Streaming royalties calculator.
Enter your streams and your share after your distributor or label. See what they pay on Spotify, how many you need for $1,000, and what the same streams would pay on Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube Music and more.
Your streams
The headline figure is Spotify. The table shows what the same number of streams would pay on each platform. Rates are published estimates paid to your distributor or label; type your own rate into any row.
On Spotify, your share
$0
paid out by Spotify before your distributor or label takes its share
- Spotify streams for $1,000 to you
- Same streams on Apple Music
The same streams on each platform
| Platform | Per stream ($) | Paid out | Your share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | |||
| Apple Music | |||
| Amazon Music | |||
| YouTube Music | |||
| Tidal | |||
| Deezer | |||
| Pandora | |||
| SoundCloud |
Spotify pays no royalties on a track until it has at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months.
Estimates, not payouts. No platform pays a fixed rate per stream: what you earn depends on where your listeners are, whether they pay for a subscription, and your deal with your distributor or label.
Grow the audience behind the streamsHow the estimate works
The calculator multiplies your streams by a per-stream estimate for each platform, then applies your share. The rates are what the platform pays the rights holder, normally your distributor or label, before they take their cut. Publishing royalties for songwriters are paid separately and are not included.
Each rate is a published range: Spotify $0.003 to $0.005 (Ditto), Apple Music $0.007 to $0.01 and Tidal $0.013 to $0.015 (Royalty Exchange), Amazon Music $0.004 to $0.008, YouTube Music $0.002 to $0.004, Deezer $0.005 to $0.007 and Pandora $0.001 to $0.003 (Alera), and SoundCloud $0.0025 to $0.004 (SoundCloud). Typical is the midpoint of each range. Duetti’s report on 2024 payouts found $3.41 per 1,000 streams across platforms for independent artists.
Why there is no fixed rate per stream
Spotify says plainly that it does not pay a per-stream rate. It pays rights holders a share of its royalty pool in proportion to their share of all streams in a month, and that pool changes with subscriptions, ad sales and the countries people listen from. The other services work in broadly similar ways, which is why every figure here is a range.
Rules that change what you earn
- Spotify’s 1,000-stream minimum. Since April 2024 a track needs at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months to earn recorded-music royalties, plus a minimum number of listeners that Spotify does not publish. Streams from months before a track qualifies are not paid.
- Deezer’s artist-centric model. Deezer gives a double boost to artists with at least 1,000 streams a month from 500 or more listeners.
- SoundCloud’s eligibility. Monetisation needs an Artist Pro plan and at least 500 eligible plays in the past month, according to SoundCloud.
- Your deal. A distributor may take a commission or charge a yearly fee; a label usually keeps most of the payout. Enter your actual share in the calculator.
Earning more from the same music
At these rates, streams pay off only at scale, so the work is in reaching new listeners who stay. Spotify’s recommendations respond to what listeners search for, save and follow, so fans who find you on YouTube or in the press and then look you up help a track grow. Our guide to Spotify promotion explains what is allowed and what breaks the rules.
How Blue Leopard Media can help
We don’t sell streams or Spotify placements. We bring new listeners to you from outside the streaming apps: a YouTube campaign that runs your video as Google Ads to people who watch similar artists, and an editorial feature about you on one of the publications we work with. Together they start at $249, with a Google Ads report every week. The feature is sponsored content, as our disclaimer states.
Book a free 15-minute call about your next release.
Sources
- Ditto Music: How much does Spotify pay per stream? (22 Jun 2026)
- Royalty Exchange: How much do streaming platforms pay per stream? (15 Jul 2026)
- Alera: Earnings per stream in 2026 (7 Feb 2026)
- SoundCloud: How much does SoundCloud pay per stream?
- Duetti: 2024 Music Economics Report (press release, 23 Jan 2025)
- Spotify for Artists: Royalties
- Spotify for Artists: Track monetization eligibility
- Deezer: artist-centric streaming model (6 Sep 2023)
Frequently asked.
How much does Spotify pay per stream?
Spotify has no fixed rate, but published estimates put it at about $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, paid to your distributor or label before your share. That is about $3 to $5 per 1,000 streams.
How many streams do you need to make $1,000 on Spotify?
At $0.003 to $0.005 a stream, roughly 200,000 to 330,000 streams, before your distributor or label takes its share. The calculator works it out for your own share.
Does Spotify pay for songs with under 1,000 streams?
No. Since April 2024 a track needs at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months, and a minimum number of listeners, before it earns recorded-music royalties on Spotify.
Which streaming service pays the most per stream?
Among the published estimates, Tidal and Apple Music pay the most per stream, and YouTube Music and Pandora the least. Spotify pays less per stream than Apple Music but usually brings far more streams.
Are these figures what I will actually be paid?
No. They are estimates of what the platform pays the rights holder. Your payment depends on your listeners, the countries they are in, their subscriptions and your deal with your distributor or label.
Your next release, on YouTube.
A worldwide YouTube campaign plus an editorial feature about you, from $249. Book a free 15-minute call about your release.