Pick a route, enter what you want to earn each month, and this works out what that requires. The defaults are the benchmark figures we cite elsewhere on the site, with sources listed underneath. Change any of them if you know your own numbers, which will always be better than our averages.
Ordered fastest-paying first, which is the same order as our earning guides.
A caution about the defaults#
Two of the numbers in here are much better evidenced than the rest.
The 0.62% subscription conversion rate comes from beehiiv’s analysis of its own platform data across thousands of publications, with a stated sample and period. That’s first-party data and about as good as it gets in this field.
The YouTube thresholds come from YouTube’s own announcement.
Everything else is compiled by third parties from scattered self-reports with no published methodology: RPM by subject, freelance rates, UGC fees, brand deal bands, product conversion rates. The ranges agree with one another, which is some comfort, though they may partly be copying each other. Use them as orders of magnitude and replace them with your own figures as soon as you have any.
If you have real numbers, we’d like them, so we can stop relying on borrowed estimates. See get involved.
Sources for the defaults#
- Subscription conversion and pricing: beehiiv, The State of Paid Newsletters 2026; Press Gazette.
- YouTube thresholds and revenue share: YouTube.
- RPM estimates: vidIQ; MilX.
- Freelance rates: goLance; SolidGigs.
- UGC rates: UGC Playground; Fueler.
- Brand deal bands: ContentGrip; Influencer Marketing Hub.
- Product conversion: acceleroi; Triple Whale.
Currency selection changes the symbol only. The underlying figures are as published, in US dollars, and are not converted.