What each week held
Withheld: something was read in 1 week of the last 12. A series needs at least 2 to say anything a single reading does not.
What it declares
- free publishing with no subscriber limit
- 10% revenue-share monetization
- built-in paid subscriptions/payments
- podcast hosting
- video posts and livestreaming
- Notes (social/discovery feed)
- Recording Studio
- TV app for Apple TV/Google TV
As the company’s own pages describe it. Forge did not test any of these.
What users raised
- scaling 10% platform fee at higher revenue
- combined Stripe + platform fees eat into low-priced tiers
- billing surprises
- AI-only customer support
- Notes algorithm reach reduction
Themes people raised in public. A complaint is somebody’s opinion, not a measurement of the product.
Everything on record
5 observed claims. Newest first; the tag on each row is what kind of claim you are reading.
- COMPLAINTUSER OPINIONSep 30, 2026
User reviews characterize sentiment toward Substack as mixed to negative, with Trustpilot reviewers citing the scaling 10% fee, billing surprises, and AI-only support as recurring pain points.
Indicates recurring cost and support-quality complaints that could inform competitive messaging.
checkthat.ai/brands/substack/pricing - PRODUCTUSER OPINIONSep 30, 2026
In late 2025, Substack changed its Notes algorithm so the feed no longer prioritizes content from accounts a user follows, a shift described as catching many creators off guard.
Affects organic reach/discovery strategy for creators relying on Notes for growth.
niusleters.com/en/blog/substack-2026-whats-changed-whats-working-and-whats-not - PRODUCTUSER OPINIONSep 30, 2026
In March 2026, Substack launched a built-in Recording Studio allowing solo video recording and interviews with up to two guests, directly publishable without external tools like Streamyard or OBS.
Reduces creators' need for third-party video/podcast tooling, a feature area worth tracking for competitive overlap.
niusleters.com/en/blog/substack-2026-whats-changed-whats-working-and-whats-not - PRODUCTFACTSep 30, 2026
In January 2026, Substack launched a beta TV app for Apple TV and Google TV letting subscribers watch video posts and livestreams, with a TikTok-like "For You" discovery row, as part of a broader push into video to compete with YouTube and Patreon.
Signals Substack's continued pivot from email-only newsletters toward a multimedia/video platform, relevant to positioning against video-first competitors.
techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/substack-launches-a-tv-app/ - PRICINGCOMPANY CLAIMSep 30, 2026
Substack charges writers no monthly platform fee for publishing, whether free or paid, and instead takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue plus Stripe's processing fees (~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction); this fee structure has reportedly been unchanged since the company's 2017 launch.
Baseline for comparing future pricing/packaging changes; affects any creator evaluating Substack vs. flat-fee competitors like Beehiiv or Ghost.
on.substack.com/p/pricing
A record of what Forge read in public about Substack — its own pages and what people wrote about it. Nothing here is a test of the product, a ranking or a score, and Forge has no relationship with this company.