How many subscribers does Morning Brew have?

Morning Brew has over 4 million subscribers across its newsletter properties as of 2022-2023. Founded in 2015, it became one of the fastest-growing business media brands and was acquired by Insider Inc. (Business Insider's parent company) in 2020 for $75 million.

Who founded Morning Brew?

Morning Brew was founded in 2015 by Alex Lieberman and Austin Rief while they were students at the University of Michigan. What started as a dorm room project grew to 4+ million subscribers and a $75 million acquisition by Insider Inc. in October 2020.

Can I get Morning Brew in a digest with other newsletters?

Yes! With Readless, you can forward Morning Brew along with The Hustle, Axios, DealBook, and any other business newsletters to your @mail.readless.app address. Readless AI consolidates all of them into one daily digest, removing duplicate stories and organizing content by topic.

What's the difference between Morning Brew and The Hustle?

Morning Brew and The Hustle are both daily business newsletters with witty, conversational tones. Morning Brew focuses on business and financial news with a professional edge, while The Hustle covers business, tech, and culture with more snark. Both were founded around 2015, have millions of subscribers, and use a similar monetization model through sponsorships. Many readers subscribe to both, which is why consolidating them into one digest with Readless saves significant time.

How much time does Morning Brew take to read?

Morning Brew typically takes 8-12 minutes to read. If you also read The Hustle (7-10 min), Axios AM (6-8 min), DealBook (10-12 min), and a few other business newsletters, you're spending 45-60 minutes daily on email newsletters. Readless consolidates all of these into one 12-15 minute digest.

Is Morning Brew free?

Yes, Morning Brew is completely free to subscribe to. It's ad-supported through sponsor placements within the newsletter. You can subscribe at morningbrew.com and receive daily editions at no cost.

What happened to Morning Brew?

In October 2020, Insider Inc. (Business Insider's parent company, owned by Axel Springer) acquired a majority stake in Morning Brew for $75 million. At the time, Morning Brew had 2.5+ million subscribers and was generating ~$20 million in annual revenue. The founders Alex Lieberman and Austin Rief remained involved. Morning Brew has continued to grow and now has 4+ million subscribers across its properties.

Why do people read Morning Brew and The Hustle and Axios?

Many business professionals subscribe to all three because they cover different angles: Morning Brew has broad business news with financial markets focus, The Hustle adds startup culture and tech trends with extra snark, and Axios provides the 'Smart Brevity' political and policy context. The problem is that together they represent 25-30 minutes of reading daily with significant overlap. Readless solves this by consolidating all three into one digest that removes duplicate stories.

How does Readless handle Morning Brew's sponsors and ads?

Readless strips sponsor slots and promotional content from the digest so you get pure news and insights. Your Morning Brew subscription stays active (supporting the newsletter), but you read the digest version without ads. You can always click through to the original Morning Brew email in your archive if you want to see a specific sponsor.

Can I still get Morning Brew's weekend edition in my digest?

Yes! All Morning Brew editions (daily, weekend, and any special editions) flow into your Readless digest. You can schedule separate digests for weekdays vs. weekends if you prefer different delivery times.

Does this work with Morning Brew's other newsletters like Retail Brew or Marketing Brew?

Absolutely! Morning Brew publishes multiple vertical newsletters (Retail Brew, Marketing Brew, HR Brew, Tech Brew, etc.). You can forward all of them to your Readless address and they'll be consolidated into your daily digest alongside the flagship Morning Brew and any other newsletters you subscribe to.

What are the best newsletters to pair with Morning Brew?

The most popular combinations with Morning Brew are: The Hustle (similar tone, startup focus), Axios AM/PM (policy context), DealBook by NYT (deals and power players), 1440 (general news), Term Sheet by Fortune (venture capital), and StrictlyVC (venture deals). With Readless, you can subscribe to all of these and get one consolidated digest instead of 7+ separate emails.

Morning Brew is Great. Morning Brew + Everything Else is Better.

Join 4 million+ Morning Brew readers who consolidate Morning Brew, The Hustle, Axios, DealBook, and more into one ultimate morning briefing.

Business news shouldn't mean checking five newsletters before standup. Readless merges every source, removes duplicates, and delivers one summary with links.

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4M+ Morning Brew readersWorks with paid & free newslettersFull links included90% faster reading

Quick Facts: Morning Brew

Subscribers

4+ million readers

Founders

Alex Lieberman & Austin Rief (2015)

Read Time

8-12 minutes daily

Acquisition

$75M by Insider Inc. (2020)

Content

Business, markets, tech news

Revenue (2020)

~$20M annually

Top Business Newsletters at a Glance

Newsletter	Subscribers	Tone	Focus	Read Time
Morning Brew	4M+	Witty, conversational	Business & markets	8-12 min
The Hustle	2M+	Snarky, casual	Business, tech, culture	7-10 min
Axios AM	2.5M+	Smart Brevity, concise	News, politics, policy	6-8 min
DealBook (NYT)	Large	Professional, analytical	Deals, power, finance	10-12 min
1440	3M+	Neutral, factual	General news	5-7 min

Subscribe to 3+ of these = 25-40 minutes daily. Readless consolidates all into one 12-minute digest.

