ASCAP vs BMI Cost Calculator: What Both Halves Cost, and What Skipping One Costs
By Boboy Watson·Last verified August 31, 2026·Runs in your browser
The short answer
A writer account is free at both ASCAP and BMI. At ASCAP, applying as writer and publisher on the same application is also free - $0 for both halves - and the $50 publisher fee applies only if you add the publisher account on its own later, or publish without writing. BMI charges a one-time publisher processing fee but no longer publishes the amount. So if you want both halves registered, ASCAP is free and BMI is not. Checked 1 September 2026.
ASCAP is free for a writer account, and free for a writer and publisher account applied for together. BMI is free for songwriters and charges a one-time publisher processing fee it no longer publishes the amount of. Work out what registering both halves costs you, and what leaving the publisher half unregistered costs you.
## 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 | Free | Free on the same application as the writer account; $50 one-time if added on its own later |
| BMI | Yes | Free | A one-time processing fee — BMI does not publish the amount |
| SESAC | No — invitation only | — | — |
| GMR | No — invitation only | — | — |
## ASCAP is free now, and most of the internet has not caught up
ASCAP's own application page states it plainly: *"Joining ASCAP is free for writers, or if
you join as a writer and publisher at the same time."* The application offers three
options — Writer & Publisher at **Free**, Writer at **Free**, and Publisher at **$50
non-refundable**. That last one is narrow: it applies when you are already an ASCAP writer
and come back for the publisher account, or when you publish without writing.
This site said ASCAP charged $50 for a writer account and $50 for a publisher account, on
roughly thirty-five pages, until it was corrected on 1 September 2026. Every guide still
repeating $50 to join ASCAP as a writer is wrong, including the one this site used to be.
## The number nobody can verify any more
BMI's publisher affiliation fee was widely published as $175 for an individual, $250 for a
corporation or LLC and $500 for a partnership. Those figures were last retrievable from
BMI's own FAQ in August 2026. Both of those pages now return 404, BMI's live join page says
only that a publisher applicant needs a US credit card *"for payment of a one-time
processing fee"* with no amount attached, and neither downloadable BMI publisher agreement
contains a dollar figure.
So this page will not quote a current BMI publisher fee, and nor should anyone else. The
only way to see it is to begin an application at BMI.
## So which one
1. If you want both halves registered, **ASCAP is free and BMI is not**. That is now the
clearest cost fact in this decision.
2. If you only want a writer account today, both are free. Cost is not a tiebreaker.
3. At ASCAP, take the publisher option on the **same** application. Going back for it later
is the only thing that costs $50.
4. Whichever you pick, register **both** halves. 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 checked against ASCAP's and BMI's own pages on 1 September 2026. Check them again
before you pay — this is exactly the kind of number that moves, as this page demonstrates.*
Get the paperwork done in one afternoon
The Zero to Beat Society walks through registration, splits and release paperwork step by step — with the templates and checklists already filled in.