- Companies
- Substack
Substack Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Substack is valued at $1.1B as of July 2025, a 22.0x multiple on its last reported $50M revenue.
Last Substack valuation
$1.1B
Series C · Jul 2025
Last Substack funding round
$100M
Series C · Jul 2025
Substack revenue
$50M
Series C · Jul 2025
Key investors in Substack
Andreessen Horowitz
Y Combinator
Fifty Years
TCG
ZhenFund
Naval Ravikant
About Substack
Substack is a San Francisco-headquartered platform empowering writers to publish subscription newsletters, podcasts, and videos. It handles payments, email delivery, and analytics, allowing creators to retain 90 percent of revenue while building direct audience relationships. Popular among journalists from The Free Press and economists like Noah Smith, Substack supports over 3 million paid subscriptions across politics, tech, and culture topics.
Founded
2017
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Subscription, Commission
Revenue
$50M (Jul 2025)
Valuation
$1.1B (Jul 2025)
Substack Valuation
Substack is currently valued at $1.1B, based on its Series C in July 2025.
The $100M round was led by Bond and TCG, with participation from Rich Paul, Jens Grede and Andreessen Horowitz.
Substack's valuation has grown 22x from $49M at its Series A in July 2019 to $1.1B in July 2025, across 4 priced rounds.
Substack valuation by funding round
Revenue multiple| Date | Stage | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2025 | Series C | $1.1B | 22.0x |
| Nov 2024 | Series A | $585M | 15.8x |
| Mar 2021 | Series B | $650M | 54.2x |
| Jul 2019 | Series A | $49M | - |
Substack Revenue
Substack's latest recorded revenue is $50M, as of its Series C in July 2025. At a $1.1B valuation, that implies a 22.0x revenue multiple.
Revenue grew from $12M in March 2021 to $50M in July 2025, while the revenue multiple moved from 54.2x to 22.0x.
Substack revenue by funding round
| Date | Revenue * | Valuation | Revenue Multiple | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2025 | $50M | $1.1B | 22.0x | Series C |
| Nov 2024 | $37M | $585M | 15.8x | Series A |
| Mar 2021 | $12M | $650M | 54.2x | Series B |
* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.
Substack Funding History
Substack has raised a total of $200M across 7 funding rounds.
Substack's first fundraising round was a $100K pre-seed round in January 2018. The most recent completed round was a $100M Series C in July 2025.
Substack funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2025 | Series C | Bond (lead); TCG (lead); Rich Paul; Jens Grede; Andreessen Horowitz | $100M | $1.1B | Substack, a San Francisco-based subscription publishing platform founded in 2017 by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi, enables writers to build audiences, monetize content through paid subscriptions, and engage via newsletters, long-form content, communities, editing tools, payments, and audience discovery. It has evolved from a newsletter tool into a creator network competing in the creator economy against ad-driven platforms. In July 2025, Substack raised $100 million in a Series C round led by BOND and The Chernin Group (TCG), with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Rich Paul (Klutch Sports CEO), and Jens Grede (Skims co-founder). The post-money valuation reached $1.1 billion, achieving unicorn status—about 70% above the $650 million valuation from 2021—and bringing total funding to around $200 million since inception. BOND's Mood Rowghani joined the board. Funds will enhance platform tools, content discovery, monetization features, the Substack app, broader reach, and deeper creator support, prioritizing growth after a profitability focus post-pandemic. Traction includes surpassing 5 million paid subscriptions by March 2025 (doubled from 2 million in 2023), with over 50 creators earning $1 million+ annually; gross revenue was $12 million in 2021. The round reflects strong investor interest in the creator economy amid Substack attracting high-profile journalists like Jim Acosta, Terry Moran, and Joy-Ann Reid from legacy media, boosting its appeal for independent publishing outside traditional models. |
| Nov 2024 | Series A | Omeed Malik; Nate Silver; Mark Pincus; Naval Ravikant; Haroon Mokhtarzada | $10M | $585M | Substack is a newsletter platform that has expanded to include video, podcasts, and paywalled discussions, attracting writers despite taking a larger revenue share than competitors like Ghost and beehiiv. The company quietly raised around $10 million from strategic investors including Omeed Malik, Nate Silver, Haroon Mokhtarzada, Mark Pincus, and Naval Ravikant. Prior to this round, Substack had raised upwards of $80 million across Series A and B rounds valued at a pre-money figure of $585 million, with a 2023 community investment round maintaining the same pre-money valuation via WeFunder. In 2022, the company paused a Series C pursuit to focus on cost reduction. |
| May 2023 | Pre-seed | Ryan Rixon; Conor Bronsdon; Wisdom Ventures | $8M | - | - |
| Mar 2021 | Series B | Andreessen Horowitz (lead); Raouf Ben-Har; Nomad Ventures; J17 Capital; Audrey Gelman; Fifty Years; TRITON FUNDS LLC; Quiet Capital | $65M | $650M | Substack is a platform for email newsletters that enables writers to publish and monetize content through paid subscriptions, taking a 10% fee on transactions. In March 2021, Substack raised $65 million in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from investors including Audrey Gelman, Fifty Years, J17 Capital, Nomad Ventures, Quiet Capital, Raouf Ben-Har, and TRITON FUNDS LLC, valuing the company at $650 million post-money. The funding aimed to expand product development and the Substack Pro program, which supports writers with advances during their first year on the platform. At the time, Substack reported gross revenue of $12 million in 2021 and had over half a million paying subscribers across its network. Later rounds included a Series C in July 2025 raising $100 million at over $1.1 billion valuation led by BOND and The Chernin Group, with total funding reaching about $200 million. Sacra estimates show Substack's annualized revenue growing to $30 million in 2023, $37 million in 2024, and $45 million by July 2025, driven by paid subscriptions exceeding 5 million by March 2025 and writer gross revenue around $450 million, amid competition from platforms like Beehiiv and Ghost. |
| Jul 2019 | Series A | Andreessen Horowitz (lead); Y Combinator; Duro Ventures | $15M | $49M | Substack raised $15.3 million in its Series A funding round on July 16, 2019, led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Duro Ventures and Y Combinator. The post-money valuation reached $48.65 million. This followed a $2 million seed round in 2018 and a pre-seed of $120 thousand earlier that year. At the time of the Series A, Substack had grown to 50,000 paying subscribers. The platform enables writers to publish newsletters and earn directly from paid subscriptions, taking a 10% fee. Substack continued scaling post-2019, reaching a $650 million valuation in its March 2021 Series B round after raising $65 million. |
| Apr 2018 | Seed | Fifty Years (lead); Justin Waldron; ZhenFund; Emmett Shear; TCG; VentureSouq; FundersClub; Garage Capital; UpHonest Capital; Kenji Niwa; Brad Flora | $2M | - | - |
| Jan 2018 | Pre-seed | Y Combinator (lead) | $100K | - | - |
Who has invested in Substack?
