Research — By WATMM Desk —
Pay stub: what an artist keeps from a $10 Bandcamp album sale
On our arithmetic from Bandcamp's published fees, a $10 digital album sale paid by credit card leaves the artist about $7.98 on a normal day, about $8.48 once the account passes $5,000 in sales, and about $9.48 on a Bandcamp Friday. Every assumption is below. Sources read 28 Oct 2026.
Key facts
- Bandcamp takes a 15% revenue share on digital sales, dropping to 10% once an artist reaches $5,000 USD in sales; physical is 10%.
- Payment processor fees are separate: for transactions of $8.07 or more, 1.9% + $0.30 via PayPal or 2.2% + $0.30 by credit card.
- On Bandcamp Fridays, Bandcamp waives its revenue share from 12:00am to 11:59pm Pacific; processor fees still apply.
- The remaining 2026 Bandcamp Fridays are 6 November and 4 December.
A fan pays $10 for your album on Bandcamp. Unlike a stream, this is a sale with a price you set, so the stub is short. It is still worth doing, because two fees come out of it, one of them shrinks with volume and one of them disappears eight days a year.
Assumptions
- A $10 digital album, priced in USD, paid at exactly $10. No fan paying more than the minimum, no sales tax or VAT in the price, no currency conversion.
- Bandcamp's revenue share is 15% on digital, dropping to 10% "as soon as you reach $5,000 USD in sales"; physical sales are 10% (Bandcamp, fees). We assume the share is taken on the full $10.
- Processor fees are separate. For transactions of $8.07 or more, the fee is 1.9% + $0.30 via PayPal, 2.2% + $0.30 by credit card and 2.9% + $0.30 by gift card; under $8.07 Bandcamp switches to 5% + $0.05 (Bandcamp, processor fees). We use the credit-card rate as the base case. Bandcamp notes fees "may vary depending on geographic location or payment method".
- The payout fee is ignored. PayPal charges 1% of a bulk payout, capped at $1 (Bandcamp, processor fees), so it is at most a few cents per sale once a payout holds a handful of sales.
- The artist owns everything. No label, no split with bandmates, no distributor.
The stub
| Line | Normal day | After $5,000 in sales | Bandcamp Friday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fan pays | $10.00 | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| Bandcamp revenue share | −$1.50 (15%) | −$1.00 (10%) | $0.00 (waived) |
| Card fee (2.2% + $0.30) | −$0.52 | −$0.52 | −$0.52 |
| Artist keeps | ≈ $7.98 | ≈ $8.48 | ≈ $9.48 |
If the fan pays with PayPal instead, the fee is $0.49 and each line rises by three cents. A gift card costs $0.59.
On Bandcamp Fridays, Bandcamp waives its revenue share for sales from 12:00am to 11:59pm Pacific Time, but "transaction fees still apply" (Bandcamp, Friday help). The 2026 dates are 6 February, 6 March, 1 May, 7 August, 4 September, 2 October, 6 November and 4 December (Bandcamp, Friday help; Hypebot).
What we think
- The $8.07 line matters more than people realise. Fixed per-sale fees weigh most on small prices. On our arithmetic, a $1 single keeps about $0.75 after a 15% share and the 5% + $0.05 small-sale rate, so you lose a quarter, against about a fifth on a $10 album. Bundling singles into one purchase is cheaper than selling them one by one.
- Bandcamp Friday is worth about $1.50 per $10 sale, roughly a 19% raise on a normal day's take. That is real money for a release, which is why we would time launches and pre-order openings to it rather than just posting a reminder.
- Compare it honestly with streams. Using the $0.003 to $0.005 range from our million-streams stub, $7.98 is roughly what 1,600 to 2,700 Spotify streams pay before distributor fees. One fan's purchase is a lot of listens.
- Watch the fee page. If Bandcamp changes its processor fees, the bottom line of this stub moves, and we will correct it.
Sources
- What are Bandcamp's fees?, Bandcamp Help Center (primary source). Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
- How much are payment processor fees for digital sales?, Bandcamp Help Center (primary source). Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
- Bandcamp Friday Help, Bandcamp Help Center (primary source). Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
- Here are your Bandcamp Friday dates for all of 2026, Hypebot. Accessed 28 Oct 2026.
Researched with AI assistance, written and checked by WATMM Desk.