Key Takeaways

4+ million subscribers read Morning Brew daily for business news
Founded in a dorm room in 2015, sold for $75M in 2020
Most readers subscribe to 5-7 business newsletters (Morning Brew, The Hustle, Axios, DealBook, etc.)
88% of business stories repeat across multiple newsletters (Fed updates, market moves, earnings)
60+ minutes daily becomes 12 minutes with Readless consolidation
Over 60% of Morning Brew engagement now happens on platforms other than email

The Problem: You Love Morning Brew, But It's Not Enough

If you're a business professional, you probably subscribe to Morning Brew. But you also read The Hustle for startup culture, Axios for policy context, DealBook for M&A insights, and maybe 1440 for general news. That's 5+ newsletters landing in your inbox every morning.

Duplicate Stories Everywhere

Morning Brew, The Hustle, and DealBook all cover the same macro story (Fed announcement, big IPO, market crash). You read it 3 times for 1x insight.

Market Open Anxiety

You're still catching up on newsletters when markets open at 9:30 AM or your first meeting starts. Morning briefing becomes morning stress.

No Single Source of Truth

Each newsletter has its own take. You want them all, but consolidated. Readless fuses them, highlights disagreements, and links to originals.

The Average Morning Brew Reader Also Subscribes To:

The Hustle (daily)
Axios AM/PM (2x daily)
DealBook by NYT (daily)
1440 (daily)
Fortune Term Sheet (daily)
Bloomberg Evening Briefing (daily)
StrictlyVC or CB Insights (weekly)
Not Boring or Stratechery (weekly)

= 50+ business emails per week, 60+ minutes of reading daily

Morning Brew vs The Hustle vs Axios: Full Comparison

All three are excellent. But reading all three daily = 25-30 minutes. Here's how they compare.

Feature	Morning Brew	The Hustle	Axios AM
Subscribers	4+ million	2+ million	2.5+ million
Founded	2015	2016	2017
Acquisition	$75M (Insider Inc., 2020)	$27M (HubSpot, 2021)	Independent
Tone	Witty, conversational	Snarky, irreverent	Smart Brevity, concise
Focus	Business, markets, finance	Business, tech, culture	News, politics, policy
Read Time	8-12 minutes	7-10 minutes	6-8 minutes
Frequency	Daily + Weekend	Daily	Daily (6am ET)
Cost	Free (ad-supported)	Free (ad-supported)	Free
Best For	Business professionals, investors	Startup founders, young professionals	Executives, policy professionals

Why Subscribe to All Three? Why Not Just Pick One?

Because they cover different angles. Morning Brew gives you markets and finance, The Hustle adds startup culture with snark, and Axios provides political and policy context. Together, they give you the full picture.

The problem isn't the newsletters—it's the time. Readless solves this by consolidating all three into one 12-minute digest.

Your Morning Routine: Before vs After Readless

Before Readless

6:30 AM – Morning Brew (10 min)
6:45 AM – The Hustle (8 min)
7:00 AM – Axios AM (7 min)
7:15 AM – 1440 (5 min)
9:00 AM – DealBook (finally have time) (12 min)
Lunch – Catch up on Term Sheet (10 min)

Total: 52 minutes + constant tab hopping

With Readless

Digest lands at 6 AM covering every source
Duplicate macro news summarized once (Fed updates, earnings, market moves)
Color-coded sections for markets, business, tech, finance
Click through only when you need full context
Still get witty Morning Brew tone + Hustle snark in summaries

Total: 12 focused minutes, done before market open

How Readless Consolidates Your Business Newsletters

Send Morning Brew + Others to Readless

Use your @mail.readless.app address when subscribing. Already subscribed? Forward from Gmail in one rule. Works with Morning Brew, The Hustle, Axios, DealBook, Term Sheet, and any other newsletter.

AI Removes Repeats

If Morning Brew and The Hustle both cover the same Fed announcement, Readless shows it once with both perspectives. If Axios and DealBook disagree on a deal, we highlight the conflict.

Read One Summary Before Standup

Digest arrives exactly when you want—6 AM, 7 AM, or after markets close if you prefer. Organized by topic, full links to originals included.

Popular Morning Brew Digest Configurations

Operator Routine

Morning Digest (6 AM):

Morning Brew, The Hustle, Axios, 1440, DealBook

Lunchtime:

Quick market recap if major moves

Friday:

Weekly wrap-up with deeper analysis

Saves: 60 min daily → 15 min

Investor Routine

Deal Flow Digest:

Morning Brew, Term Sheet, StrictlyVC, Pro Rata, PitchBook, CB Insights

Benefits:

Highlights when thesis shows up across multiple outlets; Archive searchable for diligence

Saves: 75 min daily → 18 min

News Omnivore

Everything Digest:

Morning Brew, The Hustle, Axios (all editions), 1440, Politico, DealBook, Bloomberg, WSJ, NYT, WaPo

Delivery:

7 AM daily, comprehensive but scannable

Saves: 120 min daily → 25 min

What Morning Brew Readers Say

"I was reading Morning Brew, The Hustle, Axios, DealBook, and Term Sheet. 50+ minutes every morning. Readless gives me everything in one 12-minute digest. Game changer."

— Sarah K., VP Strategy

"Morning Brew tone + Hustle snark + Axios brevity, all in one email. I'm informed before market open without tab hopping."

— Michael T., Startup Founder

Expert Insight on Newsletter Overload

"The relentless overload that's wearing us down is generated by a belief that 'good' work requires increasing busyness—faster responses to email and chats, more meetings, more tasks, more hours."

— Cal Newport, Author of Deep Work

This is exactly why consolidating newsletters like Morning Brew, The Hustle, and Axios matters. Instead of adding to your overwhelm with 5+ daily emails, you get the best content, consolidated by AI, on a manageable schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Best Business Newsletters →TLDR Newsletter Digest →Daily Business Digest →Readless vs Matter →How It Works →Pricing →

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