Free tool · newsletter.app
The Newsletter Ad Spend Index
A Bloomberg-style terminal for newsletter sponsorships. See who's buying, what placements cost, and how CPMs compare across 47 newsletters and 43 advertisers — $39M in modeled 2026 spend reaching 23M subscribers.
Spend run-rate · trailing 12 months
Modeled newsletter ad spend is +29%
Modeled 2026 spend
$39M
43 advertisers
Tracked newsletters
47
11 categories
Combined reach
23M
subscribers
Median CPM
$89
42% avg open
Where the money goes
Modeled 2026 spend by advertiser category
Preview limit
31 more advertisers unlocked free
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For operators
What should your newsletter charge?
Benchmark your rate against 47 real CPMs by category.
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Methodology
How we model the numbers
Every figure is a modeled estimate built to be directionally useful for benchmarking — not an audited financial. We triangulate from published rate cards and media kits, live newsletter sponsorship marketplaces, observed placements in real issues, and third-party audience analytics. Spend is modeled as price × send frequency × estimated fill rate across the tracked network, then sanity-checked against disclosed deals. Newsletters with a dot are verified against a public rate card.
Sources we draw from
- Marketplace
Paved
Live newsletter ad marketplace with audience sizes, CPMs, and bookable rate cards.
- Marketplace
Passionfroot
Creator/newsletter booking pages exposing real placement prices and availability.
- Directory
Who Sponsors Stuff
Searchable database of which brands sponsor which newsletters and podcasts.
- Marketplace
SparkLoop / beehiiv Ad Network
Recommendation and ad networks that reveal participating newsletters and payouts.
- Marketplace
Swapstack
Newsletter sponsorship marketplace with rate cards and category filters.
- Directory
Substack & beehiiv leaderboards
Public bestseller and category leaderboards for subscriber-tier ranking.
- Rate card
Published rate cards / media kits
Operator media-kit PDFs and /advertise pages with flat prices and CPMs.
- Disclosure
Live issue archives
Public web archives of past issues to detect actual run sponsors and cadence.
- Analytics
SimilarWeb / audience analytics
Traffic and audience estimates used to triangulate subscriber and engagement scale.
FAQ
Newsletter advertising, answered
How much does it cost to advertise in a newsletter?+
Across the newsletters tracked here, primary sponsorships range from about $1,600 for niche weekly sends to $50,000+ for flagship daily briefings like Morning Brew. The blended median CPM is roughly $89 per thousand opens, with premium B2B and finance lists commanding $100–270 CPMs.
What is a good newsletter CPM in 2026?+
CPM (cost per thousand opens) is the cleanest way to compare newsletters of different sizes. Broad consumer-leaning AI and tech lists sit around $35–60, mid-market operator newsletters land at $60–120, and premium niche or executive audiences run $120–270+.
How is the modeled spend calculated?+
We combine public rate cards, sponsorship marketplaces, audience estimates, and observed placements in live issues. Spend is modeled as price × frequency × estimated fill rate across the tracked network. These are directional estimates for benchmarking, not audited figures.
Which brands spend the most on newsletter ads?+
In this index, the heaviest newsletter sponsors are HubSpot, Salesforce, Vanta, Notion, and a fast-rising group of AI-native challengers — Anthropic, Perplexity, Circleback, and Clay — scaling spend quickly across AI and GTM newsletters.
Will you cover podcasts and YouTube?+
Yes. Podcasts and YouTube sponsorship indices are coming next, using the same modeled-spend methodology. Newsletters first — join the list to be notified when the others launch.
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Figures are modeled estimates for benchmarking and do not represent audited spend by any company named. © 2026 newsletter.app