Product · Get paid

Charge your readersand keep what they pay.

Paid subscriptions run through your own Stripe account. Set monthly and yearly prices, add trials and offers, and decide post by post who can read. TribeTale takes 0%.

The Daily Dispatch · a new paid subscriberExample data

Reader · Choose a plan

Supporter

$8/ month

✓ Every paid post
✓ Paid members' Discord
✓ Comment on every post

Paid through Stripe Checkout

Your Stripe balance

live

$4,312.00$4,320.00

Jun Park · Supporter, monthly+$8.00

TribeTale platform fee$0.00

Stripe's own processing fee applies, as on any platform

Kept from $50,000 a year

TribeTale$50,000

Substack$45,000

Before Stripe's fee, which both pay. Substack's published rate is 10%.

0%Platform fee

Your Stripe accountPayments land in

Monthly and yearlyBilling

Creator, $29/moStarts on

The short answer

On TribeTale, readers pay you through a Stripe account that belongs to you, and TribeTale takes no cut of that money. You pay a flat monthly plan, from Creator at $29, and Stripe charges its own processing fees as it would on any platform. On $50,000 a year of subscription revenue, Substack's published 10% is $5,000; Creator is $348 a year on monthly billing.

Paid subscriptions

Lock the posts you choose,and take 0% of the money.

Readers subscribe monthly or yearly, and each post decides whether it is public, for members, or for paying members only.

The fee arithmetic uses each platform's published rate. On $50,000 of subscription revenue a year, Substack's 10% is $5,000. On TribeTale Creator you pay $348 a year on monthly billing, or $290 paid yearly, and nothing on the revenue. At $200,000 a year, Substack's cut is $20,000 against $948 for TribeTale Pro.

A paid subscriber shows up in Members with the Status "Paid", their tier, "Billing period" (Monthly or Yearly), "Next billing date" and "Paid start date", so you can see who is paying for what without opening Stripe.

Settings · Membership · AccessExample data

01
Set a default for new posts
In Membership settings, under "Access", answer "Who should have access to new posts?": "Public", "Members only", "Paid-members only" or "Specific tiers".
02
Override it per post
In a post's settings, "Post access" offers the same choices, including "Specific tier(s)", so one essay can go to everyone while the next is for your top tier.
03
Show readers what they are missing
Free readers reach the paywall where you put it and see the invitation to subscribe. In the app it reads "This post is for paid members".
04
Readers pick a plan in the Portal
Your site's sign-up popup shows "Choose a plan" with your tiers and their monthly and yearly prices. "Subscribe" takes them to Stripe Checkout.

On each planCompare plans

FreeFree members only, no paid subscriptions

CreatorPaid subscriptions, 0% platform fee

ProSame 0%, across 3 sites

BusinessSame 0%, across 5 sites

Compared with

Substack: Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue on every payment, for as long as the reader pays. It charges nothing monthly, which is cheaper while revenue is small.
beehiiv: beehiiv also reaches 0% of your revenue, but from its $43 a month plan. On TribeTale that starts at $29.

Worth knowing

Stripe's own card-processing fees still apply, paid to Stripe. That is true on every platform, including the ones that also take a cut.
The Free plan cannot take payments. Paid subscriptions start on Creator.

Your own Stripe account

The money lands in your Stripe,under your business.

You connect a Stripe account of your own, and subscriber payments are charged and paid out by that account, not by ours.

The account TribeTale creates or connects is a standard Stripe account: a direct relationship between you and Stripe, with its own login and dashboard. It is not a sub-account of TribeTale's, and we never hold your money.

This is what makes paying subscribers portable. Each one is a customer in your Stripe account. On Substack, the billing relationship sits with Substack, which is why paying readers usually have to re-enter their card when a writer leaves.

Settings · Membership · Getting paidExample data

01
Open "Getting paid"
From Membership settings, start the Stripe connection. The screen says it plainly: "TribeTale collects no fees on any payments!" If you have no Stripe account yet, there is a "sign up here" link.
02
Complete Stripe's onboarding
You are sent to Stripe to fill in your business and bank details. TribeTale checks with Stripe that both charges and payouts are enabled before treating the account as ready.
03
Confirm the connection
Back in settings you see "You are connected with Stripe!" and "Connected to" your account's name. While you test, it says "(Test mode)".
04
Get paid on Stripe's schedule
Payouts go from your Stripe balance to your bank on the schedule you set in Stripe. Receipts, refunds and disputes are handled in your Stripe dashboard.

On each planCompare plans

FreeNot available

CreatorYour own Stripe account

ProYour own Stripe account, per site

BusinessYour own Stripe account, per site

Compared with

Substack: Payments run through Substack's Stripe relationship, and 10% comes off before the money reaches you. Your paying readers are harder to take with you.
beehiiv: beehiiv also pays into your own Stripe account, so on this point the two are level. The difference is which plan gets you there at 0%.

