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

Substack Overview

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

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

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
Substack valuation by funding round
DateStageValuationRevenue Multiple
Jul 2025Series C$1.1B22.0x
Nov 2024Series A$585M15.8x
Mar 2021Series B$650M54.2x
Jul 2019Series 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

Substack revenue and valuation multiple by funding round
DateRevenue *ValuationRevenue MultipleStage
Jul 2025$50M$1.1B22.0xSeries C
Nov 2024$37M$585M15.8xSeries A
Mar 2021$12M$650M54.2xSeries 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

Substack funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Jul 2025Series CBond (lead); TCG (lead); Rich Paul; Jens Grede; Andreessen Horowitz$100M$1.1BSubstack, 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 2024Series AOmeed Malik; Nate Silver; Mark Pincus; Naval Ravikant; Haroon Mokhtarzada$10M$585MSubstack 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 2023Pre-seedRyan Rixon; Conor Bronsdon; Wisdom Ventures$8M--
Mar 2021Series BAndreessen Horowitz (lead); Raouf Ben-Har; Nomad Ventures; J17 Capital; Audrey Gelman; Fifty Years; TRITON FUNDS LLC; Quiet Capital$65M$650MSubstack 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 2019Series AAndreessen Horowitz (lead); Y Combinator; Duro Ventures$15M$49MSubstack 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 2018SeedFifty Years (lead); Justin Waldron; ZhenFund; Emmett Shear; TCG; VentureSouq; FundersClub; Garage Capital; UpHonest Capital; Kenji Niwa; Brad Flora$2M--
Jan 2018Pre-seedY 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

Investors in Substack by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Andreessen HorowitzUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3LeadJul 2019
Y CombinatorUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2LeadJan 2018
TCGUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA2LeadApr 2018
Fifty YearsUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2LeadApr 2018
Justin WaldronUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantApr 2018
ZhenFundChinaBeijing1ParticipantApr 2018
Raouf Ben-HarUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantMar 2021
Omeed MalikUnited StatesUnited States1ParticipantNov 2024
Rich PaulUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA1ParticipantJul 2025
Nate Silver--1ParticipantNov 2024
Jens GredeUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA1ParticipantJul 2025
Emmett ShearUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantApr 2018
Mark PincusUnited StatesAspen, CO1ParticipantNov 2024

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Acquisitions 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

Yem
Cocoon
Letter
People & Company
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 CountryUnited StatesUnited StatesAustraliaBrazil
HQ City
-
San Francisco, CA
Canberra
Campo Grande
Deal Date29 Sep 202223 Aug 202129 Jul 202114 May 2021
Valuationundisclosedundisclosedundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Substack Competitors

Substack competitors include listed companies like Saregama India and Vobile, and private ones like Kuaikan Manhua, RIDI, Tezign and LeCloud.

Public and private companies comparable to Substack
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Kuaikan ManhuaChinaBeijingPrivate$50M-$1.3B25.0x
RIDISouth KoreaSeoulPrivate$157M-$1.3B8.3x
TezignChinaShanghaiPrivate--$1B-
Saregama IndiaIndiaIndiaPublicly listed$100M$36M$979M8.6x
LeCloudChinaBeijingPrivate--$923M-
VobileUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$366M$63M$976M2.6x

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 FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
FuboTV$1.6B($122M)1.9x0.5x(25.2x)23.6x
iQIYI$4.1B$2B0.6x0.7x1.3x104.4x
MNC Digital Entertainment$216M$73M4.7x-14.0x-
Sonaecom$20M$1M39.0x-594.1x-
cyber_Folks$226M$72M5.1x4.3x16.1x13.0x
Saregama India$100M$36M9.7x8.6x26.8x24.6x
Vobile$366M$63M3.1x2.6x18.0x20.1x
SRMG$713M($10M)2.1x1.8x(154.7x)29.4x

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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.

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