Creators & audience
Best time to post in r/Substack
The best and worst hours to post, the rules that get posts removed, and a check of your draft against both.
Posts in r/Substack are most often removed for self-promotion issues. It is a public subreddit that does not allow link posts and does not require post flair. In our latest sample of 43 recent posts, an estimated 93% were still up about a day later.
A place to discuss Substack, the newsletters, and the platform. (No self-promotion)
The best and worst hours to post in r/Substack
In our sample of 603 recent and top r/Substack posts, activity and scores peak around Tuesday 4pm UTC (12 posts in that hour), and are weakest around Saturday 4pm UTC. Based on posts sampled through Oct 20, 2026. Times in this sentence are UTC; the grid below converts to your local timezone. Timing helps a clean post get seen. It does not save a post that breaks a rule.
- Window 1
Tue around 4pm
avg score 31.9 · 12 posts sampled
- Window 2
Mon around 6pm
avg score 19.1 · 11 posts sampled
- Window 3
Fri around 3pm
avg score 12.8 · 11 posts sampled
Your timezone: UTC (GMT+0). Darker cells mean more posts in our sample.
Compare r/Substack against every tracked community on the best time to post on Reddit tool.
Estimated survival rate
93%
of 43 recent r/Substack posts we sampled were still publicly visible about a day later.
How this is measured
Estimate. We sample recent public posts and check again about 18 hours later to count how many are still publicly visible. Posts removed at the moment of submission never become publicly visible at all, so the true removal rate is at least this high. Last sampled Oct 5, 2026.
r/Substack rules: what actually gets removed
Each rule below is paired with the way it is most likely enforced. Where the rules state a number, we quote it. Where they do not, we say so instead of guessing.
1.Self-Promotion
Enforcement variesThis community is not the place to find subscribers to your newsletters nor users for your self-created tools. We do not encourage self-promotion posts. Please see our pinned threads for more info.
2.Soliciting Recommendations
Enforcement variesTo connect with authors to share recommendations, please use the pinned megathread.
3.Stay on topic
Enforcement variesThis subreddit is to discuss the Substack platform and Substack newsletters. Before posting, search the sub to see if your question has already been posted and answered.
r/Substack does not publish karma or account-age minimums in its rules. Subreddits often enforce unpublished filters on top of what they write down, which is why posts from new accounts can vanish without a message here.
Can you self-promote in r/Substack?
No. r/Substack bans self-promotion outright: product links, launch posts, and thinly framed feedback posts get removed. The sub's own wording: "This community is not the place to find subscribers to your newsletters nor users for your self-created tools". If you want eyes on your project, contribute first and look for communities with a promo lane.
r/Substack by the numbers
- Members
- 60K
- Active right now
- Not public
- Posts / day
- 7
- 85 comments / day
- Community age
- 7 years
- since Jun 14, 2019
| Median title length | Posts with a link | Posts with flair | Dominant format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 characters | 1% | 41% | text posts |
What gets removed in r/Substack
Self-promotion
r/Substack bans self-promo outright. Product links, launch posts, and thinly framed "feedback" posts are removed.
Low karma or a new account
r/Substack publishes no karma or age minimum, but unpublished account filters are common at this size. New accounts should comment before posting.
Reddit's sitewide spam filter
A separate layer before the subreddit ever sees your post. New accounts posting links, URL shorteners, and repeated domains are its favorite targets. Removals are instant and silent.
A shadowbanned account
If the account itself is shadowbanned, every post looks live to you and invisible to everyone else, in any subreddit.
Wondering about a post that already disappeared? Start with why Reddit posts get removed or run the free shadowban check.
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r/Substack posting questions
Can I post links in r/Substack?
No. r/Substack accepts text posts only, so a link-only submission is rejected at the door. You can usually mention a link inside the body text, but the sub's rules on self-promotion still apply to it. Check your draft against the rules before posting.
Does r/Substack require karma to post?
r/Substack does not publish a karma minimum. That does not mean there is none: many subreddits enforce unpublished karma and account-age filters that remove posts silently. If your account is new or has little karma, that is the first thing to rule out when a post disappears.
Is r/Substack strict?
Relaxed, by our estimate (21/100 on our strictness scale, from its measured removal rate, 3 rules, and its stated gates). About 7% of recent posts disappeared within a day in our sample. Strictness is about enforcement, not hostility: a strict sub is predictable if you follow its rules.
What is the best time to post in r/Substack?
Based on our sample of recent and top posts, activity and scores peak around Tuesday 4pm UTC and Monday 6pm UTC. Treat this as a starting point, not a guarantee: a post that breaks a rule gets removed at any hour. The heatmap on this page converts these windows to your local time.
Why do posts get removed in r/Substack?
The most common reasons are self-promotion violations, plus the layers every subreddit has: Reddit's sitewide spam filter, unpublished AutoMod rules, and account-level gates like karma and age. In our recent sample, roughly 7% of r/Substack posts disappeared within about a day of going up. Many removals are silent, so checking your draft first beats finding out after.
Rules last checked Oct 20, 2026
Go deeper: how AutoMod removals work, the shadowban explainer, or earning karma the allowed way.
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