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ASCAP vs BMI Cost Calculator: What Registering Both Halves Actually Costs
By Boboy Watson·Last verified August 31, 2026·Runs in your browser
The short answerASCAP costs $50 for the writer account and $50 for the publisher account, $100 total, one time. BMI is free for the songwriter account and charges $175 for an individual publisher, $250 for a corporation or LLC, and $500 for a partnership. BMI is cheaper if you never form a publisher entity; ASCAP is cheaper if you do.
ASCAP charges $50 for the writer account and $50 for the publisher account. BMI is free for songwriters and charges $175, $250 or $500 for a publisher entity depending on how it is formed. Which is cheaper depends on whether you need a publisher entity at all.
## Which PROs can you actually join?
Before cost, eligibility. **ASCAP and BMI are open to anyone.** SESAC and GMR are
invitation-only — you cannot apply your way in, and a page comparing all four on features
is answering a question almost nobody can act on. For a self-releasing independent artist
in the United States, the real choice is two ways.
| PRO | Open to apply? | Writer fee | Publisher fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASCAP | Yes | $50 one-time | $50 one-time |
| BMI | Yes | Free | $175 individual / $250 corporation or LLC / $500 partnership |
| SESAC | No — invitation only | — | — |
| GMR | No — invitation only | — | — |
## The number that is wrong all over the internet
A lot of pages state BMI's publisher fee as $75 or $150. Both are wrong. BMI's own FAQ, as
of 31 August 2026, gives a one-time fee of **$175** to affiliate an individual publisher,
**$250** for a publishing company that is a corporation (including sole-stockholder
corporations) or LLC, and **$500** for a partnership. It is non-refundable and is not
deducted from future earnings.
This site had the $150 figure on five pages until it was corrected on 31 August 2026. It is
listed in the [changelog](/changelog/) because a site about money that quietly fixes its
own numbers is not worth much.
## So which one
1. If you are registering both halves now, ASCAP is cheaper — $100 total against BMI's $175
minimum.
2. If you only want the writer account today, BMI is free and ASCAP is $50.
3. If you form an LLC for other reasons, BMI's publisher fee rises to $250, which widens
ASCAP's advantage.
4. Whichever you pick, register **both** halves eventually. The publisher share is roughly
half the performance royalty and it is not paid to an unregistered publisher.
Full breakdown: [ASCAP or BMI for beginners](/ascap-or-bmi-for-beginners/) and
[ASCAP vs BMI vs SESAC vs GMR](/ascap-vs-bmi-vs-sesac-vs-gmr/).
*Fees verified against ASCAP and BMI directly on 31 August 2026. Check them again before
you pay — this is exactly the kind of number that moves.*
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