Newsletters list a main sponsor slot at a median $399, and small lists ask 8 times as much per subscriber as large ones

Findings

1. The median newsletter lists the main sponsor slot of one issue at $399 (331 newsletters), and the middle half list it at $200 to $850.
2. Per 1,000 subscribers, the median main slot costs $23.62 (302 newsletters that state their list size), falling from $62.50 under 5,000 subscribers (61 newsletters) to $7.77 at 100,000 or more (39 newsletters).
3. From the smallest size group to the largest, the median list grows from 2,400 to 173,000 subscribers while the median main slot rises from $149 to $1,497.
4. Inside the same newsletter, a second slot in the issue lists at a median 60% of the main slot's price (96 newsletters), a classified ad at 40% (140) and a dedicated send at 2.32 times (81).
5. Among the 16 newsletters with 200,000 or more stated subscribers, the main slot runs from $350 to $10,000.
6. Marketing newsletters listed the highest price per subscriber ($57.69 per 1,000, 21 newsletters) and AI newsletters the lowest ($14.80, 38 newsletters), and marketing stayed highest within both size groups.
7. Only 25.2% of the 4,504 prices on these advertise pages were for one newsletter placement in US dollars. Website ads (16.3%), bundles (12.0%), mixed or other channels (9.3%), print ads (9.3%) and social posts (8.0%) made up much of the rest.

How to read these numbers. These are list prices, as printed on each newsletter's advertise page or booking storefront on 29 September 2026. Many newsletters sell by quote, and many discount multi-issue bookings, which are left out here. Newsletters that publish no prices are missing from every figure. List sizes are the counts each newsletter states on the same page, so they are the seller's own figures. A newsletter counts once per placement, at the cheapest price it lists for that placement in one issue.

What the main slot costs

Under 5,00062.50 USD

5,000 to 19,99937.50 USD

20,000 to 49,99919.01 USD

50,000 to 99,99911.25 USD

100,000 or more7.77 USD

Source: Carroway Research, 302 newsletters' advertise pages and booking storefronts read on 29 September 2026. Each newsletter counts once, at the cheapest main-slot price it lists for one issue. Newsletters, prices and quartiles per size are in main-slot-by-list-size.csv.

The main slot is the top sponsor placement in one issue, sold under names such as "Primary Sponsor", "Main Ad", "Featured Placement" or "Presenting Sponsor". Across the 331 newsletters that list one, the median price is $399, and half of them price it between $200 and $850.

Price grows much more slowly than the list. Newsletters under 5,000 subscribers have a median list of 2,400 and a median main slot of $149. Newsletters at 100,000 or more have a median list of 173,000 and a median main slot of $1,497. Per 1,000 subscribers, the smallest lists price their main slot at a median $62.50 and the largest at $7.77, so the smallest ask about 8 times the rate of the largest.

The 302 newsletters in this table are the 331 with a main slot, less the 22 that state no list size on the page and the 7 that state one under 500. Their median main slot is $400.

Paved's guide to email ad CPMs, updated 12 October 2023, counts every subscriber as an impression and puts a healthy newsletter's CPM between $15 and $30, one range for every list size. That range matches the middle of these prices: $19.01 per 1,000 subscribers at 20,000 to 49,999 subscribers and $23.62 across all 302 newsletters. Lists under 20,000 subscribers price well above it, at $37.50 to $62.50, and lists of 50,000 or more below it, at $7.77 to $11.25.

beehiiv's guide to newsletter ad costs (published 9 November 2025, and updated on 29 May according to the page) puts newsletters under 5,000 subscribers at $50 to $250 per placement, which matches these rate cards: half of them list $95 to $250. For larger lists the published prices here run lower than that guide. It says newsletters of 5,000 to 50,000 subscribers mostly charge around $1,000 to $1,500 and that $10,000 or more becomes standard above 100,000 subscribers with strong engagement. The rate cards read here list a median $320 at 5,000 to 19,999 subscribers, $500 at 20,000 to 49,999 and $1,497 at 100,000 or more, where three quarters list $4,000 or less. Newsletters that publish prices may sit below those that sell by quote.

Newsletters of 200,000 or more subscribers

16 newsletters in the data state lists of 200,000 or more subscribers and print a main-slot price, and the table names 15 of them (see Checks). Their main slots run from $350 at Birdies, Bogeys & Bourbon to $10,000 at Valley Letter. Per 1,000 subscribers, the named rows run from $0.90 at Rise Weekly, using the 500K in its storefront stats (its page header says 200K), to $30.00 at AlphaSignal. Formats differ too: Valley Letter and Open Source CEO Newsletter each sell two featured placements per edition, and Indie Hackers sells a 50-word intro slot at $749 beside a full section at a higher price.

The table lists newsletters by the list size each states on the page read, and every price and list size in it was checked by hand against that page.

