Creator Platform Fee Comparison
Every major creator revenue stream, every fee, side by side. 19 rows across TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Twitch, Patreon and Substack — 2026 rates.
Every fee in one table.
Rates below reflect the platform’s headline cut and the most common extra fees applied to a $100 transaction. Niche, geography and audience quality shift the ad-supported numbers materially — the per-tool calculators handle those multipliers. Commerce and subscription numbers are stable across creators.
| Platform · Stream | Platform cut | Extra fees | Apple 30% applies? | Net on $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok Shop · US Standard | 6% commission | 1.02% processing | No | $92.98 |
| TikTok Shop · UK/EU Standard | 9% commission | 1.02% processing | No | $89.98 |
| TikTok Shop · US Electronics | 5% commission | 1.02% processing | No | $93.98 |
| TikTok Creator Rewards | ~$1 RPM (baseline, US) | Qualified views only (>5s, >1min videos) | No | ~$1.00 per 1k qualified views |
| TikTok Affiliate | 6–9% base + 10–50% creator commission | 1.02% processing | No | Varies — model with calculator |
| YouTube AdSense (long-form) | 45% | None | No | $55.00 |
| YouTube Shorts | ~55% (creator pool share) | None | No | ~$45.00 |
| YouTube Membership · web | 30% | None | No | $70.00 |
| YouTube Membership · iOS | 30% | 30% App Store tax | Yes | $49.00 |
| Meta CMP · Reels | ~$0.50 RPM baseline | Qualified views only | No | ~$0.50 per 1k views |
| Meta CMP · Long-form 8–20m | ~$4.00 RPM baseline | Niche & geo multipliers | No | ~$4.00 per 1k views |
| Facebook Marketplace · local | 0% | Cash/bank-transfer — no platform processing | No | $100.00 |
| Facebook Marketplace · shipped | 5% selling fee (min $0.40) | Payment processing bundled | No | $95.00 |
| Instagram Subscriptions · web · Y1 | 30% | None | No | $70.00 |
| Instagram Subscriptions · iOS · Y1 | 30% | 30% App Store tax | Yes | $49.00 |
| Instagram Subscriptions · Y2+ | 15% | Apple drops to 15% after Y1 for retained subs | Reduced | $85.00 (web) · ~$72.25 (iOS) |
| Twitch Subscriptions · Partner | 50% | Plus applies after revenue thresholds | No | $50.00 |
| Patreon · Pro plan | 8% | Payment processing ~2.9% + $0.30 | Yes (iOS signups, Nov 2024+) | $88.80 (web) · ~$62.16 (iOS) |
| Substack · paid newsletters | 10% | Stripe processing ~2.9% + $0.30 | Yes (iOS signups) | $86.80 (web) · ~$60.76 (iOS) |
Who pays creators the most per dollar?
For ad-supported content, YouTube long-form AdSense at 55% is still the best headline split — and with finance, tech or business niche CPMs above $20, it produces the highest absolute payouts per thousand views of any platform. The calculator above uses 2026 niche data to produce a defensible fair-rate for any channel.
For commerce, Facebook Marketplace local pickup is the only 0% cut on the list — but you handle shipping and chargebacks yourself and the audience is geographically limited. For broader reach, TikTok Shop US Electronics at 5% + 1.02% processing is the lowest headline commission on that list.
For subscriptions, Patreon web sign-ups at 8% net the most per dollar — but YouTube’s 30% cut is often offset by its far higher conversion rate because the Join button sits next to every video. Most creators run both.
Where the table stops being useful.
A single $100 line hides the biggest creator variable: volume. A 20% iOS tax on a 100-sub tier is $60 a month. On a 10,000-sub tier it’s $6,000 a month — large enough that funneling signups to web is worth building a full landing page for.
The table also doesn’t model: taxes, agency commissions, promotional spend, ads you buy to drive conversions, refund and chargeback rates on commerce, or the time you spend producing. Use the per-tool calculators when you need to fold those in.