Guide · Updated September 3, 2026 · 8 min read
DistroKid pricing in 2026, add-ons and all
Every number below comes from DistroKid's own pricing page and help center, checked 3 September 2026.
DistroKid advertises unlimited uploads for $24.99 a year, and that price is real. It's also the start of the bill, not the end of it. DistroKid's own help center says it plainly: "Your total cost will be the sum of your DistroKid subscription and any of the optional Album Extras and tools that you sign up for." This guide prices out those extras — every figure from DistroKid's own pages, checked July 2026 — and gives you a calculator to model your own catalog.
Key takeaways
- The subscription is $24.99–$89.99/yr depending on plan — but the add-ons that matter are priced per release, and several of them recur every year.
- The big ones: "Leave a Legacy" ($29/single, $49/album, one-time) to keep music up if you ever cancel, and the "Social Media Pack" ($4.95/single/yr, $14.95/album/yr, recurring, plus 20% of ad revenue) for YouTube/TikTok Content ID.
- Because per-release add-ons recur, costs compound as your catalog grows — year three costs more than year one for the same subscription price.
- An active artist's realistic bill lands at 2–5× the headline price. The calculator below shows yours.
Calculate your true DistroKid cost
DistroKid true-cost calculator
Subscription
$74.97
Recurring add-ons
$208.50
Leave a Legacy
$495.00
True cost over 3 years
$778.47
Estimates using prices from DistroKid's own pricing page and help center, checked July 2026: Musician $24.99/yr, Musician Plus $44.99/yr, Ultimate $89.99/yr; Leave a Legacy $29/single, $49/album (one-time, per release); Social Media Pack $4.95/single/yr, $14.95/album/yr (recurring per release — DistroKid also keeps 20% of the ad revenue it collects, not modeled here); Store Maximizer $7.95/album/yr. Recurring per-release add-ons accumulate as your catalog grows — that's what this calculator makes visible. Confirm current prices on DistroKid's site.
The subscription tiers (the visible part)
From DistroKid's pricing page, July 2026:
| Price | What it covers | |
|---|---|---|
| Musician | $24.99/yr | 1 artist or band, unlimited uploads |
| Musician Plus | $44.99/yr | 2 artists, daily stats, custom label name, custom release dates & iTunes pricing |
| Ultimate | $89.99/yr | 1–100 artists, advanced analytics, audio replacement, playlist-contact search |
Note that custom release dates — which you need for any planned release campaign with playlist pitching — require Musician Plus, so many serious artists' real base price is $44.99, not $24.99.
The add-ons (the part that compounds)
All prices from DistroKid's "What Are Album Extras?" help article and linked pages, July 2026. The crucial detail is the billing unit: per release, and for several, per year.
| Price | Recurring? | |
|---|---|---|
| Leave a Legacy (music stays up if you cancel) | $29/single · $49/album | One-time, per release |
| Social Media Pack (YouTube/TikTok Content ID) | $4.95/single · $14.95/album | Yearly, per release — plus 20% of ad revenue |
| Store Maximizer (auto-delivery to new stores) | $7.95/album | Yearly, per release |
| Discovery Pack (Gracenote/Luminate registration) | $0.99/song | Yearly, per song |
| Cover song license | $12/song | Yearly, per cover |
| Dolby Atmos delivery | $26.99/track | One-time |
| Loudness normalization | $2.99/track | One-time |
| Beatport delivery (electronic) | $9.99/mo | Monthly subscription |
| DistroVid (music video distribution) | $99/yr | Yearly |
| Mixea (AI mastering) | $99/yr | Yearly |
| Direct (merch shop) | $70/yr | Yearly |
| Vizy (promo video per song) | $8.99 first 5 min + $0.99/extra min | Per video |
A worked example: $343 to operate, $495 to leave
Take a working artist on Musician Plus ($44.99/yr for custom release dates), releasing 4 singles and 1 album a year, with the Social Media Pack on everything (you want Content ID if your music travels on short-form video), over 3 years:
- Subscription: 3 × $44.99 = $134.97
- Social Media Pack (recurring, compounding): $34.75 per yearly cohort × 6 release-years = $208.50 — and DistroKid additionally keeps 20% of the ad revenue it collects for you
- Leaving safely: to ever cancel without your catalog vanishing, Leave a Legacy on 12 singles and 3 albums = $495 on top
That's roughly $343 over three years to operate — call it $115/year against a $24.99 headline — and a further $495 exit fee for the catalog to survive your departure. None of this is hidden; it's all on DistroKid's pages. It's just never added up for you. That's what the calculator above is for.
When DistroKid is still the right answer
Fairness matters: if you release a very high volume of tracks, skip the add-ons, and never plan to leave, DistroKid's economics are genuinely excellent — no credit model beats $24.99/yr for a track a week. The true-cost math bites artists in the middle: serious enough to want Content ID, custom release dates, and an exit option, but not high-volume enough for the flat fee to dominate. If that's you, compare properly — our Audora vs DistroKid comparison and the wider alternatives guide lay out the options.
Questions
How much does DistroKid actually cost per year?
The subscription is $24.99–$89.99/year depending on plan (July 2026). The real total adds per-release extras: the Social Media Pack for YouTube/TikTok Content ID is $4.95 per single or $14.95 per album per year (recurring), Store Maximizer $7.95 per album per year, cover licenses $12 per song per year. Because these recur per release, an active artist's bill typically lands at 2–5× the headline price and grows with the catalog.
What is DistroKid Leave a Legacy and do I need it?
Leave a Legacy ($29 per single, $49 per album, one-time) keeps a release live on streaming services after you cancel your DistroKid subscription. Without it, DistroKid's help center states your music is removed from services when the subscription lapses. You only need it if you ever plan to leave — but that means the option to leave safely costs $29–$49 per release you've ever put out.
Does DistroKid take a percentage of royalties?
Not from store streaming royalties — those pass through at 100% while you subscribe. But the Social Media Pack (its YouTube/TikTok Content ID product) keeps 20% of the ad revenue it collects, on top of its $4.95–$14.95 per release per year fee.
How does Audora's plan compare to DistroKid's add-on model?
For high-volume artists who skip every add-on, DistroKid's flat per-upload fee is genuinely hard to beat — that's a straight answer, not a hedge. But the fee isn't the whole bill. A release also needs cover art, a press-ready bio, and someone to run the posting; bought at market rate that's $200–500 for a cover from a freelance designer, $100–300 for a bio, and $200+ per release cycle if you hire it out. On DistroKid none of that work is in the subscription, and the add-ons that matter are priced per release: the Social Media Pack and Store Maximizer recur every year, while Leave a Legacy is a one-time $29–$49 per release. Audora's one plan covers distribution plus that cover art, the bio, and promotion that auto-posts to TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. The useful comparison is bundle against bundle, not headline against headline.
What happens to my music if I stop paying DistroKid?
DistroKid's help center: "If you don't renew your subscription to DistroKid, your music will be removed from services" — unless each release has the Leave a Legacy add-on. You keep account access and any earnings owed.