Guide · Updated September 21, 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 September 3, 2026.
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DistroKid advertises unlimited uploads for $24.99 a year, and that price is real. It's also where the bill starts. 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 a year, depending on plan. 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, plus 20% of the ad revenue DistroKid collects, which is not modeled here); Store Maximizer $7.95/album/yr. This calculator shows how recurring per-release add-ons pile up as your catalog grows. 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 and iTunes pricing |
| Ultimate | From $89.99/yr | 5–100 artists (checked September 2026), advanced analytics, audio replacement, playlist-contact search |
Custom release dates, which you need for any planned release campaign with playlist pitching, require Musician Plus. For many working artists, that makes the base price $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. Watch 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 store) | $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 also 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 (about $115 a year against a $24.99 headline), plus a $495 exit fee to keep the catalog up after you leave. None of this is hidden: it's all on DistroKid's pages. The calculator above adds it up for you.
DistroKid for record labels
DistroKid sells its Ultimate plans to labels. Its help center, on what it offers record labels, describes Ultimate plans running from 5 artists to 100 artists, unlimited uploads for each artist, a label name on releases (different names for sub-labels and imprints at no extra charge), and its Splits feature to send earnings on to a label's artists as they're reported. On the pricing page, Ultimate starts at $89.99 billed annually, and a bigger roster means upgrading to a bigger Ultimate plan. All as of September 2026.
Two details matter more for a label than for an artist. Every primary artist name takes an "artist slot," and DistroKid says a used slot is permanently locked into the account and can't be removed. A roster that changes still pays for the names it has had. The add-ons above are also billed per release, whoever the artist is, so a label's recurring add-on bill grows with the catalog of every artist on the roster.
On Audora, one label account runs up to five artists, and their releases go out under the label's own name. Each artist keeps an account of their own (their own sign-in, page and ISRCs), can see what the label did in their name and can leave. Audora is built around the work of each release rather than upload volume, so a label putting out many tracks a month is better served by a volume distributor. How Audora label accounts work.
When DistroKid is still the right answer
If you release a very high volume of tracks, skip the add-ons and never plan to leave, DistroKid's economics are excellent: no credit model beats $24.99 a year for a track a week. The true-cost math bites artists in the middle, who want Content ID, custom release dates and an exit option but don't release enough for the flat fee to dominate the bill. If that's you, compare properly. Our Audora vs. DistroKid comparison and the wider alternatives guide lay out the options. Working artists release this way: DragonForce vocalist Marc Hudson put out his solo cover of "Golden" through Audora. Read the case study, published with his permission.
Questions
How much does DistroKid actually cost per year?
The subscription is $24.99–$89.99 a year, depending on plan (July 2026). The full bill 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 is $7.95 per album per year and a cover song license is $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 then leaving safely costs $29–$49 for every 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. The Social Media Pack (its YouTube/TikTok Content ID product) does keep 20% of the ad revenue it collects, on top of its fee of $4.95–$14.95 per release per year.
How does Audora's plan compare to DistroKid's add-on model?
For high-volume artists who skip every add-on, DistroKid's flat yearly fee is hard to beat. 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 rates, that's $200–$500 for a cover from a freelance designer, $100–$300 for a bio and $200+ per release cycle if you hire out the posting. 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, Instagram and Facebook Pages. The useful comparison is bundle against bundle.
Does DistroKid offer plans for record labels?
Yes: its Ultimate plans. Per DistroKid's help center, they run from 5 to 100 artists, with a label name on releases and Splits to pass earnings on to artists. Ultimate starts at $89.99 billed annually, and a larger roster needs a larger Ultimate plan (September 2026). Each artist name permanently uses an artist slot. If you'd rather each artist keep an account of their own, see how Audora label accounts work.
What happens to my music if I stop paying DistroKid?
DistroKid's help center says: "If you don't renew your subscription to DistroKid, your music will be removed from services." Releases with the Leave a Legacy add-on stay up. You keep account access and any earnings owed.