Part of a larger guide
This article belongs to our complete guide Substack Unfiltered: The Good, the Bad, and What Nobody Tells You, where we analyze the platform in depth for LATAM creators.
If you search “best Substack newsletters” on Google, the first 50 results are in English. And the newsletters they mention are, too. This isn’t an accident. Substack’s Spanish-language ecosystem exists, but it feels like a neighborhood under construction next to a finished city.
For a creator in Mexico or Latin America evaluating the platform, the question isn’t just “Is Substack good?” but “Does Substack work for my language and my market?” The honest answer has more gray areas than we’d like.
The Numbers Behind the Spanish-Language Ecosystem
The most-subscribed Spanish-language creator on Substack is Jesus Terres with Nada Importa, a cultural commentary newsletter with approximately 35,000 subscribers. He’s based in Spain.
Samuel Gil with Suma Positiva (tech and startups) has around 29,000 subscribers, also from Spain. One detail that speaks volumes: Gil monetizes through sponsorships at ~€900 per edition, not through paid subscriptions. If one of the most successful Spanish-language creators chose not to charge his readers directly, that says something about the willingness of Spanish-speaking audiences to pay.
Other notable names: Joan Tubau (Kapital, economics), Alvaro Garcia (Jardin Mental, psychology, 29,000+ subscribers). All based in Spain.
See the pattern? Spain dominates the list. It’s not that LATAM creators don’t exist, but those who’ve reached significant traction on Substack are overwhelmingly European.
The Mexican Reality
Mexico’s representation on Substack is, to put it directly, minimal.
Oso Trava is probably the most visible Mexican creator on the platform. Focused on entrepreneurship and business strategy, he was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Expansion and named in Forbes’ 30 business promises. But his subscriber base on Substack doesn’t approach the numbers of Spanish creators.
Latinometrics offers data-driven analysis of business and economics in Latin America. Smaller efforts like El Taims (Mexican news) exist but without significant subscriber bases.
An academic study published in 2025 confirmed it: “Despite Substack’s promise of financial independence for creators, even the most prominent Spanish-language cultural newsletters generate only modest earnings.”
It’s not that the talent doesn’t exist in Mexico and LATAM. It’s that the market infrastructure isn’t ready.
Why the Ecosystem Is Behind
Several factors reinforce each other:
Language as a technical barrier
Substack’s UI translations cover Spanish, but system emails, account settings, and much of the platform infrastructure remain English-first. If you’re a non-bilingual reader, the experience has friction from the first click.
The algorithm favors English
The Explore page, bestseller lists, and Substack’s editorial curation are overwhelmingly anglophone. The discovery algorithm, trained on English engagement patterns, likely disadvantages content in other languages in organic recommendations. No creator has been able to verify this with internal data, but the anecdotal evidence is consistent.
The most profitable niches are anglophone by nature
Of the 52 most successful Substack newsletters, US politics accounts for 46% of top-earner revenue ($18.4 million). Finance, tech, and business round out the list. All niches where the dominant conversation happens in English.
The payment habit isn’t established
In the United States, digital subscription culture goes back decades: from newspaper paywalls to Patreon, Netflix, and Spotify premium. In Latin America, digital payment penetration has grown enormously, but the specific habit of paying for a newsletter remains rare. When Samuel Gil, with 29,000 Spanish-language subscribers, chooses not to charge subscriptions and monetizes with sponsors, he’s reading his audience correctly.
The Opportunity (Because It Does Exist)
Everything above sounds pessimistic, but there’s a different side if you change the lens.
Competition is practically nonexistent. If you look for quality newsletters in Spanish on personal finance, digital marketing, tech for executives, or business strategy in LATAM, you find very few with serious production. That’s a problem for readers and an opportunity for creators.
First movers accumulate disproportionate advantage. When the Spanish-language ecosystem eventually grows (and there are reasons to believe it will as digital penetration continues to expand in LATAM), those who already have established audiences will start with an enormous head start.
The model doesn’t have to be paid subscriptions. Sponsors, lead generation for professional services, authority positioning, course sales, consulting. The newsletter can be the tool, not the product. And for that, free audience numbers can be enough.
Does Substack Make Sense for a LATAM Creator?
It depends on what you’re looking for.
If you want a place to start publishing consistent content, build an email list, and take advantage of some organic discovery without investing a cent, Substack works. It’s the simplest entry point that exists.
If your plan is to monetize directly with paid subscriptions to a Spanish-speaking audience, the data suggests you’ll need a lot of patience, strong external distribution, and probably a price accessible to the market (not the $10-15/month that English-language creators charge).
And if you prioritize brand ownership, technical SEO, integrations with your existing business, or serious analytics, Substack might be your testing platform, not your final destination.
Build Your Newsletter for the Market You Know
Strategy for the LATAM Market
The Spanish-language newsletter ecosystem is growing, and the first movers with serious strategy accumulate advantage. At Mazkara Studio we help creators and executives in Mexico and LATAM design content systems that work for the Spanish-speaking market, not translated copies of what works in English.
Want to be among the first in your niche in Spanish? The window of opportunity is open, but not forever. Let’s talk about how to take advantage of it.