TL;DR: Substack charges a one-time $50 fee to connect a domain you already own. In Settings, click Domain, pay, and enter a subdomain such as www.yourdomain.com. Then add a CNAME record pointing to target.substack-custom-domains.com at your DNS provider. Verification can take up to 36 hours, and emails still come from substack.com.
The DNS records Substack needs
| Record | Host / Name | Value / Points to | When you need it |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNAME | www | target.substack-custom-domains.com | Always |
| A | @ | 3.231.35.217 | Only if you turned on "Enable root domain redirects" |
Leave TTL at your provider's default. Field names change from provider to provider, so "Host" might read "Name" and "Value" might read "Points to" or "Target". Records and steps checked against Substack Help on 24 Oct 2026.
Table of Contents
- The DNS Records Substack Needs
- What You Need Before You Start
- How to Set Up a Custom Domain on Substack
- How Long Verification Takes
- Why Substack Needs www (and What Happens to the Root Domain)
- Fixing a Custom Domain That Won't Connect
- Is a $50 Custom Domain Worth It?
- Keeping Momentum After You Switch
- Frequently Asked Questions
Your Substack lives at yourname.substack.com until you decide it shouldn't. A custom domain moves the publication to an address you own, like www.yourname.com, and keeps Substack's editor and email delivery exactly where they are. The setup itself is a short form and two DNS records. Most of the trouble writers run into comes from the DNS side, so this guide spends most of its time there.
What you need before you start
Substack doesn't sell domains, so you need to own one already through a registrar such as Namecheap or Squarespace Domains (formerly Google Domains). You also need to be the publication's owner or an admin.
Have these ready:
- Your registrar login, or the login for wherever your DNS is managed if that's somewhere else, such as Cloudflare.
- A card for the one-time $50 fee. Substack doesn't charge tax or VAT on it.
- A decision on the root domain. If you want yourname.com (with no www) to forward to your Substack, you'll tick "Enable root domain redirects" during setup and add one extra record.
If your domain already runs a website or email, check what records exist before you change anything. Adding a www CNAME doesn't touch your email records, but deleting the wrong row while you're in there can.
How to set up a custom domain on Substack
These steps follow the order in Substack's Help page.
- Open your publication Settings and click Domain, then Add.
- Pay the $50 fee and click Submit.
- Enter the subdomain you want, for example www.yourdomain.com. Tick Enable root domain redirects if you also want yourdomain.com to send readers to your Substack.
- Substack shows the records to add. At your DNS provider, create a CNAME record with host www and value target.substack-custom-domains.com. If you ticked root redirects, also create an A record with host @ and value 3.231.35.217.
- Back in Substack, click Check status.
If you can't find the Domain section from your dashboard, open yoursubdomain.substack.com/publish/settings directly and scroll to it.
Substack's Help page links provider-specific walkthroughs for GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace Domains, Domain.com, DreamHost, Bluehost, Hover, and Dynadot. If you use one of those, follow its screenshots for step 4, since every DNS dashboard puts the "Add record" button somewhere different.
Practical rule: copy the CNAME value from Substack and paste it. A missing letter or a stray space in target.substack-custom-domains.com is the most common reason a domain never verifies.
How long verification takes
Verification can take up to 36 hours. DNS changes have to spread across the internet before Substack can see them, and how fast that happens depends on your provider. Many domains connect much faster, but nothing is broken if it takes most of a day and a half.
Substack emails you when the domain is live. The Check status button in Settings then changes to View configuration.
Struggling to stay consistent on Substack?
Batch and queue your Substack Notes in minutes, track which Notes convert subscribers, and grow without burning out.
Why Substack needs www (and what happens to the root domain)
Substack connects custom domains through a subdomain, which is why the setup asks for www.yourdomain.com and the CNAME record uses the host www. You can't point a bare root domain (yourdomain.com) straight at Substack.
The root redirect option covers that gap. With "Enable root domain redirects" ticked and the A record for @ in place, anyone who types yourdomain.com gets a permanent (301) redirect to www.yourdomain.com. Without it, the root domain shows whatever it showed before, or nothing.
