Food is everything
Thousands of paid subscribers at $7 a month
Average Number of Likes and Comments for Top 3 Posts as of March 2022:
76 Likes and 41 Responses
