was leaving substack worth it?
You Should Probably Leave Substack
You should probably leave Substack. Here’s why and how.
Former Substack creators say they’re earning more on new platforms that offer larger shares of subscription revenue
Former Substack writers who exited the platform in early 2024 are making more money on Beehiiv and Ghost thanks to their fixed pricing models.
We're Leaving Substack for Beehiiv
We're switching site and newsletter platforms. We hope you continue joining us as we grow!
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,
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:
Substack Doesn't Want You to Leave - Aaron Ross Powell
Substack's business model is unsustainable—unless they lock all their writers in.
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]
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.
The Real Reason that Substack is Collapsing
The Subscription Model Has Maxed Out
beehiiv's CEO backs a MAGA candidate but don't pack your bags just yet.
Tyler Denk, CEO of beehiiv, endorsed MAGA candidate Spencer Pratt in the LA mayor race on Instagram. We knew this was coming. But it's not anything like what's happening at Substack.
beebz | Dec. 2nd, 2024
After a really annoying, stressful, and downright nauseating weekend, I feel like a wittled down eraser. Between being stalked and harrassed, losing a place I had loved, breaking in a new system member and seeing my friends suffer, this has felt like an extremely exhausting week.
Death to Substack? Yes, its time. No more excuses 🫵🏽 We've been working on migration tools for the last couple months. Promising a few of you it's coming "any day now". Today is that day 🥳🥂 Export your content from Substack, Ghost, Pika or Buttondown and automatically import it into Offprint.
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.
Death to Substack? Yes, its time. No more excuses 🫵🏽 We've been working on migration tools for the last couple months. Promising a few of you it's coming "any day now". Today is that day 🥳🥂 Export your content from Substack, Ghost, Pika or Buttondown and automatically import it into Offprint.
I know we care about numbers, and it's not that they're not worth looking at, but maybe Bluesky not having explosive growth is good for the Atmosphere that's building beyond it, and patience is more important than the first attempt gathering every community possible in its early years. Long game.
Anuj Ahooja
The open social web is the long game
