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Search Substack Publications

Search Substack Publications API

Search Substack publications by name or keyword. Returns name, URL, tagline, author, subscriber badge, paid-subscriber band, prices, bestseller tier and language for each publication.

Price: $0.003 per request
Free tier: 50 requests/month
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Endpoint
GET /v1/substack/publications

Parameters

query *
Search keyword (max 500 characters)
page
Page number, 1-4 (default: 1). 20 publications per page
language
Two-letter language code, e.g. es, to rank publications in that language first

Response fields

publications
Array of matching publications
publication_id
Publication ID
name
Publication name
subdomain
Substack subdomain (<subdomain>.substack.com)
url
Publication home URL (the custom domain when it has one)
custom_domain
Custom domain, empty when none
description
Publication tagline
logo_url
Logo URL
cover_image_url
Cover image URL, empty when none
author
Primary author's handle
author_name
Primary author's display name
author_id
Primary author's user ID
author_url
Link to the primary author's profile
subscriber_count
Free subscriber count as Substack displays it (rounded, e.g. 1200000); null when the publication hides it
subscriber_count_label
The displayed subscriber badge, e.g. 1.2M+, or a band such as Thousands of subscribers
ranking_detail
Substack's ranking note: the paid-subscriber band for established publications or a launch note such as Launched a year ago for new ones; empty when not shown
paid_subscriber_band
Paid subscriber band, e.g. Tens of thousands of paid subscribers; empty when Substack shows none
paid_subscriber_floor
Lower bound of the paid band (100, 1000, 10000), 0 when none
bestseller_tier
Bestseller badge tier: 0, 100, 1000 or 10000 paid subscribers
is_bestseller
Whether the publication carries a bestseller badge
paid_enabled
Whether paid subscriptions are enabled
plans
Subscription prices (interval, amount, currency)
has_podcast
Whether the publication has a podcast
podcast
The publication's podcast (title, description, art_url, host, is_free, is_subscriber_only), null when none
sections
The publication's sections (section_id, name, slug, is_podcast)
author_pic_url
Primary author's profile picture URL
logo_url_wide
Wide logo URL, empty when none
founding_plan_name
Name of the founding tier, empty when none
has_recommendations
Whether the publication recommends other publications
has_chat
Whether subscriber chat is enabled
language
Language code
type
newsletter or podcast
twitter_handle
The publication's X handle, empty when none
created_at
Date the publication was created (UTC)
first_post_date
Date of the first post (UTC)
source
"Substack"
domain
"substack.com"
query
The search keyword
page
Current page number
has_next_page
Whether another page exists
count
Number of publications returned

Example Request

curl "https://apidirect.io/v1/substack/publications?query=crypto&page=1"   -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example Response

{
  "count": 20,
  "has_next_page": true,
  "page": 1,
  "publications": [
    {
      "author": "cryptoyall",
      "author_id": "89093778",
      "author_name": "Josh Rhodes - Crypto Y'all",
      "author_pic_url": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!e6dX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ff3e27c-70ae-4556-9000-a84bf76e3dd3_2973x2377.jpeg",
      "author_url": "https://substack.com/@cryptoyall",
      "bestseller_tier": 0,
      "cover_image_url": "",
      "created_at": "2025-11-06 02:36:02",
      "custom_domain": "",
      "description": "Tired of feeling lost in the crypto world? We’ll teach you how the market really works—so you can spot opportunities, av…",
      "domain": "substack.com",
      "first_post_date": "2026-06-09 15:38:18",
      "founding_plan_name": "Founding Member",
      "has_chat": true,
      "has_podcast": true,
      "has_recommendations": false,
      "is_bestseller": false,
      "language": "en",
      "logo_url": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!e6dX!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.…",
      "logo_url_wide": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3X7s!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F097d2cae-589f-466e-942c-e42391021862_480x254.png",
      "name": "Josh Rhodes - Crypto Y'all",
      "paid_enabled": true,
      "paid_subscriber_band": "",
      "paid_subscriber_floor": 0,
      "plans": [
        {
          "amount": 40.0,
          "currency": "USD",
          "interval": "month"
        },
        {
          "amount": 439.0,
          "currency": "USD",
          "interval": "year"
        }
      ],
      "podcast": null,
      "publication_id": "6822164",
      "ranking_detail": "Launched 4 months ago",
      "sections": [],
      "source": "Substack",
      "subdomain": "cryptoyall",
      "subscriber_count": null,
      "subscriber_count_label": "128",
      "twitter_handle": "",
      "type": "newsletter",
      "url": "https://cryptoyall.substack.com"
    }
  ],
  "query": "crypto"
}

Frequently asked questions

How many results can I get?

Substack serves up to 4 pages of 20 publications per query, about 75 matches.

What does language do?

It ranks publications written in that language first; it does not exclude the others.

How does pricing work?

You only pay for successful requests. The Search Substack Publications API costs $0.003 per request. There are no monthly fees or commitments. You get 50 free requests per endpoint every month.

Do I need a credit card to start?

No. You can sign up and use the free tier (50 requests/endpoint/month) without adding a payment method. You only need to add a card when you want to exceed the free tier.

Are there rate limits?

Yes, there's a concurrency limit of 10 simultaneous requests per endpoint per user. If you need more, just get in touch.

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