Blog · Spotify royalty calculator
Streaming earningsSet your stream count and see the estimated payout on every major platform. The ranges are sourced and dated, because a single per-stream number would be a guess dressed up as a fact.
| Platform | Per stream | Estimated payout |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | $0.0030 to $0.0050 | $300 to $500 |
| Apple Music | $0.0060 to $0.0100 | $600 to $1,000 |
| Amazon Music | $0.0040 to $0.0088 | $400 to $880 |
| Tidal | $0.0068 to $0.0150 | $680 to $1,500 |
| Deezer | $0.0048 to $0.0070 | $480 to $700 |
| YouTube Music disputed | $0.0010 to $0.0080 | $100 to $800 |
| Pandora disputed | $0.0013 to $0.0032 | $130 to $320 |
| Across all platforms | $2,690 to $5,700 | |
Estimates before your distributor's share and before any songwriting royalties, which are collected separately.
Figures in USD, the currency every source below reports in.
These are ranges reported by the sources listed under each platform, not a rate card. What you actually receive depends on where your listeners are, whether they pay for the service, and what else was streamed that month.
Spotify does not pay artists a fixed amount per play. It pools the subscription and advertising revenue for each market, then divides it by share of total streams. Your payout for the same song can differ month to month without anything about your song changing, because the size of the pool and the number of streams competing for it both move.
A stream from a market with high subscription prices is worth more than one from a market with low prices, because the pool it is drawn from is bigger.
Advertising revenue per listener is lower than subscription revenue per listener, so the same play pays differently depending on the tier it came from.
The figures quoted everywhere, including here, are the rate before your distributor takes its cut. On Unchained you keep 100% of your royalties, so the estimate is what reaches you.
| Streams | Estimated payout |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | $3.00 to $5.00 |
| 10,000 | $30.00 to $50.00 |
| 100,000 | $300 to $500 |
| 1,000,000 | $3,000 to $5,000 |
Based on the Spotify range below, before your distributor's share.
Each figure below links to where it comes from and when that source published it. Where reputable sources disagree, the row shows the full spread rather than picking a favourite.
Sources last checked September 2026.
Reported figures sit between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream, but Spotify does not actually pay a per-stream rate. It divides each market's royalty pool by share of total streams, so any headline number is an average worked out after the fact rather than a rate you are promised.
On the reported Spotify range, roughly $3,000 to $5,000 before your distributor's share. Across the other major platforms the same volume lands anywhere from about $1,000 to $15,000, because the per-stream spread between the lowest and highest paying services is that wide.
Yes. Since April 2024 a track needs at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months to be included in the recorded royalty pool at all. There is also a minimum number of unique listeners, which Spotify does not publish because publishing it would help people game it. The threshold applies to recording royalties, not to publishing.
Before. Every published per-stream figure, including the ones on this page, is gross to the rights holder. What reaches you depends on your deal. On Unchained you keep 100% of your royalties, so the estimate is what arrives.
Tidal and Amazon Music report the highest per-stream figures, and Pandora and YouTube Music the lowest. Per-stream rate is the less important half of the question though, because a platform paying four times as much per stream while carrying a tenth of your audience still pays you less.
Yes. Advertising generates less revenue per listener than subscriptions do, so the pool that ad-supported streams are paid from is smaller. The same play is worth different amounts depending on the tier it came from and the country it came from.
Because the pool moves. Your share is your streams divided by total streams in that market, so a month where everyone streamed more pays you less for the same plays. Listener country, subscription tier and your own deal all move the number as well.
Through a distributor. Streaming platforms pay rights holders, not artists directly, so your music has to reach them through a distribution account that collects on your behalf and pays it out.
How distribution worksAn estimate is only useful if the streams are actually landing somewhere that pays you. Unchained distributes to 150+ platforms and you keep 100% of your royalties.