Other placements

Most newsletters that sell several placements price them in the same order. Among newsletters that list both, a second slot inside the issue costs a median 60% of the main slot (96 newsletters), a classified or text ad 40% (140 newsletters) and a dedicated send, where the whole email carries one advertiser, 2.32 times the main slot (81 newsletters). The exceptions are few: 13 of the 96 list the second slot above the main slot, 5 of the 140 list the classified above it, and 2 of the 81 price the dedicated send at or below it.

The per-subscriber column uses the newsletters that state a list of 500 or more: 302, 162, 165 and 120 of them, row by row.

Topics and platforms

Marketing57.69 USD

Business25.38 USD

Tech20.00 USD

AI14.80 USD

Other topics31.25 USD

Source: Carroway Research. Topics are the labels in the Sponsor Radar database; topics with fewer than 20 newsletters are pooled as other topics. Newsletters and list sizes per topic are in main-slot-by-topic.csv, and the same figures within two size groups are in topic-by-list-size.csv.

Marketing newsletters listed the highest price per subscriber, a median $57.69 per 1,000 across 21 newsletters with a median list of 26,000. AI newsletters listed the lowest, $14.80 across 38 newsletters with a median list of 37,500. Part of that gap is list size, since larger lists price lower per subscriber. Within lists under 20,000 subscribers, marketing newsletters listed $58.14 per 1,000 (9 newsletters) against $24.04 for AI (10), and at 20,000 or more $48.85 (12) against $11.93 (28). The topic rows are small, and topic-by-list-size.csv has every group.

beehiiv and Substack newsletters of the same size list similar prices. Under 20,000 subscribers, beehiiv newsletters listed a median $41.24 per 1,000 subscribers (47 newsletters) and Substack newsletters $36.23 (35). At 20,000 to 99,999 the order flips, at $15.65 (40) against $19.62 (22). Carroway's Note 03 found that beehiiv newsletters run sponsors 5.2 times as often as Substack newsletters. In their published prices, the two platforms differ little.

Most prices here come from booking storefronts, where a newsletter lists its own packages and prices for buyers to book: 241 of the 302 newsletters in the per-subscriber figures were read only on a storefront, 237 of them on Passionfroot. Newsletters read only on their own site listed similar rates, a median $37.50 per 1,000 subscribers under 20,000 (31 newsletters) against $45.68 on storefronts (118), and $18.03 (23) against $17.39 (89) at 20,000 to 99,999. where-published.csv has every group.

What advertise pages sell

Kept: one placement in one issue or send, in US dollars25.2%

Website or app ad16.3%

Bundle of several placements, issues or channels12.0%

Print ad9.3%

Mixed or other channels9.3%

Social media post8.0%

On a page that does not sell ads (a post, a consulting or event page)5.6%

Price for a week, month, year or several issues5.3%

Video or podcast3.7%

Event, webinar or conference3.0%

Price not in US dollars1.3%

Job board listing0.7%

Other newsletter item (not an ad placement)0.4%

Price not found on the page or outside $10 to $100,0000.1%

Source: Carroway Research, 1,055 pages read on 29 September 2026. Each priced item is counted under the first rule it failed. Counts are in priced-items-read.csv.

A newsletter's advertise page often sells more than the newsletter. Of the 4,504 prices on the 1,055 pages read, 1,133 (25.2%) were for one placement in one newsletter issue or send, in US dollars. Website and app ads (736), bundles of several placements, issues or channels (542), mixed or other channels (419), print ads (418) and social media posts (359) were the largest of the rest. None of them count in the figures above.

Method

Source. Page addresses come from the database behind Sponsor Radar, which collects newsletters' advertise pages, rate cards and booking storefronts. On 29 September 2026 it held 5,017 prices from 1,400 pages for 1,290 newsletters, stored before 00:00 UTC that day. Every page was read again on 29 September 2026, and the prices in this note are the ones printed on the page that day. The placement labels stored in the database were set aside. The queries are in queries.sql.

Reading the pages. Each page was requested once, and pages that timed out or answered with a temporary error were requested once more. 185 pages on a third-party newsletter directory were left out, because that directory shows one preview price per newsletter and keeps exact rates behind a sign-up. 67 pages did not load and 93 showed no dollar amount, which leaves 1,055 pages. A language model read each page and listed every priced item, grouped by the newsletter it belongs to, with the item's name, price, currency, channel, placement and the number of issues it buys. 139 pages sold several newsletters, and each newsletter was kept apart. reread-method.txt holds the model's instruction word for word. One storefront, Passionfroot, supplies 237 of the 302 newsletters in the per-subscriber figures (245 of the 331 with a main slot). The size gap rests on 61 small and 39 large newsletters. Resampling both groups 10,000 times puts the multiple between 4.35 and 16.50 in 95% of draws, and pricing each newsletter at its highest main slot instead of its cheapest gives 8.15 (sensitivity.csv).

What counts. An item was kept when it is for the email newsletter, is one placement (a main slot, another slot inside the issue, a classified or text ad, or a dedicated send), buys one issue or one send, is priced in US dollars between $10 and $100,000, and has its number printed on the page. 1,133 of the 4,504 items passed. A newsletter's price for a placement is the cheapest kept price for it, and a newsletter found on two pages counts once. That gives 491 newsletters, 331 of them with a main slot.

