Affiliate links. Fanvue links pay us.The Fanvue links on this page are affiliate links, marked “affiliate”. If you sign up through one, we earn a commission. It costs you nothing extra and does not change what we write. How it works
In short
- The revenue share alone tells you nothing. Threshold, hold period, fees and chargeback rules decide what reaches you.
- The hold period is the time between the buyer paying and you being able to withdraw the money. People notice it last.
- A flat withdrawal fee pushes you towards fewer, larger payouts. Look at it together with the threshold.
- Read a platform's AI labelling rules on the same day as its payout rules. If you break the labelling rules, the platform can suspend your account and the balance in it.
- Write down the terms, the date and the URL. Read the terms again every three months, because they change without announcement.
On this page
Read the payout terms before you put a persona on a platform. This article gives you the eight things to look for. It does not list current figures for any platform, on purpose. The figures change, and a number printed here could be wrong within three months and still look reliable.
Every claim below about a specific platform has a date. Put a date on your own notes from a terms page too.
The eight payout terms to check
For most of these numbers, the only source is the platform you are on. For Fanvue (affiliate link, opens in a new tab), the platform we use, all eight are in its own help centre. You can find them, and you should look them up yourself.
- The revenue share. The number everyone quotes, and the least useful one alone. It tells you nothing until you combine it with the seven below.
- Payment processing. Often separate from the platform’s cut and easy to miss. Sometimes it is a percentage. Sometimes it is a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction. The second kind costs you more if your sales are small and frequent.
- The payout threshold. The minimum balance before you can withdraw. Below it, you have earned the money but cannot use it. If you start slowly, it can take months to reach a first withdrawal.
- The hold period. The time between a buyer paying and you being able to withdraw that money. This item decides most whether your work can pay for itself. People notice it last.
- The payout schedule. Whether withdrawals run on fixed days or on request. Fixed days and a hold period add up: miss the cutoff by a day and you wait for the next cycle on top of the hold.
- Withdrawal cost. The fee per withdrawal, and whether it is flat. A flat fee makes frequent small withdrawals expensive. It pushes you towards fewer, larger ones, so look at it together with the threshold.
- Currency. Which currency you are paid in, who converts it, and at what spread (the gap between the market exchange rate and the rate you get). If you earn in one currency and spend in another, the conversion costs you money every time. The revenue share does not show that cost.
- ChargebackChargeback A chargeback is when a subscriber takes a payment back through their bank or card issuer after it was made. Open the glossary handling. Who carries the loss when a payment is reversed, and whether money already paid to you can be taken back. Platforms differ more on this than on any other item, and it can bring the worst surprises.
Copy this table and fill in the middle column from the platform’s own pages. Add the date you read them. The column is empty on purpose: a figure printed here would be wrong for somebody by the time they read it.
| Term | What you found | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The revenue share | Tells you nothing alone. It only means something next to the other seven. | |
| Payment processing | A fixed amount per transaction costs you more when sales are small and frequent. | |
| The payout threshold | Below it you have earned the money but cannot use it. | |
| The hold period | Decides whether your operation can pay for itself. People notice it last. | |
| The payout schedule | Adds to the hold period: miss a cutoff and you wait a whole extra cycle. | |
| Withdrawal cost | A flat fee pushes you towards fewer, larger withdrawals. Look at it together with the threshold. | |
| Currency | If you earn and spend in different currencies, the spread costs you every time, and nobody quotes it. | |
| Chargeback handling | Platforms differ most here, and it can bring the worst surprises. |
What does the hold period mean for my first month? Ask it in #question-thread. Someone there has usually had the same problem.
Read the AI labelling rules on the same day
On platforms that allow AI personas, the AI labelling rules are part of the same contract as the money. If you break them, the platform can suspend your account while it still holds a balance you have not withdrawn. So the labelling rules are a payout risk too.
Fanvue requires disclosure of AI-generated media — in the profile bio, the content caption, or as a watermark — and its AI-content policy prohibits AI-generated media depicting any real person other than the account owner, including anyone who resembles or is intended to resemble someone under 18. A prompt or disclaimer cannot be used to establish age; visual appearance is what is judged.
Fanvue Help — is AI content allowed on Fanvue (opens in a new tab)checked
Read the labelling rules on the same day you read the payout rules, and write both down.
What did not work
Comparing two platforms on revenue share alone
I picked a platform because its share was several points better than the alternative. I made the decision on that number alone.
The share really was better. But the threshold was roughly triple, the hold period was about twice as long, and withdrawals carried a flat fee. With that fee, it made no sense to withdraw anything under a fairly large sum. So the money arrived later, in larger and rarer lumps. For a new account, a lower share paid out quickly would have been better. The timing decided whether I could pay for the next month.
Nothing was hidden. All of it was on the page I had skimmed to find the percentage. I read the one number I already knew to look for, and stopped.
How to compare payout terms between platforms
Open the terms page. Write down the eight items, the date, and the URL. Do this for each platform you are considering. Then compare all eight items together.
Read the terms again every three months. Platforms in this field change their terms without announcement, so a term you checked in March may be different in September. The changelog lists what has already changed, and on what date. Do the same for the AI labelling rules. The EU AI Act guide covers the labelling rules that apply on every platform.
Three pages apply this method to FanvueFanvue Fanvue is a subscription content platform that officially allows AI creators and labels them as AI. Open the glossary’s real terms. Is Fanvue legit looks at the company and its holds. Fanvue payout methods compares the ways to withdraw. How much AI influencers make shows what the platform share does to a month of revenue.
Sources for this article
The platform rules, laws and numbers above come from these documents. The date says when we last opened each one and checked it.
Questions people ask
What is a payout threshold?
The minimum balance you need before you can withdraw at all. Below it you have earned the money but cannot take it out. If you start slowly, it can take months to reach a first payout.
What is a hold period and why does it matter more than the percentage?
The hold period is the time between a buyer paying and you being able to withdraw. It does not change how much you get. It changes when you can use the money, and that decides whether you can pay for the next month of work.
Is a lower platform cut always better?
No. A lower cut with a high threshold, a long hold and an expensive withdrawal can leave you with less usable money than a higher cut without them. Compare the amount that reaches your account, not the revenue share alone.
What should I record when I read the terms?
The date, the URL, and eight terms: revenue share, payment processing, payout threshold, hold period, payout schedule, withdrawal cost, currency, and chargeback handling. When one changes later, you will want to know what it was before. Platforms rarely publish a changelog.