John McDonald has 905,863 followers on Substack as of Nov 1, 2026. 53 publications recommend them, 4 of them new in the last 30 days, and they recommend 12.
Last read Nov 1, 2026 (UTC). Followers are not email subscribers. Substack lists only the newest 50 recommendations for each publication, so a recommender count of 50 or more is a floor. History starts Oct 31, 2026; Substack publishes nothing earlier.
- Followers
- 905,863
- read Nov 1
- Last 7 days
- first number on Nov 7
- Last 30 days
- first number on Nov 30
- Subscribers
- 904K+
- rounded by Substack
- Paid subscribers
- 100+
- bestseller badge 100+
- Recommended by
- 53
- +4 in 30 days
- Recommends
- 12
- Bestsellers rank
- not on a board
Followers by day
Tracking since Oct 31, 2026. 2 days of readings. Substack doesn't publish past follower counts, so history starts the day I first read a writer and grows by one reading every 3 days (daily if it's on your watchlist). The 7-day change appears on Nov 7, the 30-day change on Nov 30. Recommendation dates below go further back: they're Substack's own.
Show as a table
| Date | Followers | Change | Subscribers | Paid band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2026 | 905,863 | −277 | 904K+ | |
| Oct 31, 2026 | 906,140 | 905K+ |
Leaderboard positions
Not on a category leaderboard right now
Substack's boards list the top 100 per category, by paid subscribers (Bestsellers) and by recent paid growth (Rising). I read all 66 of them once a day, so a new entry shows up within a day.
Recommendations
53 publications recommend John McDonald; 4 started in the last 30 days. John McDonald recommends 12, and 2 of those recommend back. Lists read Oct 31.
When the recommendations started
Show as a table
| Month | Started |
|---|---|
| 2023-02 | 1 |
| 2023-07 | 1 |
| 2024-01 | 1 |
| 2026-06 | 9 |
| 2026-07 | 33 |
| 2026-08 | 1 |
| 2026-09 | 2 |
| 2026-10 | 5 |
Recommended by
FOUND152k followers · started Jan 2024 · mutual
Christene Barberich44k followers · started Jun 18, 2026 · mutual
Rodrigo Salem11k followers · started Jul 2023
Tanya Eby1.5k followers · started Feb 2023- MARGO's Substackstarted Oct 27, 2026new
- Barron's Substackstarted Oct 25, 2026new
- Erika's Substackstarted Oct 22, 2026new
- Jodie's Substackstarted Oct 15, 2026new
- Sadhana Guptastarted Oct 2, 2026
- Barb's Substackstarted Sep 30, 2026
- Michele's Substackstarted Sep 8, 2026
- Sheryl's Substackstarted Aug 31, 2026
- Jarunee's Substackstarted Jul 25, 2026
- mmmerks's Substackstarted Jul 24, 2026
- sierraplusultra's Substackstarted Jul 23, 2026
- Grace And The Citystarted Jul 23, 2026
- Shannan's Substackstarted Jul 21, 2026
- Lee's Substackstarted Jul 20, 2026
- Liz's Substackstarted Jul 18, 2026
- Reese's Substackstarted Jul 18, 2026
- 1300's Substackstarted Jul 18, 2026
- Rachel's Substackstarted Jul 15, 2026
- The Curious Observer's Substackstarted Jul 15, 2026
- Joyce's Substackstarted Jul 14, 2026
All 53
- CHRISTINE / EVOLVINGstarted Jul 14, 2026
- Kelly's Substackstarted Jul 13, 2026
- BetterDaysClub's Substackstarted Jul 12, 2026
- Natalie's Substackstarted Jul 10, 2026
- DMarie's Substackstarted Jul 9, 2026
- William's Substackstarted Jul 9, 2026
- Stephanie's Substackstarted Jul 9, 2026
- Greg's Substackstarted Jul 8, 2026
- Erin's Substackstarted Jul 7, 2026
- Chris's Substackstarted Jul 7, 2026
- Andrea's Substackstarted Jul 7, 2026
- The Maven's Substackstarted Jul 7, 2026
- Pilgrim-ishstarted Jul 6, 2026
- Joan's Substackstarted Jul 5, 2026
- TheClusterBrief's Substackstarted Jul 4, 2026
- Noah's Substackstarted Jul 4, 2026
- Michael's Substackstarted Jul 4, 2026
- The Root: Gullah Geechee Biz Monthlystarted Jul 3, 2026
- SHAWNA's Substackstarted Jul 3, 2026
- StellaStargazin's Substackstarted Jul 3, 2026
- Sue's Substackstarted Jul 2, 2026
- Kelly's Substackstarted Jun 30, 2026
- Steven's Substackstarted Jun 30, 2026
- Todd's Substackstarted Jun 27, 2026
- Elaine's Substackstarted Jun 27, 2026
- Katrixi05's Substackstarted Jun 27, 2026
- Barbara's Substackstarted Jun 24, 2026
- Griffin's Substackstarted Jun 23, 2026
- Stephanie's Substackstarted Jun 23, 2026
Recommends
Emily Sundberg226k followers · started Nov 14, 2025
Yolanda Edwards176k followers · started Jun 11, 2026- FOUND152k followers · started Jun 11, 2026 · mutual
Ruth Reichl96k followers · started Jun 11, 2026- Christene Barberich44k followers · started Jun 11, 2026 · mutual
Talia29k followers · started Jun 16, 2026- NY's Only Good Restaurantsstarted Oct 22, 2026new
- Yes Chef Guidesstarted Sep 26, 2026
- exhibits in new yorkstarted Jul 28, 2026
- The Secret Ingredientstarted Jun 27, 2026
- Habiterstarted Jun 16, 2026
- Secret Strategiststarted Jun 11, 2026
Substack lists the 50 newest recommenders of each publication. I add every recommendation found in the full lists of the 6,392 publications I read, so writers with many recommenders may still be missing a few small ones. "Started" is Substack's date.
Recommended by the same publications
Writers who share the most recommenders with John McDonald. Useful for finding peers, and for sponsors looking for similar audiences.
- 4 shared
Amanda HesserHomeward
617k followers - 2 shared
David LebovitzDavid Lebovitz Newsletter
333k followers - 2 shared
Emily SundbergFeed Me
226k followers - 2 shared
Meg ZimbeckParis by Mouth
134k followers - 2 shared
Lindsey TramutaThe New Paris Dispatch
38k followers
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<a href="https://stackblade.app/w/johnmcdonald711547"><img src="https://stackblade.app/badge/johnmcdonald711547.svg" alt="John McDonald on Substack: follower count" height="28"></a>
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Card for a website
A small live card with followers and recommendations. Iframe, 360 by 190.
<iframe src="https://stackblade.app/embed/w/johnmcdonald711547" width="360" height="190" style="border:0" title="John McDonald on Stackblade" loading="lazy"></iframe>