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# Pricing |
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*As of 2026-05-18.* |
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What it costs to be a creator on Makenot.work. |
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--- |
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## Founder Pricing |
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While we're in our founder window, every new creator subscribes at the **founder rate**: half the eventual sticker price. This is not a promotional discount that expires. It is a structural early-supporter rate, available because you're showing up before we have real signup data to set a sustainable post-founder price. |
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**The window closes when we reach {{ cohort.cap_display }} creators or when we exit beta, whichever comes first.** Anyone with an active creator membership at the moment the window closes has their founder rate locked in for the life of their account. |
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Once your founder rate is locked in: |
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- It applies to every tier. If you upgrade or downgrade later, you get the founder rate on the new tier. |
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- It survives cancellation. If you cancel and come back at any point in the future, founder rates are still available to you. |
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While the window is still open, your founder eligibility depends on having an active subscription when the window closes. If you cancel before the window closes and don't resubscribe before close-time, you lose founder eligibility. There is no continuity requirement *after* lock-in; until lock-in, status is determined by who's active at the moment we close the window. |
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### Founder Rates |
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Every tier is the complete platform: profile page at `/u/username`, project and item pages, a per-project forum, [Discover](/discover) listing, memberships, pay-what-you-want, promo codes, RSS, analytics, full data export. The tier picks the file-size envelope, not the feature set. |
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| **Basic** | ${{ tiers.founding.basic }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_founding_basic }}/yr | Up to {{ tier_limits.basic_per_file }} per file, {{ tier_limits.basic_total }} total. Fits text, blogs, newsletters, posts. | |
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| **Small Files** | ${{ tiers.founding.small_files }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_founding_small_files }}/yr | Up to {{ tier_limits.small_files_per_file }} per file, {{ tier_limits.small_files_total }} total. Fits audio, plugins, binaries, sample packs. | |
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| **Big Files** | ${{ tiers.founding.big_files }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_founding_big_files }}/yr | Up to {{ tier_limits.big_files_per_file }} per file, {{ tier_limits.big_files_total }} total. Fits video, games, large software. | |
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| **Everything** | ${{ tiers.founding.everything }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_founding_everything }}/yr | Big Files envelope plus first access to high-cost capabilities as they ship (streaming infrastructure, etc.). | |
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Annual is 10% off the monthly total. Most of that is the Stripe per-transaction fee we don't pay when we charge once a year instead of twelve times. We pass it back rather than keep it. |
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See [tiers](../guide/tiers.md) for the full feature breakdown and storage limits. |
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--- |
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## Standard Rate (post-founder) |
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The standard rate applies to new signups after the founder window closes. The values below are **provisional targets, not committed prices**. We deliberately put founder pricing in front of standard pricing because we want real signup data, real tier-mix data, and real support-load data to set the post-founder number rather than guessing. The standard rate may end up lower than the targets below, the same, or higher. If it rises, the change comes with the notice and grandfathering described in [Guarantees](./guarantees.md), and our founders are below it either way. |
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| **Basic** | ${{ tiers.standard.basic }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_standard_basic }}/yr | |
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| **Small Files** | ${{ tiers.standard.small_files }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_standard_small_files }}/yr | |
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| **Big Files** | ${{ tiers.standard.big_files }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_standard_big_files }}/yr | |
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| **Everything** | ${{ tiers.standard.everything }}/mo | ${{ derived.annual_standard_everything }}/yr | |
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--- |
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## Payment Processing |
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Stripe processes all payments on the platform. Their fee, **{{ stripe.percent | percent }} + {{ stripe.fixed | money }} per transaction** ([stripe.com/pricing](https://stripe.com/pricing)), is the only deduction on fan transactions. MNW takes **0%** on top of that. |
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The same fee applies once to your monthly tier subscription. |
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--- |
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## How We Think About Cost |
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Prices cover three things: what it costs to deliver your tier (infrastructure, payment processing), what it costs to run the platform sustainably (development, operations, reserves), and a small surplus that funds those reserves and comes back to you as earn-back credit (committed by 2027-01-01). |
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We commit to keeping prices close to actual cost over time. We don't have investors to pay back or growth targets that require widening that gap. |
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--- |
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## What Might Change |
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Prices may **fall** if our cost structure allows, for example if infrastructure or processing costs come down at our scale. Cost-favorable changes apply retroactively to active subscriptions. |
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Prices will only **rise** under the conditions described in [Guarantees](./guarantees.md). If that ever happens, we'll give at least 90 days notice, explain the reasoning in writing, and grandfather existing subscribers at their current rate for at least 12 months. |
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# Pricing Models for Your Fans |
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Above is what you pay MNW. Below is how you price what you sell to your fans. These are three independent models. You can use any or all of them per item or per project. |
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## One-Time Purchases |
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Set a price. Fans pay once and own it forever. |
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- No DRM |
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- Downloadable in original uploaded format |
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- Access never expires |
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- Works even if you leave the platform |
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### Setting Prices |
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On any item or project: |
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1. Edit > Pricing |
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2. Choose "Fixed Price" |
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3. Enter amount |
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4. Save |
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### Pricing Suggestions |
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| Single track | $1 - $2 | |
