Changes to your Substack Gross Annualized Revenue

We’ve recently made some adjustments to calculating your publication’s GAR, which you may have noticed on your Subscribers dashboard.

What causes my GAR to change?
If you or a paid subscriber have changed their subscription, this can affect your publication's GAR.
The following subscription changes are now recognized differently.

A reader is moved to a comped subscription

A reader is on a $5 / month subscription with 10 days left in their month is moved to a comped subscription.

  • Previous GAR calculation: That GAR would remain consistent through the remaining 10 days of the payment period and then drop to $0 after the original end date.
  • New GAR calculation: That GAR would drop to $0 on the day the subscription is moved into a comped subscription.

Changes to extensions
A reader’s $10/month subscription is ending on 1/31, but you’ve extended it for 7 days on 1/20 at no cost to them.

  • Previous GAR calculation: The GAR for this reader would stay $10 until the original end date on 1/31, and on 2/1 (when the extension starts), the GAR would drop to $0 until 2/7.
  • New GAR calculation: The GAR for this subscriber will stay $10 through 2/7.

A refund occurs
A reader subscribes to a $10/month plan on 1/1 but cancels their subscription, and you issue a refund of $5 on 1/10.

  • Previous GAR calculation: The reader's GAR would be $10 between 1/1 and 1/9. Once the refund is processed on 1/10, the GAR will drop to $5.
  • New GAR calculation: The GAR will remain $10 for the entire subscription length.

A reader changes their plan or you increase your prices
A reader on a $5/month plan has 10 days left, but they upgrade to a $8/month plan.

  • Previous GAR calculation: The GAR would stay $60 through the remaining 10 days and increase to $96 once the first $8 invoice was paid.
  • New GAR calculation: The GAR will increase to $96 for the remaining 10 days of the original payment period.

A reader changes their plan mid-subscription
A reader’s $5 / month subscription expires on 1/31, but the reader upgrades to a $60 / year subscription on 1/3 .

  • Previous GAR calculation: The GAR for this subscription would drop to ~$55 on 1/30 since the user would not be charged the full $60.
  • New GAR calculation: The GAR for this subscription will be $60 after 1/30.

A reader transfers their subscription to another user

A reader has a $5/month subscription that they transfer to another user on 1/3.

  • Previous GAR calculation: The GAR would be assigned to the subscriber who made the original payment for the payment period, and the new user's GAR would still be $0 after 1/31.
  • New GAR calculation: Before 1/31, the GAR will be assigned to the subscriber who made the original payment. After 1/31, the ARR will be associated with the new reader to whom the subscription was transferred.

A reader cancels their subscription and loses paid access
A reader does not renew their subscription and cancels it with 10 days left in their original payment period.

  • Previous GAR calculation: Their GAR would remain consistent through the remaining 10 days of the payment period.
  • New GAR calculation: Their GAR will drop to $0 on the day the subscription is canceled.

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