How to Make Money from Your Substack (With or Without a Paywall)

When most people think about making money on Substack, they picture one thing: turning on paid subscriptions.

And it’s true, Substack makes that part beautifully simple. One click, and you can start charging monthly or yearly for your writing. No tech headaches. No checkout page to build. Just you, your words, and a green “Subscribe” button.

But here’s the twist: not every successful creator is using the paywall.

In fact, many writers are going the opposite way.

They keep their newsletter 100% free and still make money.

They use Substack as a powerful platform to grow their audience, build trust, and then monetize outside the inbox. Through digital products, courses, coaching, consulting, or even community offers.

In this post, I’ll break down both models, with and without paid subscribers, and show you how some creators are using free newsletters to build thriving businesses. We'll also look at the pros and cons of each path so you can choose the right one for your goals.

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