How we build the Creator Pay Index

What is the Creator Pay Index?

The Creator Pay Index lists platform monetization programs with the share of each payment the creator keeps, who is eligible, and how payouts work. Every entry lists its sources and the date its facts were last checked.

Brand deals are not in the index, because their rates are negotiated one deal at a time. They are covered in how to get brand deals and how much to charge for sponsored posts.

Each program in the index belongs to one of six income streams:

• Ad revenue is a share of what advertisers pay to run ads on your content.
• Creator rewards pay per qualified view or from a bonus pool.
• Subscriptions are fan memberships and paid subscriptions sold inside a platform.
• Tips and gifts cover tips, gifts, Bits, Stars, and Super Chat.
• Shopping covers shop affiliate and storefront commissions.
• Direct sales are platforms you sell through, such as membership, newsletter, and digital product platforms.

How do we source each program?

Every payout rule, revenue share, threshold, and fee in the index comes from the platform's own help center, terms, or pricing page. We do not claim hands-on testing. An entry that gives a share is quoting the platform's published terms, and it links to them.

If we cannot confirm a figure from the platform itself, we leave it out. Statistics from outside the platforms, such as survey data on sponsorship rates, never go in the index. When an article cites one, the sentence names who measured it and when.

No platform paid for, reviewed, or approved any entry, and none can pay to be listed or to change its entry. The site carries no ads, sponsorships, or affiliate links. The disclosure explains how it is funded.

What does the creator share mean?

The creator share is the percentage of what a fan or advertiser pays that reaches the creator under the platform's published terms. It is measured before taxes and payout fees.

For direct-sales platforms, where you sell memberships, newsletters, or products to fans, the share is what remains after the platform fee and standard US card processing. Each entry also has a one-sentence note with the exact rule, including any app-store cut on in-app purchases. The index runs that math on a $10 payment, a common membership price. Platforms that charge a monthly plan fee instead of a percentage are modeled at $1,000 a month in $10 payments, with the plan price counted as a cost.

We use the share because it answers the question creators ask. Of every dollar a fan or advertiser spends, how much do I get?

What if a platform does not publish a percentage?

When a program does not publish a percentage, such as a pay-per-view reward pool or a bonus program, the index gives no creator share. The note on that entry explains how the program pays instead.

We never fill that gap with a third-party estimate. RPM figures, meaning revenue per 1,000 views, from creators or analytics firms can be useful. Articles such as how much TikTok pays may quote them, labeled as estimates, with who measured them and when. They never go in the index.

A blank beats a guess. A guessed RPM in a table of published shares would look as solid as the real numbers next to it.

A worked example

This example uses a made-up platform and round numbers. It does not describe any real program. Say a fan pays $10 a month for your membership on a platform that takes 10%, and card processing in this example costs 2.9% + $0.30 per payment.

The platform takes $1.00 and processing takes $0.59, so $8.41 reaches you. Your creator share on that payment is 84.1%.

The flat $0.30 means small payments keep less. On a $100 payment under the same terms, you keep $86.80, or 86.8%. Each entry's note gives the exact fee rule, so you can run the math at your own prices.

Taxes and any payout fee come out after that, so the money that lands in your bank account is lower still.

How often are the facts re-checked?

Every entry in the index and every page on the site shows the date its facts were last checked. We do not backdate. If a date is old, treat the number as a lead and confirm it on the platform's page.

Platforms change payout terms and fees without notice. Check the platform's own page before you rely on a number for a decision.

If a figure no longer matches the platform's page, email hello@howinfluencersmakemoney.com with a link to the official page. We fix it and date the fix on the page. The editorial policy covers corrections in full.