List size. The subscriber count the newsletter states on the same page. Per-subscriber figures use the 302 newsletters with a main slot and a stated list of 500 or more. 22 newsletters with a main slot state no list on the page and 7 state one under 500.

Topics and platforms. The topic and hosting platform stored for each newsletter in the database. Topics with fewer than 20 newsletters in the per-subscriber figures are pooled as other topics. 57 newsletters, mostly the second and later newsletters on a publisher's page, have no topic recorded.

Checks. Every price and list size in the table of newsletters with 200,000 or more subscribers was compared by hand with the page it came from. In a random sample of 40 main-slot prices from all 331 newsletters, read by hand against their pages, 38 were the top placement in one issue. One was an event listing priced below that newsletter's headline slot, and one page did not say how many issues its price buys. Newsletters that are Sponsor Radar customers or that have used its tools count in the totals but are not named, which leaves one newsletter of 200,000 or more subscribers out of that table.

Data

The CSV files below hold every number in this note. main-slot-by-list-size.csv, per-1000-subscribers-by-list-size.csv and newsletters-200000-plus.csv hold the main-slot prices, and sensitivity.csv tests the size gap. prices-by-placement.csv and placement-ratios.csv hold the other placements. main-slot-by-topic.csv, per-1000-subscribers-by-topic.csv, topic-by-list-size.csv, platform-by-list-size.csv and where-published.csv hold the comparisons. priced-items-read.csv sorts every price on the pages read, and coverage.csv traces the counts from the database to the rows analyzed. queries.sql holds the database queries and reread-method.txt the page-reading step. They are free to reuse with credit to Carroway Research.

• Main-slot prices by stated list size CSV, 6 rows, 0.6 KBOne row per stated list size and one for all sizes: newsletters, median subscribers, the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile of the main-slot price in US dollars and per 1,000 subscribers, and each median per 1,000 subscribers as a multiple of the median at 100,000 or more.
• Median price per 1,000 subscribers by list size (Exhibit 1) CSV, 5 rows, 0.2 KBThe five medians plotted in Exhibit 1: median main-slot price per 1,000 subscribers for each stated list size, in US dollars.
• Newsletters of 200,000 or more subscribers that print a main-slot price CSV, 15 rows, 1.5 KBOne row per named newsletter, in order of the list size it states: the list size as printed, the main slot's name and price as listed, the price per 1,000 subscribers and the page read on 29 September 2026. One newsletter of this size is in the totals but not named.
• Prices by placement CSV, 4 rows, 0.4 KBOne row per placement (main slot, other slot inside the issue, classified or text ad, dedicated send): newsletters listing it, the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile price in US dollars, and the median per 1,000 subscribers for newsletters that state a list size.
• Placements priced against the same newsletter's main slot CSV, 3 rows, 0.3 KBFor newsletters that list a main slot and another placement: how many list both, the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile of the other placement's price as a multiple of the main slot, and how many price it out of the usual order (another slot or a classified above the main slot, a dedicated send at or below it).
• Main-slot prices by topic CSV, 6 rows, 0.3 KBOne row per topic with 20 or more newsletters, plus other topics pooled and newsletters with no topic recorded: newsletters, median subscribers, median main-slot price and median per 1,000 subscribers.
• Median price per 1,000 subscribers by topic (Exhibit 2) CSV, 5 rows, 0.1 KBThe medians plotted in Exhibit 2: median main-slot price per 1,000 subscribers for each topic with 20 or more newsletters and for other topics pooled.
• Topics within two list-size groups CSV, 12 rows, 0.5 KBThe topic rows split into lists under 20,000 and 20,000 or more subscribers: newsletters, median main-slot price and median per 1,000 subscribers.
• beehiiv and Substack newsletters within list-size groups CSV, 8 rows, 0.4 KBNewsletters hosted on beehiiv or Substack, by list size: newsletters, median subscribers, median main-slot price and median per 1,000 subscribers.
• Prices on booking storefronts and on newsletters' own sites CSV, 12 rows, 0.6 KBNewsletters whose prices were read only on a booking storefront, only on their own site, or both, by list size: newsletters, median main-slot price and median per 1,000 subscribers.
• What the prices on the pages were for CSV, 14 rows, 0.6 KBEvery priced item on the 1,055 pages read, grouped by the first rule it failed, with the kept items first: items and share of all items.
• How the size gap holds under other rules CSV, 4 rows, 0.5 KBThe main-slot medians and the under-5,000 against 100,000-or-more multiple with each newsletter priced at its cheapest or its highest main slot, and the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of the multiple over 10,000 bootstrap resamples of both size groups.
• Coverage and exclusions CSV, 29 rows, 2.9 KBEvery step from the prices stored in the database to the pages read, the items kept and the newsletters in each figure.