Every year, the Substack ecosystem gets more crowded — and yet, a few creators still stand out, turning newsletters into full-blown businesses.
By mid-2025, Substack officially celebrated a key milestone: more than 50 authors now earn over $1 million annually from paid subscriptions alone.
That’s not hype — it’s proof that the model still works at scale. But what do those top earners actually do differently? What tactics do they lean on? And how can you adapt those lessons for your newsletter, even if you're starting small?
In this article, you’ll get:
A current Top Earners Table pulled from Substack leaderboards
Breakdown of models, price tiers, retention strategies
Key patterns and differentiators (beyond raw audience size)
Actionable lessons you can apply, even before you hit four figures
Let’s dig in.
Here’s a sampling of top paid newsletters in various categories (via Substack leaderboards) and their visible metrics. Note: many specific revenue numbers are estimates or derived from public data and leaderboard ranking logic (which is based on ARR).
Rank / Category | Name | Observed Strength / Notes | What You Can Infer / Learn |
|---|---|---|---|
Business / Paid Leaderboard | Lenny’s Newsletter | Leading in “Business” paid leaderboard. | Even in business, being niche + high-value helps. |
Business / Paid | Noahpinion (Noah Smith) | Also in top business paid spot. | Economists and macro angles resonate with paid readers. |
U.S. Politics / Paid | The Free Press | Dominates politics leaderboard. | Political commentary with a voice still commands power. |
U.S. Politics / Paid | The Bulwark | Political, opinion, and analysis. | Multi-format content (newsletter + podcast) magnifies value. |
Finance / Paid | Citrini | Top in finance category. | Finance audiences are willing to pay for insight, especially in niche segments. |
Finance / Paid | Doomberg | Also ranks in finance paid. | Their tiered model (one expensive tier) shows strong monetization potential. |
Education / Paid | Aella / Knowingless | Leading in education paid. | “Teach what you know” still works — education + creator = strong yield. |
Education / Paid | Write With AI | Also high in education paid. | Leveraging trends (like AI) helps capture fast interest. |
Live Snapshot: Top Substack Earners (2025)
What the Top Earners Teach Us
Beyond the names and rankings, the true value lies in patterns and strategic decisions they’ve made.
1. Dominant Categories: Politics, Business, Finance, Education
Of the 45 newsletters estimated to exceed $1M ARR, nearly all come from just 6–7 Substack categories: business, finance, politics, tech, economics, and niche education.
If your newsletter is in a “soft” vertical (lifestyle, general interest), you must lean harder on differentiation, authority, or bundling for revenue.
2. You Don’t Need Tens of Thousands of Paid Subscribers
Many top-earning newsletters are not those with massive total audiences, but those with sharp monetization — high price, retention, tiered offerings.
Thus: focus early on how much value you extract per reader, not just how many you attract.
3. Consistency Beats Frequency (Mostly)
Although a few top newsletters publish multiple times per day (especially in fast-moving political/news categories), many of the seven-figure earners maintain a weekly or a few-times-weekly cadence.
It shows that sustainable rhythm + value matters more than “more issues = more revenue.”
4. Tiered Pricing & Upsells Are Standard
Top creators often layer offerings: free issue, mid-tier, premium deep-dive content, and sometimes events or consulting. This lets readers self-segment based on willingness to pay.
5. Retention & Churn Control Are Crucial
A big mistake is obsessing solely about new subs. The real profit comes from minimizing churn, keeping people paid over time.
Top newsletters deploy onboarding sequences, feedback loops, periodic surveys, and exclusive content for subscribers to build stickiness.
6. Transparency & Storytelling Elevates Trust
Many of the top Substack authors publish occasional revenue or growth stories, letting their audience in behind the scenes. This builds loyalty and authenticity.
7. Multiple Revenue Channels
Subscription revenue alone is powerful, but top earners often add:
Sponsorships & podcast ads (where allowed)
Courses, workshops, consulting
Events or memberships
Especially once your paid base is stable.
Revenue Realities & Milestones
Here are some concrete figures and trends to use as benchmarks:
Substack itself confirmed: 50+ of its authors now earn $1M+ ARR in paid subscriptions.
The 45 newsletters estimated at $1M+ ARR come mostly from a handful of categories — reinforcing high-dollar verticals.
In Reddit discussions: “The number of Substack newsletters earning at least half a million dollars a year in subscriptions revenue has doubled in two years. It's 52 Substacks now.”
These data points tell you:
Getting to $1M+ isn’t hyper-rare anymore — but still elite.
The “middle class” of newsletter businesses making $100k–$500k is growing.
You can use these benchmarks to reverse engineer your own path (e.g. if you want $200k/yr, figure out required paid subs at your price point, and aim for retention metrics).
Real Pain Points & How Top Earners Overcame Them
“I see these massive names and think: Why would anyone pay me?”
“I grew to 1,000 free readers but can’t convert to paid.”
“Churn kills me — people leave too fast.”
Here’s how top creators approach these:
Niche early, then expand — they don’t try to serve all. They start laser-focused, then broaden.
Start monetizing with small experiments — don’t wait for 10,000 subs. Offer a mini-course, or a “first 10 paying users” tier.
Optimize onboarding — welcome sequences, mini surveys, early engagement = more stickiness.
Re-engagement campaigns — for those wavering, offer a discount or free month to win them back.
Tiered upgrade paths — free → mid → premium allows natural upsell as trust builds.
Transparency & storytelling — public reflections on growth, mistakes, wins help humanize and validate your model.
Action Plan: How You Use These Lessons Today
Here’s how you can apply what you’ve learned from top Substack earners:
Choose a high-leverage category or niche.
You don’t have to pick politics or finance, but pick something with paying potential.
Set a price & retention goal first.
Reverse engineer: to reach $100k/year, maybe you need 1,000 paying subs @ $10/mo.
Publish with consistency, not chaos.
Pick a schedule you can maintain (e.g., weekly).
Build onboarding & retention loops.
Automate welcome, surveys, re-engagement, content gating.
Create tiered offerings.
Free + paid + premium layers let you test upsells.
Share your journey.
Publish occasional revenue reports, growth lessons, or behind-the-scenes notes.
Expand revenue streams over time.
Once your paid base is stable, layer in ads, courses, events, or affiliate deals.
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