# NotesIQ - Full Reference

> This file gives AI assistants and agents a complete, structured summary of NotesIQ: what it is, what it costs, how it handles data, and everything published on its blog. For a short index instead, see /llms.txt.

Last updated: 2026-09-27

## What NotesIQ is

NotesIQ is a Chrome extension for Substack Notes analytics, draft scheduling, and AI-assisted writing, running entirely inside the browser. It reads Notes through the user's existing, already-logged-in Substack session - no separate account, no API keys, no extension-specific login flow. It is an independent, third-party tool and is not affiliated with Substack, Inc.

Tagline: "Grow on Substack without guessing."

## Pricing

- **Lifetime**: $19 one-time payment. Includes the full Dashboard, Performance Map, Best Time Heatmap, Content Type Breakdown, Trend Analytics, Top Fans, Evergreen Recycler, Viral Alerts, CSV Export, Backup/Restore, Media Kit, Bookmarks, unlimited Scheduler (single Notes or a full week's Queue), and unlimited Competitor Analysis. No subscription for any of this - one payment, updates forever. Covered by a 7-day money-back guarantee.
- **AI Pro add-on**: $9/mo, on top of Lifetime. Unlocks Ghostwriter (AI drafts new Notes in the user's own voice, trained on their best-performing Notes) and AI Post Coach (one data-grounded content suggestion based on the user's own top-performing content types, best times, and streak). Cancel anytime through the payment provider's customer portal.

## Features

- **Dashboard**: every Note ranked by real engagement (not raw views), with viral detection compared against the account's own baseline, full history, and one-click CSV export.
- **Content Type Breakdown**: auto-categorizes Notes (no manual tagging) and sorts by average engagement per type, so a writer knows which kind of Note to write next.
- **Competitor Analysis**: look up any public Substack handle to see their content mix, posting patterns, and best times - the same breakdown as the user's own account.
- **Top Fans**: a leaderboard of the readers who restack and comment the most - the people most likely to become paid subscribers.
- **Best Time Heatmap**: a 7-day by 6-time-slot engagement heatmap built entirely from the user's own posting history (not a generic industry benchmark), shown alongside their current posting streak.
- **Subscriber Growth tracking**: auto-detects the account's public subscriber count and tracks it over time on-device, since Substack's own dashboard doesn't show that history. Feeds into the Media Kit.
- **Trend Analytics**: weekly Notes volume and daily engagement in historical charts, with a full all-time view (Substack's own dashboard caps at 90 days).
- **Evergreen Recycler**: automatically surfaces Notes older than 60 days that outperformed the account's average, for reposting.
- **Viral Alert**: flags a Note the moment it pulls in meaningfully more engagement than the account's own baseline.
- **Draft Scheduling**: compose a single Note, or load a full week into the Queue - NotesIQ drives Substack's own composer/scheduler to publish automatically.
- **Ghostwriter (AI Pro)**: reads the account's best-performing Notes to learn its voice, then drafts a new Note on any given topic.
- **AI Post Coach (AI Pro)**: reads the account's top-performing content types, best posting times, and current streak, then hands back one concrete, data-grounded suggestion.
- **Media Kit**: turns real stats into a sponsor-ready one-pager (subscriber count, top Notes, engagement) - no watermark.
- **AI Prompt Templates**: 8 free, research-backed prompts for ChatGPT or Claude (some pre-filled with the user's own best-performing Notes) for drafting outside NotesIQ's built-in AI Coach.

## Data handling and privacy

Notes, profile, and subscriber stats are stored in the browser's own IndexedDB by default - on the user's device, not NotesIQ's servers. The one disclosed exception: AI drafting (Ghostwriter, Post Coach) sends the user's topic and top Notes to NotesIQ's AI server to generate a draft, and license activation talks to the payment processor. No analytics, telemetry, or fingerprinting. No account or sign-up required. Users can export or wipe their data at any time. See https://notesiq.app/privacy for the authoritative, current policy.

## Frequently asked questions

Q: What is NotesIQ?
A: NotesIQ is a Chrome extension built specifically for Substack Notes analytics, draft scheduling, and AI-assisted writing - all running inside your browser.

Q: Can I schedule Substack Notes?
A: Yes. Draft a single Note or load up a whole week's worth in the Queue, and NotesIQ will publish them for you at the scheduled time.

Q: What is the best time to post Substack Notes?
A: It depends on your own audience, not a generic rule - NotesIQ's Best Time Heatmap maps your engagement across a 7-day x 6-time-slot grid so you can see exactly when your Notes do best.

Q: How do I track engagement on my Substack Notes?
A: NotesIQ automatically tracks likes, restacks, comments, and content type for every Note you post, plus an all-time trend view - Substack's own dashboard only shows the last 90 days.

Q: Can I analyze a competitor's Substack Notes?
A: Yes. Look up any public Substack handle in the Competitor tab to see their content mix, posting patterns, and best times.

