Streaming Revenue Calculator
Estimate earnings across platforms based on stream counts.
Inputs become a scenario—not a promise
Streams, service mix, and payout-range assumptions
Applies editable per-stream scenarios—not a promised platform rate
A planning range before rights splits, fees, and tax
Assumptions and limits
Services do not publish one universal artist payout. Territory, plan, revenue pool, distributor, label, ownership, and period can change receipts.
Read: How Streaming Royalties Work| Platform | Rate | Net | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | $0.0040 | $340.00 | $400.00 |
| Apple Music | $0.0080 | $680.00 | $800.00 |
| YouTube Music | $0.0020 | $170.00 | $200.00 |
| Amazon Music | $0.0040 | $340.00 | $400.00 |
| Tidal | $0.0130 | $1,105.00 | $1,300.00 |
| Deezer | $0.0040 | $340.00 | $400.00 |
Common questions
How much does Spotify pay per stream?
Spotify commonly pays somewhere in the range of $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, but there is no fixed rate. Payouts vary by country, subscription type, and the platform's total stream volume that month, because revenue is divided from a shared pool. At roughly $0.004 per stream, 100,000 streams works out to around $400. Check your own distributor statements to see what your catalog actually earns.
Which streaming service pays artists the most per stream?
Tidal tends to pay the most, commonly around $0.008 to $0.013 per stream, with Apple Music close behind at roughly $0.007 to $0.01. YouTube Music is usually at the low end, around $0.002 to $0.005. These are approximate averages, not guaranteed rates — actual payouts shift with each platform's subscriber mix and total streams, so treat any per-stream figure as an estimate.
How many streams do I need to make $1,000?
At a commonly cited Spotify average of about $0.004 per stream, you would need roughly 250,000 streams to gross $1,000 in master royalties. On higher-paying platforms like Tidal or Apple Music, the number drops to somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000. Remember that distributors, labels, and collaborators may take a share before money reaches you, so your take-home depends on your specific deals.
Why do streaming payouts vary so much?
Most platforms use a pro-rata model: all subscription and ad revenue goes into a pool, then gets divided based on each song's share of total streams. Your effective per-stream rate therefore depends on how much revenue the platform collected and how many total streams happened that month. Country, ad-supported versus paid listeners, and your distribution deal all shift the final number.