How to Value a Paid Newsletter: Newsletter and Substack Valuation Guide

The paid newsletter market has exploded in recent years, with platforms like Substack, Ghost, and Beehiiv making content monetization easier. Valuing a newsletter requires analysis of specific metrics: monthly recurring revenue (MRR), number of paid subscribers, cancellation rate (churn), cost per subscriber acquisition, and lifetime value. Established newsletters with over 10,000 subscribers and churn below 3% monthly can be worth between 20x and 40x MRR. Niche also matters: technical, financial, and business newsletters tend to have higher multiples than lifestyle newsletters. This guide covers all aspects of newsletter valuation, including how to assess content quality, reader engagement, growth potential, and monetization risks. We include analysis templates and real transaction case studies.