Can you really leave Substack? Substack was built on the promise that creators could leave whenever they wanted, taking their audience & payments with them. Then they built an app, started processing payments through Apple & Google Pay, & now if you leave, you lose everything.
Apr 27, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Substack Doesn't Want You to Leave - Aaron Ross Powell
Substack's business model is unsustainable—unless they lock all their writers in.
Substack Doesn't Want You to Leave - Aaron Ross Powell’s Blog
Substack's business model is unsustainable—unless they lock all their writers in.
You Should Probably Leave Substack
You should probably leave Substack. Here’s why and how.
Has Substack’s subscription model really “maxed out?”
Scott Carney and Taylor Lorenz posted on Substack about downward subscriber trends they’re seeing. Carney pins it on subscription fatigue and feeling like “The only way to grow is to pillage the paid subscribers from other creators.” Lorenz questions Substack’s direction, saying “more and more like this app is becoming another social media feed.” When we recently wrote about writers who are leaving Substack, they mentioned control, pricing, and the social feature creep among their reasons for choosing competitors like Ghost and Behiiv. [Link: Writers are fleeing the Substack Tax | https://www.theverge.com/tech/927294/substack-tax-ghost-beehiiv | The Verge]
How to: Migrate away from Substack
A step by step guide to moving your newsletter off of Substack to another platform, including how to handle your paid subscriptions and your podcast. Leave Substack without any hassle!
Substack Writers Concerned as Subscriptions ‘Plummet’ Due to Follow Feature
Substack writers are expressing their concerns about the platform’s following feature on social media, which some argue is suppressing their subscription growth.
Why Did I Leave Substack, Anyway?
Last week, my friends at Scratch reached out to ask if I'd be interesting in answering questions about why I moved my newsletter off Substack. Of course I would! I've written some about it here, as you know, but I'm always game to talk more about this,
Is Substack Notes a ‘Twitter clone’? We asked CEO Chris Best
Substack Notes just dropped. Can the startup survive this foray into social media?
Molly White
Yep. I saved hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month just from switching from Substack to self-hosted Ghost. I pay a roughly flat $85/month now (~$75 for mailsending, $10 for hosting), vs. 10% of all my subscription income. Here’s some napkin math for how expensive Substack is compared to its competitors:
Anil Dash: Get Off Substack Before Someone Buys You | Past Due Podcast
Anil Dash: Get Off Substack Before Someone Buys You | Past Due Podcast
The Real Reason that Substack is Collapsing
The Subscription Model Has Maxed Out
Tim Sweeney on Twitter / X
Finally, American developers will be free to compete with Apple’s App Store and payment systems here at home!A solid move to free the United States from the crony capitalist intentions of Big Tech and Big Law. https://t.co/7NXHiQxhEf— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) April 1, 2025
Substack's CEO now trying to scare people into *only* distributing their content through their proprietary app, not email. (The link he posted warns users away from email.) It's not enough that Substack's locking in publishers & readers with "notes" and comments, now they're escalating tactics.
"I can't leave because they've locked me in" Once again, Substack is the opposite of independence. Also, classic @molly.wiki breakdown of how you win when you leave Substack:
Molly White
www.mollywhite.net
Anil Dash
For the folks who’ve been saying that people can’t get off of Substack to other platforms because they lose subscribers when they do — what’s the percentage? How many readers? What % of total dollars coming in? Do we have hard numbers?
