What fees do creator platforms charge, and what does a creator keep?

What are the usual layers?

Most creator platforms combine some of these:

• Platform commission. A percentage of sales that the platform keeps for running the service.
• Payment processing. Card networks and payment processors charge for each payment. Someone has to pay this cost: the platform, the creator or the fan.
• Fan-side fees. Some platforms add a service fee to the fan's total at checkout.
• Currency conversion. If fans pay in other currencies, there can be an extra cost.
• Payout costs. Moving money to your bank can carry its own fees.
• Holding periods. Money from recent sales may be locked for a while before you can withdraw it.

Platforms such as OnlyFans, Fansly, Fanvue, MYM and Patreon each publish their own fee terms, and those terms change over time. Check the current published terms of whichever you are considering, rather than relying on a number you saw months ago.

How does FanPearl handle these layers?

These are the points that are documented in FanPearl's own product and terms.

Service fee on the fan side. A fan's checkout total can include a service fee on top of the listed price. The creator's listed price, whether it is a subscription, a paid post or a tip, is what the creator is credited. This design means the processing cost does not come out of the creator's listed price.

Commission. FanPearl's standard commission is 10% of the creator's gross sales, taken at payout. Agencies can have a different rate agreed, and the rate that applies is the one valid when the sale happened. Your studio shows it.

Gross and net. The studio shows two money numbers: gross, which is the listed price of what sold, and net, which is gross minus the commission. There are no extra fee lines to decode.

A 7-day hold. Sales are held for 7 days before they can be requested as a payout. The reason is the refund and dispute window.

Can I work out what I keep with an example?

Here is an illustration with made-up numbers, only to show the arithmetic. Say a creator lists a subscription at 20 and sells 10 of them in a month.

• Gross: 10 × 20 = 200.
• Commission at 10%: 20.
• Net: 180.

The fan paid more than 20 at checkout because of the service fee, but that part is not counted in the creator's gross. This is the main reason to ask each platform one question: is the processing cost taken from my listed price or added on top for the fan?

What should I ask before I choose a platform?

Print this list and put the same questions to every platform:

1. What is the commission, and on what base? Is it on the listed price, or after processing costs?
2. Who pays processing costs? The creator, the platform or the fan?
3. Are there fan-side fees? If yes, how are they shown at checkout?
4. What is the holding period? How long between a sale and a withdrawal?
5. What costs apply to the payout itself?
6. Can the rate change, and how much notice is given?
7. Are there different rates for agencies or for large volume?

Write the answers down. The differences that look small in percentage terms add up over a year.

Why does the fan-side fee matter to a creator?

A higher checkout total can change how a fan feels about a price. If a fan sees 20 in your profile and 22 at checkout, some will accept it and some will hesitate. It helps to be open about it. Tell your community that your price is your price and that a service fee is added by the platform at checkout. Fans who understand that rarely feel tricked.

On the other hand, a platform that takes the processing cost out of your price keeps checkout totals lower but leaves you with less. Neither approach is wrong. What matters is that you know which one you are using.

Do refunds and chargebacks affect what I keep?

They can. FanPearl's Terms say that purchases are final and non-refundable, and that disputing a payment with a bank leads to access being removed and possibly the account being suspended. The 7-day hold exists so that early disputes are settled before money is paid out to you.

In any system, keep your own records. Note the date and amount of what you sell, and compare it with what your studio reports.

How do I compare two platforms fairly?

Pick one realistic month. Use the same number of fans, the same prices and the same mix of subscriptions and paid posts on both. Work out gross, then subtract every layer, then note the delay before you can withdraw. The result is your net on each platform. Add the things numbers do not show, such as how easy the tools are to use and how fans respond to the checkout.

Do not decide on a headline percentage alone. A platform with a lower commission but higher hidden costs can leave you with less than one that looks pricier on paper.

The short version

Look for the number that matters: what reaches your balance, and when. Ask every platform the same questions, write down the answers, and run one month of example figures through each. Fees are only a fair price if you understand them.