More creators are leaving Substack for Ghost and Beehiiv as frustrations grow over growth and platform control.
Substack felt like the future of media- for a little while.
Writers could leave collapsing newsrooms, build direct audiences, charge subscriptions, and finally “own” their work. It looked clean, independent, even rebellious. But now a growing number of creators are realizing something uncomfortable: they may not have owned as much as they thought.
According to a new report from The Verge, more writers are leaving Substack for rivals like Ghost and Beehiiv, frustrated by rising costs, platform dependence, and Substack’s increasing shift toward becoming a social network.
And honestly, this feels like a very familiar internet story.
Platforms usually begin by empowering creators. Then they grow. Then they optimize for engagement. Then, creators slowly realize the platform’s priorities are no longer actually aligned with theirs.
Substack’s biggest issue is what many writers now call the “Substack tax.”
The company takes a 10 percent cut of subscription revenue, which sounds manageable until newsletters scale. And for large publications, that can turn into tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
That is why its competitors are suddenly gaining momentum. They charge flatter fees, offer more customization, and offer creators a stronger sense of ownership over their audience and brand.
Because that is the real tension underneath all of this: creators no longer merely want monetization. They want control.
And Substack has begun to feel like it wants creators inside its ecosystem rather than building independent media businesses externally. The company has leaned heavily into all social nitty-gritty creators were running away from- algorithmic discovery, Notes, video features, and even social-style engagement systems. That helps Substack grow as a platform, but not every writer wants to become a part-time content creator feeding another recommendation engine.
There is also something bigger happening here. The internet is moving away from giant centralized platforms again. Slowly but noticeably.
Writers watched what happened to creators on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and even Twitter. Algorithms changed. The reach collapsed. Businesses disappeared overnight. So now many newsletter publishers are asking a smarter question earlier: if your audience lives on someone else’s platform, do you really own it at all?
Substack helped revive independent publishing. That part is real.
But creators increasingly seem to be treating it less like a permanent home and more like a launchpad they eventually plan to leave.
