WHAT IT COSTS YOU
What it really costs to start, every platform side by side
All in, not the first-year promotional price.
23 PLATFORMS ANSWERED · SORTED BY NAME, NOT BY BETTER
Amazon Associates$0 to join: Amazon charges no application or setup fee, and the sign-up button on Associates Central reads Join Now for Free.Free to join · source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDPFree to use: no upfront or listing fee to publish an eBook or print book, and print copies are produced on demand.Free to publish · source · checked 2026-09-07
Anthropic APIPrepaid credits, pay-as-you-go, no subscription. Cheapest entry rate is Haiku 4.5 at $1/MTok input and $5/MTok output; no minimum purchase is published.API pricing page, Haiku 4.5 row · source · checked 2026-09-07
beehiivFree Launch plan allows up to 2,500 active subscribers total, the subscriber limit for that tier.Free tier capped at 2,500 subscribers · source · checked 2026-09-07
CloudflareFree plan costs nothing; paid website plans advertised from $20 a month.Free plan, then from $20/month · source · checked 2026-09-07
DigitalOceanFree tier is capped at 3 static-site apps with a 1 GiB transfer allowance each; paid App Platform starts at $5/month.Free: 3 static sites, 1 GiB each · source · checked 2026-09-07
Empire FlippersFree to list: Empire Flippers charges no listing fee and collects nothing if the business does not sell.Listing fee · source · checked 2026-09-07
FlippaSellers pay from a $29 flat fee for a 60-day Entry listing in the sub-$10K bracket. Browsing listings is free.Entry listing fee · source · checked 2026-09-07
Google AdSenseFree to join. Google charges publishers nothing to sign up for or run AdSense; the only entry cost is your own site and hosting.Free to join · source · checked 2026-09-07
GumroadNo signup or subscription cost to start selling; Gumroad's cut is 10% + $0.50 per transaction on sales through your own profile or links.10% + $0.50 per sale, nothing upfront · source · checked 2026-09-07
HetznerGoing dedicated costs more up front: AX42-1 is EUR 97.30 a month plus a one-off EUR 49.00 setup fee, excluding VAT.Dedicated server setup fee · source · checked 2026-09-07
Lemon SqueezyFree to open a store: $0/month, no card and no contract required. The only entry cost is the 5% + 50c fee taken per transaction.Cost to start · source · checked 2026-09-07
MediavineNo upfront fee. The entry cost is the split: the publisher's minimum revenue share is 75% of gross ad proceeds, the remainder to Mediavine.A revenue split, not a fee · source · checked 2026-09-07
MonumetricUSD 99 one-time implementation fee to start on the entry Propel tier, which covers sites doing 10k to 80k pageviews a month.USD 99 one-time setup · source · checked 2026-09-07
Motion InvestFree to list: $0 listing fee and a free valuation; the platform is paid only out of the sale price when the asset sells.Listing fee · source · checked 2026-09-07
NamecheapStellar shared hosting is listed at $5.88/month, for 3 hosted domain names and 20 GB SSD.Stellar entry price · source · checked 2026-09-07
NetlifyFree tier: $0 forever, capped at 300 credits/month and 1 free member. Paid starts at $9/month (Personal, 1,000 credits); Pro is $20/month.Netlify pricing page · source · checked 2026-09-07
OpenAI APIBilled per token from the first call, no plan fee listed: gpt-4o-mini costs $0.15 per 1M input tokens and $0.60 per 1M output tokens.Pay per token from call one · source · checked 2026-09-07
PayhipFree Forever plan: $0 a month, all features and unlimited products, but Payhip charges a 5% fee on every transaction.Vao cua mien phi, doi lay 5% moi giao dich · source · checked 2026-09-07
PorkbunA .com costs $11.08 to register, with WHOIS privacy, Let's Encrypt SSL, email forwarding and URL forwarding included at no extra charge.Registration cost · source · checked 2026-09-07
SubstackFree to publish at any list size. No plan fee, no tier limit; costs start only when paid subscriptions are switched on.Free to publish · source · checked 2026-09-07
VercelA free Hobby tier exists, but it is restricted to non-commercial personal use, so any revenue-generating site must start on a paid plan.Free tier is non-commercial only · source · checked 2026-09-07
WordPress.comFree plan is capped at 1 GB storage on a WordPress.com subdomain with WordPress.com ads shown to visitors; paid plans start at $4 a month billed yearly.Free tier limits and entry price · source · checked 2026-09-07
The other questions
Ten questions get asked of every platform here. This page answers one of them.
Where you can sign up25 platforms
Where you can be paid29 platforms
Minimum age28 platforms
What you are paid in29 platforms
Ways to get paid26 platforms
Minimum payout29 platforms
Fee taken out of the payout29 platforms
Time from earning to money in hand28 platforms
How a balance can be lost28 platforms
Who is legally on the hook30 platforms
What it costs to keep alive20 platforms
The gate before it pays anything14 platforms
How long before the first payment17 platforms
Who owns what you build22 platforms
Can you take it with you23 platforms
Can it be sold24 platforms
What takes it all away25 platforms
Why this page is sorted by name
Putting these in an order would mean deciding that one answer beats another, and on most of these questions that depends entirely on who is reading. A lower cash-out bar is better if you want the money soon and worse if it arrives as a gift card. A single payout method is fine until it is the one that does not work in your country.
So the rows sit in alphabetical order and the differences are left where you can see them. Every figure carries the page it came from and the day it was read. Found one that has moved? Tell us.