Your newsletter. Your audience. Your revenue.
Publish in a block editor built for writers, grow through a native referral engine, and charge paid subscriptions with zero platform fees. Letterbase is the newsletter stack for independent publishers.
What the Anthropic + Google deal actually means
A 4-minute read for operators, not headline readers.
On Tuesday, Google extended its investment in Anthropic by $2B, bringing the total to $3B across two rounds. The headlines focused on the dollar figure. The actual story is about compute.
Anthropic agreed to use Google Cloud TPUs as its primary training substrate — a reversal from the 2024 AWS-first posture. This is the first time a frontier lab has committed to TPU as the default backend since the original PaLM era.
- → TPU v5p utilization at Google jumps into mid-90s
- → AWS Trainium gets quietly deprioritized for Claude
- → Azure/OpenAI continues as the only H100-native frontier stack
Everything the newsletter needs. Nothing else.
No forums, no podcasts module, no "community spaces". Six tools — polished until a writer would pay for them twice.
Block editor, not a text box
Compose issues from headings, paragraphs, images, quotes, dividers, buttons and embeds. Built for long-form writers, not blog-post wizards.
AI draft in 20 seconds
Describe the topic and Claude ships a 700-word draft as structured blocks. Edit, don't write from zero.
Zero-fee paid subscriptions
Native Stripe subscriptions with no platform cut. Substack takes 10%. We take zero. You pay the flat plan, keep the rest.
Subscriber CRM, not a list
Tags, segments, tiers, CSV import, bulk actions. Treat your readers like a product audience, not a spreadsheet row.
Public archive with paywall
Every issue gets a beautiful web page at letterbase.com/your-slug. Paid issues paywall after the third block for free readers.
Referral engine + boost network
Built-in referral program with leaderboard, and a cross-promotion network to trade recommendations with 4,800+ creator newsletters.
Three ways your newsletter makes money.
Every tool below is native. No Stripe Connect approvals, no integrations to wire up, no "upgrade to Business for referrals" upsell.
Stripe, zero fees
Flip a toggle, set your price ($5 to $500/mo), and connect a Stripe account. We never take a cut — you pay only Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢.
Readers do the growth
Every subscriber gets a unique referral link. Hit 3, 10, 25 referrals → unlock digital rewards you define. Leaderboard + progress widget embed right in email.
Cross-promote, get paid
Recommend aligned newsletters inside your welcome email. Earn per confirmed subscriber. Opt in to outbound boosts to grow or outbound boosts to cash out.
From signup to first paid subscriber in one afternoon.
Claim your slug
Pick a publication name and slug in 30 seconds. Your archive goes live at letterbase.com/your-name.
Draft with blocks (or AI)
Write issue-by-issue in the block editor, or let Claude draft the skeleton and you edit the voice in.
Send, grow, monetize
One-click send via Resend to every subscriber. Flip paid subscriptions on when you're ready — no fees, no approvals.
The side-by-side operators actually ask for.
Writers with audiences who made the switch.
“Moved The Morning Stack from Substack in one afternoon. 8,400 readers migrated, open rate went from 41% to 53%, and I stopped giving up $680/mo in platform fees on day one.”
“Launched a paid tier at $12/mo on a Tuesday. Had 146 paying subscribers by Sunday — that's $1,752 MRR on a newsletter I'd been running unpaid for two years. The paywall preview on the archive converts like nothing else.”
“The block editor is the first one I don't fight. Claude drafts the news roundup, I rewrite the commentary, and I'm done in 40 minutes instead of three hours. Reclaimed my Sundays.”
Flat monthly. Keep 100% of subscription revenue.
Substack's 10% fee on a $10K MRR list costs you $12,000/year. Our Pro plan costs $2,388/year. Do the math.
For writers launching their first paid newsletter.
- Up to 10,000 subscribers
- Unlimited issues & archives
- AI draft assistant (Claude)
- Paid subscriptions (0% fee)
- Custom from-name + reply-to
For publications scaling past their first 10K readers.
- Up to 50,000 subscribers
- Everything in Creator
- Referral program + leaderboard
- Boost network access
- CSV import + segment tags
- Open-rate & click analytics
For full-time operators with a list and a P&L.
- Unlimited subscribers
- Everything in Publisher
- Multiple publications
- Team seats (5 editors)
- Priority deliverability review
- Dedicated Slack support