Subscriber-to-Revenue Calculator
Model the revenue potential of a paid newsletter. Enter free list size, paid conversion rate, monthly price, and churn — see monthly, annual, and 5-year revenue with realistic retention curves.
Model Your Paid Newsletter Revenue
Enter your free list and offer economics. We'll project monthly, annual, and 5-year revenue with realistic churn.
About This Tool
Paid newsletters are the simplest, most durable business model in media — but most creators underprice and under-model. This calculator shows you realistic monthly, annual, and lifetime revenue from a paid newsletter given your free list size, conversion rate, and price point.
What it does
- Projects monthly and annual revenue at your chosen price point
- Models 5-year LTV with realistic churn (3-5% monthly for consumer, 1-2% for B2B)
- Shows the revenue delta of pricing at $9 vs $19 vs $29 vs $49/month
- Calculates break-even point — when paid revenue covers platform costs
How to Use
Enter your current free subscribers
If you haven't launched yet, use your social following ÷ 10 as a rough proxy.
Set your paid conversion rate
Industry benchmark: 2-5% of free subscribers convert to paid. Premium niches (finance, trading, legal) hit 8-12%.
Choose your price point
Start at $9/month for broad audiences, $19/month for specialists, $49+/month for B2B professionals or exclusive content.
See your revenue model
Monthly, annual, and 60-month LTV — plus the delta from converting 1% more of your free list.
Methodology
Revenue = free_subscribers × paid_conversion × price × (1 - churn) iteratively over time. Churn compounds monthly. LTV = 1 ÷ churn × monthly_price, capped at 60 months for realistic projections. These align with published benchmarks from Substack, Beehiiv, and Ghost.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's a realistic paid conversion rate?
Consumer newsletters: 2-5% of free subscribers convert. B2B / specialist newsletters: 5-10%. Premium niches (finance, legal, trading): 8-15%. If your conversion is below 2%, your pricing or value prop likely needs work.
Does this include yearly discounts?
The calculator uses monthly pricing. Yearly discounts (typically 15-20% off) trade LTV for upfront cash — useful for funding growth but neutral for total LTV.
What churn rate should I assume?
3-5% monthly churn for consumer paid newsletters is normal. B2B newsletters see 1-2%. If your churn is above 8%, focus on onboarding and retention before scaling acquisition.