Substack is a subscription publishing platform. Writers publish by email and on the web, keep their own mailing lists, and charge readers directly; Substack takes a share of subscription revenue, which it frames as “we only make money when you do.” It was co-founded by Chris Best, Jairaj Sethi and Hamish McKenzie and went through Y Combinator’s winter 2018 batch.
Reported scale
Substack reports 5 million paid subscriptions, tens of millions of people reading, watching and listening weekly, and more than a million posts surfaced to potential subscribers in its app each day. It also reports that over 30 percent of paid subscriptions now originate from within its own network rather than from a writer’s existing audience — the platform recommending writers to readers, rather than acting purely as billing and delivery infrastructure. The company raised a 1.1 billion valuation and employs more than 150 people.
Relevance to political media
The direct-subscription model changes who a political writer answers to: revenue comes from readers rather than advertisers or an employing outlet, and the mailing list is portable between platforms. Substack’s own framing positions this against “old media models.”
Sources
- 01.
Substack. About Substack. Source for the company's stated premise — "Old media models are broken. Substack is building a new one that puts writers, creators, and subscribers in charge" — its revenue-share framing ("we only make money when you do"), and the platform figures: "5 million paid subscriptions and counting," tens of millions of weekly readers, over 1 million posts surfaced in the app daily, and 30%+ of paid subscriptions originating within Substack's network.
- 02.
Substack. Careers at Substack. Source for the three co-founders — Chris Best (CEO), Jairaj Sethi (CTO) and Hamish McKenzie (CWO) — Substack's participation in the winter 2018 Y Combinator batch, the team size of more than 150 people, and the $100 million Series C raised in July 2025 at a $1.1 billion valuation.