A reader finds your Substack guide through a Note, reads the opening, and leaves. A Substack freewall gives that reader a clear next step: subscribe for free to finish the post and receive your future work.
TL;DR, checked 8 Nov 2026: A Substack freewall asks readers to subscribe for free before reading the rest of a text post. On the web, place your cursor in the editor and choose More > Freewall, then confirm Audience is Subscribers only or Free or paid subscribers. Existing subscribers can read the full post. A paywall requires paid access, while metered paywalls let free subscribers read a set number of eligible paid posts each month. Source: Substack Help.
Contents
- What is a Substack freewall?
- Who can read the full post?
- How to add a freewall on Substack
- Check the non-subscriber preview
- Freewall limits and common problems
- Switch or remove a wall
- Substack freewall vs paywall vs metered paywall
- How metered paywalls work
- When to use each type of wall
- Keep the subscription promise clear
- Which posts should you freewall?
- Add a freewall to an already-published post
- Use Notes to bring readers to freewalled posts
- Plan the Notes in WriteStack
- Substack freewall FAQ
- Does a Substack freewall cost readers money?
- Can a post have a freewall and a paywall?
- Will adding a freewall change emails already sent?
- Is a freewall the same as a free trial?
- Will a freewall improve search rankings or subscriber conversion?
What is a Substack freewall?
A freewall is a free-subscription gate inside a Substack text post. Readers can see the preview above the wall. To continue, someone who has yet to subscribe sees a prompt to join your publication for free.
The Substack Team announced freewalls on 15 Oct 2026. The announcement describes asking readers for their email address before they read the rest of a post. It also says publishers can export the email addresses of their free and paid subscribers.
This gives writers another option between an open post and a post reserved for paying readers. You can keep the article available to your free list while asking new visitors to join it.
The distinction that matters in the editor is simple: Audience controls access. The freewall line controls where the public preview ends. Selecting More > Freewall also changes the audience automatically, according to Substack's setup guide.
Who can read the full post?
Free subscribers, paid subscribers and founding members can read the complete freewalled post. A reader who has yet to subscribe sees the preview and the message Subscribe for free to continue reading.
For example, a gardening writer could leave the introduction and a sample planting recommendation open, then place the seasonal planting guide below the freewall. Existing subscribers retain full access. New visitors can join for free to continue.
Practical rule: Use the opening to show the reader what they will get from finishing the article. The subscription request should follow a useful preview.
How to add a freewall on Substack
These steps follow Substack's current freewall instructions, checked on 8 Nov 2026.
- Open a text draft on the web. Write the post and decide where the public preview should end.
- Place your cursor at that point. Leave the content you want everyone to see above the cursor.
- Choose More > Freewall in the editor toolbar.
- Check the line in your draft. It should say Subscriber-only content below this line. Content above it is visible to everyone.
- Click Continue. In the post settings, check Audience. It should be Subscribers only if payments are off, or Free or paid subscribers if payments are enabled.
- Publish or send the post. Substack's guide lists Send to subscribers now and Publish now. You can also schedule the article in Substack itself.
Where you put the line is an editorial decision. A useful preview explains the problem and shows the kind of answer the reader can expect. Stopping before you have given any substance can make the subscription request feel premature.
You can prepare the Notes that will promote the finished post separately. WriteStack helps you plan and schedule Substack Notes linking to it. Article publishing and the freewall settings stay in Substack.
Check the non-subscriber preview
Choose Preview > Non-subscriber view. Check the mobile and desktop views for the subscription prompt. Substack says the prompt appears when the audience is correctly set to Subscribers only or Free or paid subscribers.
Read the preview as someone arriving from a link. Does it answer enough of their question to establish trust? Does the text immediately before the wall make the remaining value clear? Move the line if the preview ends mid-explanation or before the reader understands the offer.
Practical rule: Verify the audience setting and the non-subscriber preview before you share the URL. Your own subscriber view will show the full article.
Freewall limits and common problems
Substack Help lists these restrictions:
- Freewalls work on text posts.
