Substack URL checker and rules

Your publication lives at yourname.substack.com, which Substack calls the subdomain. Our check looks up that address. How our checks work

CostFree to publish

Fee on paid subscriptions10% plus Stripe fees

URL length4 to 32 characters

Age16 or older

Holds the nameCreating the publication

Checked 25 Oct 2026, 07:03 UTCSources ^{[1, 4, 6, 7]}

What can a Substack URL contain?

Letters and numbers only, 4 to 32 characters, and no other publication can already use it. Your @handle follows the same rule.

Character	Allowed?	Where
Letters a to z	Yes	Anywhere
Numbers 0 to 9	Yes	Anywhere
Hyphens, underscores, periods, spaces	No

Sources ^{[1, 3]}

Check the name above, with the .com, Instagram and YouTube.
Click Create account on substack.com, then add a photo, your first name and a short bio.
From Substack Home, click the + sign and choose Post. That opens your publication.
Set your subdomain in Settings, under Danger Zone, before you publish anything.
To charge readers, connect Stripe under Settings, then Payments, and turn on payments.^{[1, 5, 8]}

Publishing is free. Substack takes 10% of each subscription payment, and Stripe charges its own processing fees.

Item	Cost
Publishing	Free
Substack's fee	10% of each subscription payment
Stripe card fee	2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment
Stripe Billing	0.7% of recurring payments
Custom domain	One-time $50

Paid plans start at $5 a month; see Growing Substack.^{[4, 8]}

Your URL stays yours while you keep publishing, but changing it breaks old links.

Fact	What it means
Changing the URL	Breaks old links, unless you use the redirect option, which works once
Keeping it	The subdomain stays yours while the publication is active
Inactive names	Substack may reassign them, and posting only to hold a name counts as squatting
Your handle	Your subdomain is reserved as a handle for you and your admins
Publication limit	Up to 10 per account

Sources ^{[1, 2, 3, 7]}

Most problems are a taken URL or handle, which Substack support can't hand over.

Problem	Fix
The URL is taken	Use a close version from the checker
"This handle is already taken"	Pick another handle, or use your publication's subdomain
You need a new URL after publishing	Use "Change subdomain without breaking links"; it works once
"You have created too many publications"	You've reached the limit of 10 per account

Sources ^{[1, 2, 3, 7]}

The .com, Instagram, YouTube, X and LinkedIn. For memberships beyond a newsletter, compare Patreon, or see all creator platforms. Once you're set up, read Growing Substack.

Checks Substack, the .com, Instagram, YouTube, X and LinkedIn in one search.