Worth knowing

You cannot disconnect Stripe while members still have active subscriptions: "Cannot disconnect while there are members with active Stripe subscriptions."

Tiers and offers

Several price points,plus trials and discounts.

Each tier has its own monthly and yearly price, benefits and optional free trial, and offers give a discount or trial on top through a link.

The Offers list shows each offer's "Terms", "Price" and "Redemptions", so you can see which launch discount actually brought people in. Members has an "Offer" filter for the same question from the other side.

Archiving a tier stops new sign-ups without touching anyone already on it: "Existing members on this tier will remain unchanged. Offers using this tier will be disabled."

Settings · Tiers and OffersExample data

01
Create a tier
In "Tiers", give it a "Name" and "Description", a "Monthly price" and a "Yearly price", and list its "Benefits" one by one. A "Welcome page" sets where new subscribers land.
02
Add a free trial to the tier
Tick "Add a free trial" and set "Trial days". Readers see "Free Trial - Ends" with the date in their account, and Members shows them as "Trialing".
03
Create an offer
In "Offers", pick "Discount" ("Offer a special reduced price") or "Free trial" ("Give free access for a limited time"). Choose the "Tier — Cadence" it applies to and the "Amount off", as a percentage or a fixed amount.
04
Set how long it lasts
"Duration" is "First-payment", "Multiple-months" or "Forever". Multiple-months is for monthly prices only.
05
Share the code
Each offer has an "Offer code" that becomes a link on your site, with a "Copy" button. The "Offer name" is what readers see on the Stripe Checkout page.

On each planCompare plans

FreeFree tier only

CreatorPaid tiers, trials and offers

ProPaid tiers, trials and offers

BusinessPaid tiers, trials and offers

Compared with

Substack: Substack supports paid plans, free trials and discount offers too. The difference is not the tools, it is the 10% taken from every payment they produce.
beehiiv: beehiiv has paid tiers as well. Taking 0% of what they earn starts at its $43 a month plan rather than $29.

Worth knowing

You need at least one active paid tier before you can create an offer: "You must have an active tier to create an offer."
An offer name can be up to 40 characters, because Stripe shows it at checkout.

Gifts, comps and cancellations

Gifts, free memberships,and a reason to stay.

Readers can buy a membership for someone else, you can give one away, and a member who goes to cancel can be shown one last offer.

Members keeps a running record of each subscription's state in Stripe. The "Stripe subscription status" filter has Active, Trialing, Past Due, Canceled, Unpaid and Incomplete, so a list of everyone whose card is failing is one filter away.

Your readers' sideExample data

01
Turn on gift subscriptions
In Membership settings, "Gift subscriptions" lets readers "share your work by purchasing a gift subscription for a friend or colleague", with a "Shareable link". Buyers choose a tier and "1 month" or "1 year".
02
The recipient redeems it
They open "A gift, just for you", enter their name and email, and press "Redeem your membership".
03
Give a membership away
On any member, "Add complimentary subscription" puts them on a paid tier for free. They show in Members with the Status "Complimentary".
04
Set a retention offer
In Offers, "Monthly retention" and "Yearly retention" are shown when a member presses "Cancel subscription": "We'd hate to see you leave. How about a special offer to stay?" Choose a "Percentage discount" or "Free month(s)".

On each planCompare plans

FreeNot available, no paid tiers

CreatorGifts, comps and retention offers

ProGifts, comps and retention offers

BusinessGifts, comps and retention offers

Worth knowing

Gift subscriptions only appear once Stripe is connected.
A cancelling member sees one retention offer, not a sequence. If they decline, they go on to confirm the cancellation as normal.

Questionsanswered plainly.

What fees will I actually pay on subscriptions?

TribeTale takes 0% of subscription revenue. You pay your TribeTale plan, from $29 a month on Creator, and Stripe's own card-processing fees, which go to Stripe as they would on any platform.

Who owns my paying subscribers if I leave?

You do. They are customers in your Stripe account, and the subscriptions live there. That is the practical difference from a platform whose Stripe account takes the payment.

Can I move my paying subscribers from Substack without them re-entering a card?

Usually not. Their billing relationship is with Substack and cannot be moved into your Stripe account. Your list, including who is paid and who is free, imports as a spreadsheet; plan a message asking paid readers to resubscribe.

Can I offer a free trial?

Yes, two ways. A tier can have a standing free trial of a set number of days, or you can create a "Free trial" offer with its own link for a campaign.

What happens when a subscriber's card fails?

Stripe retries the payment. In Members the subscription shows as "Past Due" while that happens, and you can filter for it. If Stripe ends the subscription after failed retries, the member stops being paid.

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