# Newsletter Revenue Calculator — Estimate Your Substack & beehiiv Earnings

> Free newsletter monetisation calculator. Estimate ad (CPM sponsorship) revenue, paid subscription income, and subscriber LTV. See a 12-month growth projection — multi-currency, no sign-up.

- **Category:** Social Media & SEO
- **Interactive calculator:** https://youcalc.com/en/social-media-seo/newsletter-monetisation/
- **Price:** Free, no sign-up required

## Overview

This calculator estimates how much revenue your newsletter can generate each month from two sources: sponsorship ads priced on a cost-per-thousand-opens (CPM) basis, and paid-tier subscriptions net of platform fees. Enter your subscriber count, open rate, ad rates, and conversion data to see your current monthly revenue, a per-subscriber lifetime value, and a 12-month growth projection.

## How to read your result

The headline figures show your monthly ad revenue, subscription revenue, and their combined total. Below those, the stacked chart plots both income streams across 12 months as your list grows at the rate you set — so you can see which stream compounds faster. The subscriber LTV tells you the net revenue one paid subscriber is expected to generate over an average 18-month retention window.

## Method

Monthly ad revenue equals (subscribers × open rate ÷ 100) ÷ 1,000 × CPM × ad slots per issue × issues per month. Monthly subscription revenue equals subscribers × (paid conversion rate ÷ 100) × monthly price × (1 − platform fee ÷ 100). Total monthly revenue is the sum of the two. Subscriber LTV equals monthly price × (1 − platform fee ÷ 100) × 18, the industry-consensus average paid retention in months sourced from beehiiv and Substack creator data. The 12-month projection applies the compound growth factor (1 + monthly growth rate ÷ 100) to the subscriber base each month while holding all other parameters constant.

## Example

- **Setup:** 10,000 subscribers with a 40% open rate, CPM sponsorship of 30, 2 ad slots per issue, 4 issues per month, a paid tier at 10 per month, 5% paid-conversion rate, and a 10% platform fee.
- **Result:** 4,000 opens per issue generate 960 in monthly ad revenue. 500 paid subscribers contribute 4,500 after the platform cut. Combined monthly revenue is 5,460, and each paid subscriber is worth 162 in lifetime value.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is CPM and how does it affect ad revenue?

CPM stands for cost per mille (thousand). If your CPM is 30 and an issue reaches 4,000 opens, each ad slot earns 120 per issue. Multiply by the number of slots and issues per month to get total monthly ad revenue. Higher open rates and tighter niches command higher CPMs.

### How is subscriber lifetime value (LTV) calculated?

LTV equals your paid-tier monthly price multiplied by the net factor (1 minus the platform fee percentage) and then by the average subscriber retention of 18 months. For example, a 10 monthly subscription with a 10% fee gives an LTV of 10 × 0.9 × 18 = 162.

### What does the 12-month projection assume?

The projection applies your monthly growth rate to the starting subscriber count every month, compounding it. Open rate, CPM, conversion rate, and pricing are held constant. In reality these variables shift, so treat the projection as a directional estimate rather than a forecast.

### Does the calculator account for taxes or churn?

No. Revenue figures are gross minus platform fees only — income tax, payment processing beyond the fee, or subscriber churn are not modelled. Subtract your effective tax rate and average churn to arrive at a realistic net figure.

### Which platform fees apply?

Substack charges roughly 10% of paid subscription revenue; beehiiv’s paid plans charge 0% but carry a flat monthly fee. Enter whichever percentage matches your platform. The ad-revenue stream is not subject to the platform fee in this model — only the subscription stream is.

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- [Membership Revenue Calculator](https://youcalc.com/en/social-media-seo/membership-revenue/)
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- [Viral Coefficient Calculator](https://youcalc.com/en/social-media-seo/viral-coefficient/)

## Sources

- https://blog.beehiiv.com/p/newsletter-ad-rates
- https://substack.com/about

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Interactive version: https://youcalc.com/en/social-media-seo/newsletter-monetisation/ · From YouCalc — https://youcalc.com