For Substack writers with paid subscriptions
Recover failed Substack subscription payments automatically
Paid Substack subscriptions are charged through the Stripe account you connected when you enabled payments. When a renewal fails, Creator Dunning emails the reader from you with a link to fix their card, then follows up until it's paid.
What Substack does today
Substack leaves recovery to Stripe's automatic retries and a generic notice. A reader whose card expired gets no personal nudge, and after the retries run out the subscription lapses.
How Creator Dunning connects
Creator Dunning connects to the same Stripe account Substack uses, through Stripe's standard OAuth authorization. Substack itself is untouched; we only read subscription and invoice events from Stripe.
Common questions
- Which email address do readers see?
- Your publication name as the sender, with replies going straight to your email address, so it reads like a note from you.
- Can I still use Substack's own tools?
- Yes. Creator Dunning runs alongside Substack and never changes your publication, prices or subscriber list.
- Does it cover comped or free subscribers?
- No. Only paid subscriptions billed through Stripe can fail a payment, so those are the only ones we track.
Roughly one in ten renewals fails. Most are fixable.
Industry data puts involuntary churn at 20–40% of all subscription churn, and Stripe's default retries recover only 25–35% of failed consumer payments. A timely, personal email closes most of that gap. See the numbers and sources.
Connect your Stripe account