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| EP (4-6 tracks) | $5 - $8 | |
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| Album (10+ tracks) | $8 - $15 | |
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| Video tutorial | $5 - $25 | |
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| Course/series | $20 - $100 | |
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These are suggestions. Price based on value, not convention. |
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### Purchase Flow |
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1. Fan clicks "Buy" (on item page, direct purchase link, or embed) |
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2. Checkout shows price + payment methods (no account required) |
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3. Payment processes instantly |
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4. Fan receives download link via email immediately |
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5. Receipt emails to fan |
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6. Funds appear in your payment account |
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No account is required to purchase. See [Guest Checkout](../guide/03-selling.md#guest-checkout) for how it works and why it improves conversion. |
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--- |
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## Pay-What-You-Want |
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You set a minimum (can be $0). Fans choose how much to pay. |
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### Setting Up PWYW |
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1. Edit item > Pricing |
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2. Choose "Pay What You Want" |
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3. Set minimum price (or $0 for free with optional tip) |
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4. Optionally set suggested prices |
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### Suggested Prices |
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Show fans suggested amounts: |
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``` |
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Minimum: $0 |
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Suggested: $5, $10, $20 |
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``` |
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Suggestions anchor expectations without forcing amounts. |
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### When PWYW Works Best |
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- Established audience who values your work |
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- Back catalog / older releases |
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- Supporting a cause (donate above minimum) |
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- Building new audience ($0 minimum gets reach) |
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### When Fixed Price Works Better |
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- New releases with clear value |
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- Premium/exclusive content |
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- When you need predictable revenue |
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### The $0 Minimum Question |
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Pros: |
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- Maximum reach |
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- Builds audience |
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- Grateful fans tip generously |
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Cons: |
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- Some people take without paying |
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- Can devalue your work if overused |
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Consider: $0 minimum for samples/singles, paid minimum for albums/premium. |
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--- |
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## Membership Tiers |
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Fans pay monthly for ongoing access to your content. You decide what members get: |
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- Everything you publish |
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- Exclusive member-only content |
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- Early access to releases |
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- Behind-the-scenes content |
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Per-project membership tiers are separate from [Fan+](../guide/fan-plus.md), which is a platform-wide membership. |
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### Creating a Membership Tier |
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1. Go to project dashboard > Membership Tiers tab |
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2. Click "New Tier" |
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3. Set: |
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- **Name**: e.g., "Supporter", "All Access" |
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- **Price**: Monthly amount |
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- **Description**: What members get |
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- **Access rules**: Which content is included |
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### Multiple Tiers |
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Offer different levels: |
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| Supporter | $3 | Early access, member feed | |
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| All Access | $10 | Everything + downloads | |
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| Superfan | $25 | Everything + exclusive content | |
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Fans can upgrade/downgrade anytime. |
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### Member-Only Content |
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When uploading or editing content: |
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1. Set visibility to "Members" |
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2. Choose which tier(s) can access |
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3. Optionally set a public release date |
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Content can graduate from member-only to public over time. |
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### Managing Members |
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Your project dashboard shows: |
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- Active member count |
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- Membership tiers and pricing |
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Broadcast emails to followers are available from the project dashboard. |
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### Cancellations |
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Fans cancel through their account and keep access until the end of their billing period. |
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--- |
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## Compare Platforms |
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Use the [pricing calculator](/pricing) to see exactly what you'd keep at any revenue level, with a side-by-side comparison against Bandcamp, Gumroad, Patreon, and others. |
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## See Also |
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- [What We Guarantee](./guarantees.md): Binding price and policy commitments |
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- [How We Work](./how-we-work.md): Business model and operating principles |
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- [FAQ](../support/faq.md): Common questions about pricing, tiers, and the platform |
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- [Tiers](../guide/tiers.md): Full feature breakdown and storage limits per tier |
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- [Receiving Payouts](../guide/payouts.md): How you get paid |
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- [Taxes & VAT](../legal/payments.md#vat-gst-and-sales-tax): Tax obligations when selling digital goods |
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- [Selling & Audience](../guide/03-selling.md): Overview of selling on the platform |
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