You should probably leave Substack. Here’s why and how.
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,
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.
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!
Kill Yr Substack | Jason Cosper
I’ve been tired of Substack platforming white supremacists, Nazis, neo-confederates, and so many of the worst people on the internet for a long time now. So I made a browser extension for all of us.
Destacked: Why I Avoid Substack As Much as Possible - Jacky Alciné
From Substack LLC's attempt to capture the concept of a newsletter as a verb to their overt encouragement and support for Neo-Nazi content, don't expect me to post anything on that platform. I explain why.
Substack writers, you need a website!
Substack is convenient, but treat it as a distribution tool for your content. Your content should live on an independently owned website, which has a domain name you control and own. This way, you …
We're Leaving Substack for Beehiiv
We're switching site and newsletter platforms. We hope you continue joining us as we grow!
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.
"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?
This is a disappointing and reductive take by @prospect.org It's a mistake to think of Substack only when thinking of independently published journalism and analysis.
The American Prospect
At their best, Substacks combine a probing brand of journalism with deep scholarly knowledge and a willingness to express a point of view at a time when many legacy newspapers have become timid and cautious.
Substack tries to be too clever with its daringfireball.net/2026/05/what_is_a_dickover and even basic HTML and images. It means that a blog on Substack is unlikely to be indexed properly by the Wayback Machine. A real problem considering how much writing is on Substack.
Quit Substack
I’m also trying not to add Substack links on Semble
Substack Hostility (by 𝕮) — Semble
Former Substack creators say they’re earning more on new platforms that offer larger shares of subscription revenue
Why is Naomi Klein Funding Substack’s Hate Machine?
We're Leaving Substack for Beehiiv
Writers are fleeing the Substack Tax
Anil Dash: Get Off Substack Before Someone Buys You | Past Due Podcast
