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Distributor Cost Calculator: DistroKid vs TuneCore vs CD Baby Over Time
By Boboy Watson·Last verified August 31, 2026·Runs in your browser
The short answerDistroKid Musician and TuneCore Rising Artist both cost $24.99 a year, forever. CD Baby costs $9.99 once for a single with no annual fee, but takes a permanent percentage of revenue. The subscription wins while your catalog earns little; the one-time fee wins once revenue is high enough that the percentage exceeds the yearly charge.
DistroKid and TuneCore charge an annual fee forever. CD Baby charges once and takes a permanent cut of revenue. Which is cheaper depends entirely on how long you keep the release up and how much it earns — so put your own numbers in.
## What the choice actually comes down to
There are two charging models in music distribution and only two. DistroKid and TuneCore
charge a **subscription** — a fee every year, whether the release earns anything or not,
and if you stop paying, your music comes down. CD Baby charges **once per release** and
takes a percentage of revenue for as long as the release exists.
Neither is a trick. They are bets on different futures. The subscription is a bet that
your catalog will earn enough that a percentage would have cost more. The one-time fee is
a bet that it will not, or that you will keep the release up long enough for the annual
charges to add up.
| | DistroKid Musician | TuneCore Rising Artist | CD Baby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront | $0 | $0 | $9.99 per single, $14.99 per album |
| Every year | $24.99 | $24.99 | $0 |
| Revenue share | None | None | Reported ~9%, permanent |
| Releases included | Unlimited | Unlimited | Priced per release |
| If you stop paying | Music comes down | Music comes down | Stays up |
That last row is the one people underweight. A subscription is not only a cost, it is a
dependency. Ten years of releases behind a $24.99 payment you have to keep making is a
different risk profile from ten releases you paid for once.
## Worked example without the calculator
Five singles, held for five years, catalog earning $200 a year.
1. DistroKid: $24.99 × 5 years = **$124.95**.
2. TuneCore Rising Artist: $24.99 × 5 years = **$124.95**.
3. CD Baby: $9.99 × 5 singles = $49.95 upfront, plus 9% of $200 × 5 years = $90.00. Total
**$139.95**.
DistroKid wins that case by $15. Change the catalog revenue to $100 a year and CD Baby
wins by $30. Change the horizon to ten years and CD Baby wins again, because the $49.95
was paid once and the $24.99 keeps coming. The crossover is real and it is not far away,
which is exactly why a general recommendation is useless and your own numbers are not.
*Fees verified 31 August 2026. Prices change and add-ons are not included here — check the
distributor's own pricing page before you commit. I am an artist working from my own
statements, not a financial adviser.*
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