Your newsletter emails don't move to the new domain. Substack still sends them from yoursubdomain@substack.com, so open rates and the sender address readers recognize stay the same. If deliverability is on your mind anyway, our guide to Substack email deliverability covers what actually affects inbox placement.
Fixing a custom domain that won't connect
If 36 hours have passed and the status still isn't confirmed, work through these in order. Most come straight from Substack's troubleshooting list.
| Problem | What to check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| CNAME typo | The value must be exactly target.substack-custom-domains.com | Delete the record and paste the value again |
| Wrong host | Some providers want "www", others want the full www.yourdomain.com | Match your provider's format, then click Check status |
| AAAA record on the root | An old AAAA (IPv6) record on @ can conflict with the redirect | Remove the AAAA record for the root domain |
| Cloudflare proxy on | Proxied records hide the real target from Substack | Set the CNAME (and A record) to "DNS only" |
| Setup still stuck | Records look right but status never changes | Delete the domain in Substack and add it again |
The Cloudflare proxy problem
When Cloudflare's proxy is on for a record, Cloudflare answers on Substack's behalf and Substack can't confirm the record. Open the DNS tab in Cloudflare, find the www CNAME (and the @ A record if you added one), and switch the proxy status toggle until it reads DNS only. Then go back to Substack and click Check status.
Deleting and re-adding the domain
If nothing else works, remove the domain from your Substack settings and add it again. You won't be charged the $50 a second time. Substack suggests this as the last step once your records look correct.
If it still won't connect after that, contact Substack support. Keep your receipt handy (Domain, then View receipt) when you write in.
Is a $50 custom domain worth it?
For a publication you plan to run for years, usually yes. The fee is one-time, and every post you publish after switching builds search history under an address you control. If you ever leave Substack, your links and rankings can follow the domain instead of staying behind on a subdomain. Our guide to Substack SEO goes deeper on how search engines treat a publication once it's indexed.
There are a few reasons to wait:
- You're still testing the idea. If you haven't published consistently for a month or two, $50 buys a problem you don't have yet.
- You don't own a domain you'd keep. Picking a domain in a hurry and changing it later costs more than waiting.
- Discover drives most of your growth. Some writers report less visibility in Substack's Discover and recommendations after switching. Substack doesn't publish data on this, so treat it as anecdotal, and check your own traffic sources before and after.
Your registrar still bills its own yearly renewal. That cost exists on any platform, and Substack doesn't add anything on top after the first $50.
Keeping momentum after you switch
A domain switch only pays off if you keep publishing at the same pace, so search engines keep finding fresh posts at the new address. The week you spend on DNS is often the week your Notes go quiet.
Queue that week before you touch a record. WriteStack schedules your Substack Notes, and Sync plus the Chrome extension hand each one to Substack on time (Sync runs automatically). Load a week of Notes in the Notes generator, then check the engagement heatmap to place them in the hours your readers are online. After the switch, WriteStack's benchmarks show whether your Notes performance held steady against other publications your size, which is a faster read than waiting three months to guess.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a Substack custom domain take to work?
Up to 36 hours after you add the DNS records. Substack emails you when it's live, and the Check status button changes to View configuration.
Will my Substack emails come from my custom domain?
No. Substack keeps sending your newsletter from yoursubdomain@substack.com after the domain connects. The custom domain changes your website address.
Can I use my root domain without www?
Not as the main address. Substack needs a subdomain such as www. Tick Enable root domain redirects and add the A record for @, and yourdomain.com will redirect to www.yourdomain.com with a 301.
Does a Substack custom domain cost anything every year?
Substack's $50 is a one-time fee with no tax or VAT added. Your registrar still charges its normal renewal for the domain itself.
Where do I find my custom domain receipt?
In your publication Settings, open Domain and click View receipt.
Can I remove and re-add my custom domain?
Yes. You can delete the domain in Settings and add it again without paying the $50 a second time.
What is target.substack-custom-domains.com?
It's the value for the www CNAME record that tells the internet your www address belongs to Substack. Copy it exactly from your Domain settings.
Do I need to redo setup if I move my DNS to another provider?
Yes. Add the same CNAME record (and the A record, if you use root redirects) at the new provider. The values stay the same, so it's a copy and paste.