Q: Why aren't my Substack Notes getting engagement?
A: Usually it's timing or content type. The Content Type Breakdown and Best Time Heatmap show exactly which kind of Note and which time slot underperforms for your specific audience, so you can adjust instead of guessing.

Q: How much does NotesIQ cost?
A: The core analytics and scheduler are a one-time Lifetime payment ($19). AI features (Ghostwriter, Post Coach) are a separate subscription add-on at $9/mo.

Q: Why is AI a subscription instead of one-time?
A: AI drafting has a real, ongoing cost per generation. Keeping it a subscription lets NotesIQ keep the Lifetime analytics plan affordable and permanently one-time.

Q: What does 'Lifetime Access' include?
A: Every current and future analytics/scheduler feature, forever, for one payment - Dashboard, Performance Map, Heatmap, Content Type Breakdown, Scheduler, and more.

Q: Can I get a refund?
A: Yes - Lifetime purchases are covered by a 7-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.

Q: How do I cancel my AI Pro subscription?
A: Through the payment provider's customer portal - log in with the email used to purchase, cancel anytime, view invoices, or update the payment method. No need to contact NotesIQ directly.

Q: Does my data stay local?
A: Yes. Notes, profile, and stats are stored in the browser's IndexedDB. License activation talks directly to the payment processor, and AI drafting sends the topic and top Notes to NotesIQ's AI server to generate a draft.

Q: Which browsers does it work on?
A: NotesIQ is a Chrome extension, built and tested for Chrome (also works on Chromium browsers like Edge and Brave).

## Free tools

- **Substack Notes Checker** (https://notesiq.app/tools/note-checker): paste a draft Note, get an instant 0-100 score across six rule-based checks (length, opening line, structure/line breaks, link placement, specificity, reply-inviting), each grounded in a specific published study. Runs entirely client-side; nothing is sent anywhere.
- **Best Time to Post Calculator** (https://notesiq.app/tools/best-time-calculator): pick your audience's region and get a generic, published-research-based posting window (strongest window, dead zone to avoid, lunch-hour alternative) converted to local time. Explicitly not personalized - the personalized version is the paid Best Time Heatmap above.

## Blog articles

All research-backed with real cited sources and cross-linked to related articles.