- They are unavailable on audio, video or email-only posts.
- A post can contain one wall. You cannot put a freewall and a paywall in the same post.
- The Audience setting determines whether the gate is a freewall or a paywall, or whether the full post is open.
If your freewall appears to be missing, check Audience first. Everyone makes the full post readable by everyone. Paid subscribers only makes the line a paywall. Subscribers only or Free or paid subscribers makes the post freewalled.
For a published post, save the corrected setting with Update now. Then check the non-subscriber preview again.
Switch or remove a wall
To switch from a freewall to a paywall, choose More > Paywall. Substack says the audience changes to Paid subscribers only.
To switch the other way, choose More > Freewall. The audience changes to Subscribers only or Free or paid subscribers.
To remove the freewall, change Audience to Everyone and update the post. Substack displays a confirmation that the freewall will be removed.
Practical rule: Treat a wall change as an access change. Check who can read the post after saving, especially when moving an article between free and paid audiences.
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Substack freewall vs paywall vs metered paywall
The choice depends on the next step you want a reader to take. A freewall asks for a free subscription. A paywall reserves access for paying readers. Metering gives free subscribers a limited opportunity to read eligible paid posts.
| Question | Freewall | Paywall | Metered paywall |
|---|---|---|---|
| What does a new reader need? | A free subscription to finish the post | Paid access to read beyond the paid preview | A free subscription first, then an available monthly read for an eligible paid post |
| What can free subscribers read? | The full freewalled post | The preview, unless they have another form of access | Eligible paid posts while they have reads remaining |
| What happens when access is restricted? | A prompt to subscribe for free | A prompt for paid access | An upgrade prompt after the monthly allowance is used |
| What does the writer control? | The audience and preview boundary | The paid audience and preview boundary | The monthly allowance and which paid posts are included |
| Main use | Grow the free subscriber list | Reserve work for paid subscribers | Let free subscribers sample paid work |
The access rules above come from Substack's freewall guide and metered paywall guide.
How metered paywalls work
The 30 Oct 2026 product roundup explains metering this way:
“With metered paywalls, you can give free subscribers access to a set number of paid posts each month. You decide how many paid posts free subscribers can access each month and which posts are included.”
The metering Help article gives the settings: open Settings > Payments, turn Metering on, and set Free subscriber limit. The default is 3 paid posts per month, and the supported range is 1 to 50.
Once enabled, all paid posts are included by default. To exclude a particular paid post, set its Post metering type to None. You can do this before publication or on a published post.
The allowance resets on the first of each month. Only distinct paid posts count; reopening a post already opened that month uses no extra read. Someone who has yet to subscribe must subscribe for free before their allowance starts. Paid subscribers, contributors and admins always have full access and are never metered.
Practical rule: Metering is a paid-content sampling decision. Check the default inclusion of paid posts before turning it on.
When to use each type of wall
Choose a freewall when the immediate goal is a free subscription. An evergreen guide that receives visitors from Notes can be a good candidate. A useful preview lets a new reader decide whether the full article is worth joining for.
Choose a paywall when the article belongs to your paid offering. Readers should understand why that work is reserved for paying subscribers. Keep your public description consistent with the actual access they receive.
Choose metering when you want free subscribers to experience eligible paid work before upgrading. Consider which posts should remain outside the allowance, then use the individual post setting to exclude them.
These choices can coexist across a publication. You might keep introductory posts open, freewall selected evergreen guides, and reserve ongoing premium work for paid subscribers. The free vs paid content guide can help you think through the wider publishing mix.
Keep the subscription promise clear
“Subscribe for free to read the full checklist” describes a different commitment from “Upgrade to read this paid report.” Use language that matches the article's actual settings.
Avoid using the same promotion for every access type. A Note promising a free guide should lead to an article a reader can finish with a free subscription. If the destination requires paid access, say so before asking someone to click.
Practical rule: Choose the reader's next step first, then select the wall that matches it. Keep the promise consistent from the Note to the article.
