Fees: Substack vs FitCoUp
As of October 2026, Substack takes 10% of paid subscription revenue, plus Stripe processing at 2.9% and $0.30 per transaction and a billing fee for newer subscribers, with no monthly fee, according to the Beehiiv breakdown updated in October 2026. Free publishing costs nothing.
FitCoUp charges a flat plan: Basic 99 EUR per month for 300 students, Pro 499 for 3,000, Enterprise 899 for 15,000 and Agency 1,499 for unlimited, two months free on annual billing, 0% platform fee, Stripe processing only, 14 day trial without a card. For a small paid list Substack costs less; as paid subscriptions grow, 10% passes the flat plan, and the flat plan includes the program delivery that a newsletter cannot do.
What subscribers get
A Substack subscriber gets posts by email and in the Substack app, with video and podcast posts and comments. A FitCoUp student installs your branded PWA and follows a program.
- Programs as day by day paths with weeks and modules, sequential or date based access, free preview lessons.
- Guided player. per exercise countdown, rest timer, next move preview, intervals, follow along mode, alternatives.
- Streaks with two freezes a month, milestones, measurements and progress photos stored only with consent.
- Community topics per program on Pro and above, a reminder before every charge, cancellation in two taps.
Selling and retention
Substack sells through the newsletter itself: free posts, a paywall and recommendations between publications. FitCoUp sells through a quiz funnel that recommends one program and one offer, prices one program as monthly, 3 month, 6 month, annual, lifetime or one-time, and runs funnels after the sale: a one-click offer on the thank you page, checkout recovery emails, upsell funnels to the membership and the next level. Retention is a core feature with 16 rules and 64 templates; failed payments are retried on day 1, 2 and 3 with a one tap card update; the dashboard shows LTV, CAC and revenue from each mechanic.
Who should stay on Substack
Substack is the better choice when:
- Your paid product is writing, audio or video essays, and training is a bonus rather than the product.
- You want zero fixed cost and discovery through the Substack network and recommendations.
- Your list is small and 10% is less than a plan.
- You have no program with a start, an end and sessions to follow.
Moving from Substack to FitCoUp, or running both
Many coaches keep the newsletter on Substack and move the training to FitCoUp: the newsletter links to the quiz, the quiz leads to the program. To move paid subscribers, export the list from Substack, import it into FitCoUp as a CSV with email, name, program and end date, and let subscribers restart in your checkout with a coupon; billing does not transfer between platforms. Videos link from YouTube, Vimeo or Bunny or move to private storage. A school can be live the same day.