Swapstack alternative for newsletter and podcast sponsorships at 0% commission
Swapstack matches newsletters with sponsors and takes a share of what you sell. Publishing your own rate card and keeping the full amount is a different trade, and a cheaper one at volume.
Platform
commission
You keep
$
On a 30% marketplace you'd keep $, that's $ less.
Matched opportunities
· ·
$
In short
Swapstack is a newsletter sponsorship marketplace that connects writers with brands and earns a commission on the deals it brokers. Sponsorships charges a flat membership and takes 0% of your deals, and it covers podcasts, YouTube and events alongside newsletters rather than newsletters alone. A brokered marketplace is worth its cut while you are still building inbound demand, and costs more than it returns once brands come to you on their own.
Side by side
Sponsorships vs Swapstack
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| Capability | Sponsorships | Swapstack |
|---|---|---|
| 0% commission on your deals | Network share of each deal | |
| Flat membership pricing | ||
| Independent product | Acquired by beehiiv in 2023 | |
| Podcast, newsletter, YouTube and events | Newsletters mainly | |
| Self-serve, no agency | ||
| Deal pipeline and deliverables | ||
| Public profile and media kit | ||
| You keep the brand relationship | Network-mediated |
Comparison reflects general product positioning and is provided in good faith. Verify current capabilities with each vendor.
The detail
What Swapstack does well, and where the cost lands
Swapstack built a well-liked marketplace connecting newsletter creators with sponsors. Worth knowing before you compare: Swapstack was acquired by beehiiv in September 2023 and folded into the beehiiv Ad Network, so what was a standalone newsletter marketplace now sits inside beehiiv's ecosystem rather than operating as an independent product. Like most ad networks, it monetizes by taking a share of the deals it facilitates, so a portion of each booking goes to the platform, and the campaigns you see are the ones the network routes to you. Sponsorships takes 0% commission on your deals and charges flat membership instead, so your rate card price is what you keep.
It also spans YouTube and events alongside newsletters and podcasts in one place, with a public profile, media kit, deal management, and deliverables, and you keep the brand relationship directly. This comparison is made in good faith, so please verify current terms with each provider.
Questions
Swapstack questions, answered
Is Swapstack still around?
Swapstack was acquired by beehiiv in September 2023 and folded into the beehiiv Ad Network, so it no longer operates as an independent newsletter marketplace. The inventory and the matching function continue inside beehiiv rather than as a separate product, which matters if you are on a different newsletter platform and were looking for a standalone marketplace.
What replaced Swapstack?
The beehiiv Ad Network. beehiiv reports the network has grown more than 20x since launch, spans roughly 30,000 publications, and pays out close to $1 million a month to newsletter creators, with brands including Nike, Netflix, Google, HubSpot, Deel and Roku running campaigns through it. Reported take rates on the network are commonly cited around 10% to 15%.
How much commission does the beehiiv Ad Network take?
Reported take rates sit in the region of 10% to 15% of the deal value, deducted from what the publisher earns. Direct placements negotiated outside the network are priced by each publisher and commonly reported from about $150 to several thousand dollars per send. Sponsorships charges a flat membership and 0% commission instead, so the rate you agree with a sponsor is what you receive.
What is the best Swapstack alternative for newsletters?
If your newsletter is already hosted on beehiiv, the built in Ad Network is the path of least resistance and worth using. If you publish elsewhere, or you want to keep the full deal value and own the sponsor relationship, a flat membership marketplace with 0% commission fits better, particularly if you also sell podcast, YouTube or event inventory and want one profile and one rate card covering all of it.
Do I need to be on beehiiv to use the beehiiv Ad Network?
The Ad Network is built into the beehiiv platform, so it is designed for publications hosted there. That is the main practical limitation for a newsletter operator on Substack, ConvertKit, Ghost or a self hosted setup, and it is the most common reason people search for a Swapstack alternative after the acquisition.
How do newsletter sponsorship marketplaces make money?
Most take a share of each booking they facilitate, generally in the 10% to 40% range depending on the platform and whether the deal runs through a marketplace listing or a managed ad network. That share pays for demand generation, matching and payment handling. The alternative model is flat membership with 0% commission, where the platform charges for access and listing rather than for each transaction and the sponsor pays the creator directly.
Figures are published vendor terms and industry benchmarks, not quotes. Verify current pricing with each vendor.
Other comparisons
Weighing all of them at once? See the full roundup of the newsletter ad networks, compared on commission, formats and fit.
Keep 100% of your deals
Flat membership, 0% commission, every format in one place. List your audience, get discovered, and manage every deal yourself. Decide for yourself.