Which posts should you freewall?
Start with useful posts that already attract relevant visitors. Evergreen tutorials and reference guides are candidates because someone may discover them well after their original publication date.
Look for an article with a clear reason to continue reading after the opening. A worked example or a detailed checklist can provide that reason. A short update with little left below the preview may offer less incentive to subscribe.
Search traffic is another place to look for candidates, provided you treat the change as a test. A freewall changes what an unsubscribed reader can access. The sources cited here provide no basis for promising improved search rankings or a specific conversion lift.
Keep some posts fully open when the complete article needs to be easy to share and read immediately. You do not need to apply the same access setting to your entire archive.
Add a freewall to an already-published post
You can retrofit an existing article. Substack's instructions say to open the published post in the editor, place the cursor at the intended boundary, choose More > Freewall, and click Update now. You can also change Audience to Subscribers only or Free or paid subscribers.
The change applies on the web right away. In the Substack app, it applies the next time a reader opens the post. Emails already sent remain unchanged and are not sent again. Anyone who received the full article by email still has it.
Before saving, check old promotional text. If you previously described the article as fully open, update the wording wherever you control it so readers know a free subscription is required to finish.
Practical rule: Pick a suitable archive post and review the reader experience before expanding the approach. An existing stream of visitors gives you a clearer place to observe what changes.
Use Notes to bring readers to freewalled posts
A freewall can ask a visitor to subscribe once they arrive. Notes give you a way to introduce the article to readers who might care about it.
Write a Note that contains a useful idea from the post. Then explain what the full article adds and link to it. For a freewalled guide, make the access requirement clear: “The full guide is available with a free subscription.”
For example, a post about interview preparation could support a Note about a common preparation mistake, followed later by a Note sharing an example question. Each Note should make sense on its own and lead naturally to the longer guide. Repeating the same link with the same opening gives readers little new reason to return.
Plan the Notes in WriteStack
WriteStack helps you plan and schedule Substack Notes that link to your freewalled posts. Draft the Notes around the article's useful ideas and choose when you want to share them.
WriteStack schedules Substack Notes only. Set up the article and its freewall in Substack. Notes publishing uses Sync plus the Chrome extension, with Sync running automatically when you schedule in WriteStack on your computer with the extension installed and Substack logged in. See the Sync documentation.
The part people don't expect: An archive article can give you fresh Notes topics after publication. You can write a Note around a reader question or an example from the post, then use WriteStack to schedule that Note with a link back.
For the wider workflow, read how to grow a Substack. To prepare the Notes around your own guides, explore WriteStack.
Practical rule: Give each Note a useful idea and an accurate promise about the linked post. Let the article's preview carry that promise through to the subscription prompt.
Substack freewall FAQ
Does a Substack freewall cost readers money?
No. It asks readers to subscribe to the publication for free. Free subscribers, paid subscribers and founding members can read the full freewalled post, according to Substack Help.
Can a post have a freewall and a paywall?
No. Substack allows one wall per post. Choose More > Freewall or More > Paywall to switch the wall and its associated audience setting.
Will adding a freewall change emails already sent?
No. Previously sent emails remain unchanged and are not sent again. The freewall takes effect on the web immediately after the update, and in the Substack app the next time the reader opens the post.
Is a freewall the same as a free trial?
No. A freewall requires a free subscription to finish a post. A free trial gives temporary access to a paid subscription under its trial terms. See our Substack free trial guide for the separate trial and billing details.
Will a freewall improve search rankings or subscriber conversion?
There is no guaranteed improvement. The official sources explain how access works and describe freewalls as a list-building tool; they provide no conversion benchmark for your publication. Review your own results and reader feedback before applying freewalls more widely.
Practical rule: Judge the change by whether the article delivers on its promise and attracts readers who want your future work.
Choose a guide worth subscribing for, check its non-subscriber preview, and prepare Notes that point readers toward it. WriteStack helps you plan and schedule those Substack Notes, so you can keep sharing useful entry points into your archive.