Substack Notes Benchmark · 401 notes · Feb 2026

What makes a Substack Note go viral?

We analyse 401 notes with 500+ likes for content patterns, then pair that with a 6.7M-note timing study for when to publish.

401

Notes analysed

2.0M

Total likes

4,874

Avg likes / note

91,267

Top note

Format

With image or without?

Does adding media actually move the needle on engagement?

Image / Media10% of notes

7,281

avg likes

1,500

avg restacks

Text only90% of notes

4,615

avg likes

831

avg restacks

Image notes average 2,666 more likes than text-only notes — but text notes make up 90% of the dataset.
Timing

Which posting windows should you test first?

Timing guidance from 6,743,129 Substack Notes.

Weekend evenings

8-11 pm ET

100/100

Highest engagement per note with fewer creators competing for attention.

Weekday evenings

3-10 pm ET

88/100

The safest repeatable window after work, when readers are relaxed and scrolling.

Midnight bonus

12-1 am ET

82/100

Surprisingly strong late-night engagement with minimal posting competition.

Weekend mornings

10 am-2 pm ET

76/100

Works best when readers are in weekend consumption mode.

Crowded mornings

Tue-Thu 8 am-12 pm ET

34/100

High posting volume creates more competition and lower relative engagement.

Weekend 8-11 pm ET is the strongest starting point. Weekday 3-10 pm ET is the reliable fallback once your own audience data starts filling in.
Length

How long should your note be?

Average likes broken down by note length. Excludes media-only posts.

Image / Media: 39 notes

1–50 chars: 34 notes

51–100 chars: 52 notes

101–200 chars: 276 notes

200+ chars: 0 notes

"Image / Media" notes average the most likes at 7,281. A compelling image outperforms words alone.
Trends

Are notes getting more or less engagement over time?

Monthly average likes across all notes in the dataset.

The dataset spans Jan – Feb. The highest-traffic month averaged 6,465 likes per note.
Patterns

Structural patterns of viral notes

What percentage of top-performing text notes use each technique?

33%

Start with a punchy opener

First sentence ≤ 8 words

16%

Contain a number / stat

In the first 80 characters

1%

End with a question

Closes with "?"

16%

Use ALL CAPS for emphasis

At least one capitalised word (3+ letters)

24%

Keep it under 100 characters

Short, scannable text

Shareability

How shareable are viral notes?

Restacks and replies as a percentage of total likes.

18.4%

Restack rate — of likes also restack

2.5%

Reply rate — of likes also reply

For every 10 likes, a top note gets roughly 18 restacks and 3 replies — strong distribution signals that help your note reach new audiences.
Benchmark

How do your notes compare?

Enter your Substack publication URL — we'll fetch your last 10 notes, score them, and show you how you stack up against the viral baseline. Sign up to save your benchmark and unlock posting time insights.

Benchmark your publication

Paste your Substack notes URL and we'll score your last 10 notes against the content baseline.

Use your publication URL (e.g. carson001.substack.com), not your profile link.

Your personalised benchmark

Enter your Substack notes URL above to benchmark content quality. Timing guidance uses 6.7M notes separately.

Timing

When should you post?

Timing guidance from 6,743,129 Substack Notes.

Weekend evenings

Weekday evenings

Midnight bonus

Weekend mornings

Crowded mornings

Weekend 8-11 pm ET is the highest-priority window; weekday 3-10 pm ET is the safest repeatable fallback.

See your posting time comparison

Connect your Substack and we'll overlay your actual posting schedule against the 6.7M-note timing benchmark.

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Narrareach

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Schedule weeks of Substack Notes in advance, cross-post to Medium and LinkedIn — and track what's working.

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