- The Best Time to Post Substack Notes (Based on Real Engagement Data): What multiple independent analyses of millions of Substack Notes actually found about timing - and why the honest answer is still audience-specific. https://notesiq.app/blog/best-time-to-post-substack-notes
- How to Track Substack Notes Engagement: What Substack's own Notes stats actually show, where they fall short, and how to get a complete picture of what's working. https://notesiq.app/blog/how-to-track-substack-notes-engagement
- How to Analyze a Competitor's Substack Notes Strategy: A real analysis of 3,230 Notes across 9 creators shows which formats actually work. https://notesiq.app/blog/how-to-analyze-competitor-substack-notes
- How to Grow Subscribers with Substack Notes: Notes grow your subscriber count through discovery and recommendation, not raw posting volume. https://notesiq.app/blog/grow-subscribers-substack-notes
- Why Your Substack Notes Aren't Getting Engagement: A 5-point diagnostic for why Substack Notes reach drops, plus what real cross-creator data shows. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-not-getting-engagement
- How to Write Viral Substack Notes: What real analyses of viral and failed Substack Notes actually show about hooks, formatting, and the single most common mistake. https://notesiq.app/blog/how-to-write-viral-substack-notes
- How Often Should You Post Substack Notes?: A real 30-day experiment and why more than 3-5 Notes a day shows diminishing returns. https://notesiq.app/blog/how-often-to-post-substack-notes
- How to Get Sponsors for Your Substack (Media Kit Guide): What Substack's own Creator Kit requires and what brands actually look for beyond subscriber count. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-media-kit-sponsors
- Substack Notes Character Limit: What Actually Works: Real analysis of what actually gets read points to a much shorter practical ceiling than the technical limit. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-character-limit
- 60+ Substack Notes Ideas You Can Post Today: A categorized list organized around the four content types that actually drive engagement. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-ideas
- What to Post on Substack Notes When You're Stuck: A framework for deciding what to write, plus a real mine-your-archive strategy. https://notesiq.app/blog/what-to-post-on-substack-notes
- How to Repurpose a Substack Post into Notes: One article can fill a week of Notes if you extract different angles - a real 7-format breakdown. https://notesiq.app/blog/repurpose-substack-post-into-notes
- How to Schedule Substack Notes in Bulk: Substack's native scheduler only handles one Note at a time; how creators batch a full week instead. https://notesiq.app/blog/how-to-schedule-substack-notes-in-bulk
- Can You Schedule Notes on Substack?: Yes, natively, since April 2026 - but native scheduling and a real queue are different things. https://notesiq.app/blog/can-you-schedule-notes-on-substack
- Is Your Substack Scheduling Tool Safe?: Some Substack tools ask for your session cookies, which violates Substack's ToS and can get an account suspended. https://notesiq.app/blog/is-your-substack-tool-safe
- The Substack Notes Algorithm, Explained: Substack's own Head of Machine Learning explained what the Notes algorithm actually optimizes for. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-algorithm
- Viral Substack Notes With Zero Subscribers: 40% of the most-liked Notes in the feed get zero subscribers - going viral and growing are different problems. https://notesiq.app/blog/viral-substack-notes-zero-subscribers
- Common Substack Notes Mistakes (Backed by Real Data): An analysis of 9,641 Notes from 689 writers found mistakes that cut subscriber conversion by up to 35%. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-mistakes
- Which Notes Actually Bring Subscribers?: Out of 1,000+ Notes tested over a year, only three content types consistently converted readers. https://notesiq.app/blog/which-notes-bring-subscribers
- Best Substack Notes Scheduling Tools (2026): A factual comparison of Substack's native scheduler and real third-party tools - pricing and publishing model. https://notesiq.app/blog/best-substack-notes-scheduling-tools
- Substack Notes Engagement Benchmarks: Real numbers from an analysis of 2.7 million Substack Notes on what bestsellers actually average. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-engagement-benchmarks
- Substack Notes Growth Benchmarks: What's Realistic: A 3-stage framework for realistic Substack subscriber growth with actual per-day numbers. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-growth-benchmarks
- The Complete Guide to Substack Notes: Every guide on this blog, organized by what you're actually trying to do. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-complete-guide
- Substack Notes vs. Twitter/X: What's Actually Different: Audience composition, algorithm incentives, and a real week-long head-to-head experiment. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-vs-twitter
- Substack Notes vs. Bluesky: Which Should You Prioritize?: Substack Notes drove 32 million free subscriptions in three months; Bluesky's user base fell 27% year-over-year. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-vs-bluesky
- Substack Notes vs. Threads: Which Actually Grows Your List: For many early-stage publications, Notes drives over 90% of new subscribers. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-vs-threads
- Substack Notes vs. Posts: When to Use Which: Posts are the product; Notes are the distribution. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-vs-posts
- How to Get More Replies on Substack Notes: Traction doesn't come from posting more - it comes from responding more. https://notesiq.app/blog/get-more-replies-substack-notes
- How Restacks Actually Work on Substack: A restack isn't just a bigger like - it's the only mechanic that borrows someone else's audience for free. https://notesiq.app/blog/how-restacks-work-substack
- Do Links in Substack Notes Help or Hurt Reach?: An analysis of 655,056 Notes found links cut engagement by 44%. https://notesiq.app/blog/links-in-substack-notes-help-or-hurt
- Substack Notes Formats That Actually Work: Images drive 63% more engagement in one dataset, yet text-only was the most reliable format in another. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-formats-that-work
- Building a Substack Notes Content Calendar: 68% of Substack writers struggle with consistent publishing - a real batching system fixes the planning problem. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-content-calendar
- How Substack Recommendations Actually Work: Recommendations drive 50% of new subscriptions platform-wide - the mechanism, and where it can backfire. https://notesiq.app/blog/how-substack-recommendations-work
- How to Get Your First 100 Substack Subscribers: A real case study shows the same Note generating 3 subscribers one month and 79 the next. https://notesiq.app/blog/first-100-substack-subscribers
- Using AI to Write and Schedule Substack Notes: Substack launched an AI detector in July 2026 that scans every Note over ~100 characters. https://notesiq.app/blog/using-ai-to-write-substack-notes
- Writing Substack Notes That Get Found in Search: Substack Notes don't get indexed by Google at all, and in-app search is unreliable. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-notes-seo-search
- How Substack's Discover Page Affects Notes Visibility: The short answer: it doesn't. Discover is a posts-only mechanism. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-discover-page-notes-visibility
- Building Community Through Substack Notes: One writer built a 300+ writer support network on Notes and attributed 70-80% of their growth to it. https://notesiq.app/blog/building-community-through-substack-notes
- Substack Writer Burnout and Sustainable Posting Cadence: 62% of full-time creators report burnout symptoms - the fix is a cadence you can keep long-term. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-writer-burnout-sustainable-cadence
- Cross-Posting Substack Notes to Other Platforms: Copying the same Note word-for-word everywhere is the most common repurposing mistake. https://notesiq.app/blog/cross-posting-substack-notes-other-platforms
- Substack MCP Servers and AI Integrations, Explained: What an MCP server actually is, what it can do, and the real security tradeoff. https://notesiq.app/blog/substack-mcp-ai-integrations
- Is Substack Still Growing in 2026?: Monetizing publications doubled in a year, but paid subscriptions have been stuck near 5 million for over a year. https://notesiq.app/blog/is-substack-still-growing-2026

## Legal

- Privacy Policy: https://notesiq.app/privacy
- Terms of Use: https://notesiq.app/terms