The 60/40 Split: Why CuratFeed Pays Creators More Than YouTube, Instagram, or X
The creator economy is worth $250 billion, and most creators see almost none of it.
YouTube takes 55% of ad revenue. Instagram pays most creators exactly $0 — you're expected to monetize through brand deals on your own. X (formerly Twitter) offers fractions of a cent per impression through its ad revenue sharing program. TikTok's Creator Fund famously pays less than a penny per thousand views.
CuratFeed takes a fundamentally different approach: 60% of all subscription revenue goes directly to creators.
How the 60/40 Split Works
Every CuratFeed subscriber pays $20/month. Of that:
Creator Pool: 60% ($12 per subscriber)
The creator pool is split into three equal parts:
Fan Allocation (20% / $4 per subscriber) Each subscriber picks their top 10 favorite creators. Their $4 allocation flows directly to those creators. If you have 1,000 subscribers who picked you as a top-10 favorite, you earn $4,000/month just from this pool.
Top Rewards (20% / $4 per subscriber) Monthly bonuses for creators who generate the most meaningful engagement — thoughtful comments, saves, and shares. This rewards quality over clickbait. The algorithm can't be gamed because it measures depth of engagement, not volume.
Community Grants (20% / $4 per subscriber) A dedicated fund for rising voices, selected monthly by the community and editorial team. This ensures new creators get discovered and rewarded, even before they've built a large following.
Platform Operations: 40% ($8 per subscriber)
The remaining 40% covers: - Hosting and infrastructure - Content moderation - Platform development - Payment processing (Stripe fees) - Customer support
No hidden revenue streams. No ad money on the side. The 40% is genuinely what it costs to run the platform.
Real Earnings, Real Numbers
Here's what creators can realistically earn at different platform sizes:
At 1,000 total subscribers: - Monthly creator pool: $12,000 - Mid-tier creator (top 20%): ~$500/month - Top creator (top 5%): ~$1,500/month
At 10,000 total subscribers: - Monthly creator pool: $120,000 - Mid-tier creator: ~$4,500/month ($54,000/year) - Top creator: ~$15,000/month ($180,000/year)
At 50,000 total subscribers: - Monthly creator pool: $600,000 - Mid-tier creator: ~$20,000/month ($240,000/year) - Top creator: ~$75,000/month ($900,000/year)
These aren't fantasy numbers — they're arithmetic. $20/month × number of subscribers × 60% = creator pool. The distribution within the pool depends on your content quality and audience engagement.
Why This Beats Every Other Platform
vs. YouTube (45% creator share) YouTube gives creators 45% of ad revenue — but ad revenue fluctuates wildly, varies by niche, and requires 1,000 subscribers just to start earning. CuratFeed pays from day one, from real subscription dollars.
vs. Substack (90% creator share, but no discovery) Substack gives creators a bigger cut, but offers almost zero discovery. You have to bring your own audience. CuratFeed combines fair revenue with built-in discovery through AI curation.
vs. Instagram ($0 for most creators) Instagram's creator program is invitation-only and pays pennies. Most creators earn nothing directly from the platform. On CuratFeed, every published creator earns.
vs. X/Twitter (ad revenue scraps) X's creator revenue sharing pays from ad impressions on replies to your posts. The numbers are tiny and unpredictable. CuratFeed pays from subscriber dollars — real, predictable income.
The Founding Creator Program
We're selecting 50 writers to shape the editorial voice of CuratFeed before public launch. Founding Creators get:
- Priority placement during the platform's critical early days
- Direct editorial collaboration on content guidelines
- The best revenue terms on the platform, locked in permanently
- Community influence over feature priorities and platform evolution
If you write thoughtful, quality content and believe in a better model for social media, we want to hear from you.
Your words deserve fair pay.