Substack Recommendations: How They Work and How to Use Them

Recommendations are Substack's built-in way for writers to send readers to each other. Substack itself calls them "the most powerful engine for growing on Substack" (featured help). This explainer covers how the feature works as of October 2026, where recommendations show up, a strategy built only on what Substack documents, and how to measure the subscribers they bring.

How do Substack recommendations work?

You pick publications you like and attach a short blurb. Substack then shows them to your new readers, and "the creators of those Substacks are prompted to recommend you back" (recommendations help). It's a two-way network: your list sends readers out, and other writers' lists send readers to you.

To add one:

1. In your dashboard, open Recommendations.
2. Click Add Recommendation and search for the publication.
3. Write a blurb on why your readers should read it.
4. Choose whether it shows on your homepage and whether it's included in recommendation digests.

The recommended creator gets an email. If they subscribe to you, it arrives within an hour; if not, they're told later, "when the recommendation has resulted in some new subscribers". Your blurb appears in that email, which is a good reason to write one.

Where do recommendations appear?

Per Substack's help article, recommended publications are shown in three places:

Place	What the reader sees
Subscribe flow	Right after subscribing to you, the option to follow the creators you recommend and subscribe to some of their publications
Your homepage	Your recommendations, if you've chosen to display them
Recommendation digest emails	An email to your subscribers when you make a new recommendation

Digests are optional on both sides. Readers can unsubscribe from them without leaving your publication, and you can opt out with the "Include in recommendation digests" toggle, which removes both the recommendations you make and those you receive from digests (digest help).

Since February 2024, the subscribe-flow screen is no longer capped at three publications: writers can show "as many publications and profiles as the writer considers worthy of attention", and readers can tick or untick each one (On Substack, February 2024).

What are endorsements on the welcome page?

When other writers recommend you, their blurbs become social proof. Under Recommendations → Settings → Recommendation blurbs on welcome page, you can pick up to 3 blurbs to show new visitors on your Welcome page (endorsements help). Only publications that have recommended you can be used, and blurbs don't appear on mobile.

How much growth do recommendations drive?

Only Substack publishes figures, and they're platform-wide and self-reported:

• In February 2024 Substack said recommendations, along with the app, power a network that "drives 50% of all new subscriptions and 25% of new paid subscriptions on Substack" (On Substack).
• Substack's help centre says "a creator who makes a recommendation is 3x more likely to receive one" (featured help).

Neither number predicts your results. Your own Recommendations tab will.

A recommendation strategy built on what Substack documents

1. Recommend first. Given Substack's 3x claim, making recommendations is the cheapest way to get them. Recommend publications you actually read.
2. Fit beats size. Readers see your list right after subscribing to you, so publications close to your topic are the ones they're likely to pick.
3. Write every blurb. It shows to your readers and lands in the other writer's notification email, which is often the start of a relationship.
4. Refresh the list. Substack's help says "when you refresh your recommendations, readers who discover your work will also learn about some of the other great creators on Substack". New recommendations also trigger digests to your subscribers.
5. Prune with data. If a recommendation shows "Inactive", one of you has stopped recommending the other (recommendations help).
6. Pair with other network features. Cross-posts send a peer's whole free post to your list (cross-post help), and referrals reward readers who bring friends (referrals help). More tactics are in how to grow your Substack.

Recommendations vs Boost, cross-posts and referrals

Feature	Who sends readers	Cost	Where it's measured
Recommendations	Other writers' lists	Free	Recommendations tab
Boost multiple-subscription discount	Substack, after a reader pays for another Boost-enabled publication	Discount up to 20% (Boost help)	Settings → Growth
Cross-posts	A writer sharing your free post with their list	Free	The cross-poster's Posts page
Subscriber referrals	Your readers	Rewards you choose	Referral dashboard

How do I measure recommendations?

In the dashboard. The Recommendations tab shows who recommends you, who you recommend, and "the number of free subscriptions each recommendation has generated" (recommendations help). Substack's metrics guide adds two views:

• Stats → Network groups subscribers who came "through a network feature such as recommendations or referrals" as "Other Substack Network".
• Analytics → Sources includes "Onboarding (under Substack): subscribed through recommendations shown when they first joined Substack".

In exports. Export your subscriber list with all columns (export help). The subscriber dashboard defines a "subscription source" field, "a tag explaining how a subscriber arrived at your publication before becoming a free subscriber" (dashboard help). Export monthly, filter by that field, and track how many recommended subscribers later open emails or upgrade. That tells you which partners send readers who stay, which the Recommendations tab alone doesn't show.

newsletterapi's subscriber analytics does that comparison from your export, with source-quality and cohort reports you can query by API or through the newsletterapi MCP server. See the Substack API guide for what Substack exposes officially. To get access, email hello@newsletterapi.io.