31 investors have backed Substack across its funding rounds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, Fifty Years, TCG, ZhenFund and Naval Ravikant.
Lead investors include Bond, TCG, Andreessen Horowitz, Fifty Years and Y Combinator.
Substack Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lead | Jul 2019 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Jan 2018 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Apr 2018 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Apr 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Apr 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Apr 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Nov 2024 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jul 2025 | ||
| -- | 1 | Participant | Nov 2024 | |
| 1 | Participant | Jul 2025 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Apr 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Nov 2024 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 31 Substack investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Substack
Substack has acquired 4 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Substack was on September 29th 2022. Substack acquired Yem for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Substack
| Description | - | Cocoon is a San Francisco-based digital design studio specializing in user experiences for small teams and communities. Located in the Mission District, it creates web and mobile interfaces for collaborative tools and virtual spaces. The firm collaborates with startups on platforms emphasizing intuitive navigation and group interactions, drawing from its garden-view workspace overlooking seasonal courtyards. | Letter is a discussion platform curating long-form articles on technology, science, and culture for reader comments. It hosts threads from writers like Paul Graham with threaded replies and voting. San Francisco-headquartered since 2023, Letter indexes content from Substack and personal blogs for searchable archives. | People & Company is a networking platform that organizes events and connections to unite professionals and communities. It facilitates gatherings for business collaboration and social interactions in various cities. |
| HQ Country | ||||
| HQ City | - | San Francisco, CA | Canberra | Campo Grande |
| Deal Date | 29 Sep 2022 | 23 Aug 2021 | 29 Jul 2021 | 14 May 2021 |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | ||||
| EV/EBITDA | ||||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Substack acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | ||||
Substack Competitors
Substack competitors include listed companies like Saregama India and Vobile, and private ones like Kuaikan Manhua, RIDI, Tezign and LeCloud.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | $50M | - | $1.3B | 25.0x | ||
| Private | $157M | - | $1.3B | 8.3x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $100M | $36M | $979M | 8.6x | ||
| Private | - | - | $923M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $366M | $63M | $976M | 2.6x |
Substack Public Comps
Substack is still privately-owned, but its public comps include FuboTV, iQIYI, MNC Digital Entertainment, Sonaecom, cyber_Folks, Saregama India, Vobile, SRMG, USA TODAY and Alma Media.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.6B | ($122M) | 1.9x | 0.5x | (25.2x) | 23.6x | |||
| $4.1B | $2B | 0.6x | 0.7x | 1.3x | 104.4x | |||
| $216M | $73M | 4.7x | - | 14.0x | - | |||
| $20M | $1M | 39.0x | - | 594.1x | - | |||
| $226M | $72M | 5.1x | 4.3x | 16.1x | 13.0x | |||
| $100M | $36M | 9.7x | 8.6x | 26.8x | 24.6x | |||
| $366M | $63M | 3.1x | 2.6x | 18.0x | 20.1x | |||
| $713M | ($10M) | 2.1x | 1.8x | (154.7x) | 29.4x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Substack competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Substack
| When was Substack founded? | Substack was founded in 2017. |
| Where is Substack headquartered? | Substack is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States. |
| Is Substack publicly listed? | No, Substack is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Substack's valuation? | Substack was last valued at $1.1B in its Series C in July 2025. |
| How much funding has Substack raised? | Substack has raised $200M across 7 funding rounds. |
| What was Substack's last funding round? | Substack's last funding round was a $100M Series C in July 2025, led by Bond and TCG. |
| Who are Substack's investors? | Substack's investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, TCG, Fifty Years, Justin Waldron, ZhenFund, Raouf Ben-Har, Omeed Malik, Rich Paul, Nate Silver and 21 others. |
| What is Substack's revenue? | Substack's latest recorded revenue is $50M (July 2025). |
| What is Substack's revenue multiple? | Substack's latest valuation implies a 22.0x revenue multiple ($1.1B valuation on $50M of revenue). |
| Which companies are comparable to Substack? | Companies comparable to Substack include Kuaikan Manhua, RIDI, Tezign, Saregama India, LeCloud and Vobile. |
| How many companies has Substack acquired? | Substack has acquired 4 companies, including Yem, Cocoon, Letter and People & Company. |
See companies similar to Substack
Start Your
Free Trial Today
Try Multiples for free for 3 days. Got questions or need a demo? Schedule a call with us below.




