DistroKid vs RouteNote: free or a yearly plan?
RouteNote Free costs nothing and keeps 15% of your money. RouteNote Premium is $10 per single up front, then $9.99 a year per release from year two, and keeps 0%. DistroKid is $24.99 a year for unlimited releases and keeps 0%. No budget: RouteNote Free. Three or more releases a year: DistroKid.
SOURCE: RouteNote: Which pricing model should I choose? · CHECKED 16 October 2026Music Distributor Picker runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
RouteNote is the main distributor that still offers a free plan with open sign-up. DistroKid has no free plan. The question is whether 15% of your earnings is worth more to you than $24.99 a year.
Pick DistroKid if
- You will release three or more singles a year: three RouteNote Premium singles cost $30 in year one, then renew at $9.99 each per year.
- You want automatic splits that DistroKid pays for you, set up in the upload.
- You use AI tools and want the widest store reach (RouteNote excludes AI releases from some stores).
Pick RouteNote if
- You have no money for distribution right now: RouteNote Free has no fees.
- You want YouTube Content ID with no add-on fee, on Free or Premium.
- You want to start free and move a release to Premium later if it earns.
When 15% beats $24.99
RouteNote Free costs you 15% of what the music earns. Until your releases earn about $166 in a year, 15% is less than DistroKid's $24.99 fee. Above that, the yearly plan is cheaper. Check what your streams pay with the streams to money calculator.
DistroKid vs RouteNote: the facts side by side
| DistroKid | RouteNote | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Yearly subscription with unlimited uploads. Some extras, like video monetisation and cover licences, cost more per release. | Two ways: Free, where RouteNote keeps 15%, or Premium, a one-off fee per release and then $9.99 a year per release from the second year. |
| Plans (first 12 months) | Musician: $24.99 a year; Musician Plus: $44.99 a year; Ultimate: $89.99 a year | Free: no fee, keeps 15%; Premium: $10 per release |
| Royalties you keep | You keep 100% of streaming royalties. Money from YouTube and TikTok videos goes through a paid add-on that keeps 20%. | Free: you keep 85%. Premium: you keep 100% of streaming and download money. |
| YouTube Content ID | Extra cost. Paid add-on (Social Media Pack): $4.95 per single per year, or $14.95 per album per year, plus 20% of the ad money. | Yes. On both Free and Premium with no extra fee, if you own all the rights. Free keeps 15% of it. |
| Automatic splits | Yes. Automatic splits between collaborators on every plan; DistroKid pays them. | Yes. Revenue Sharing pays collaborators with RouteNote accounts. You set it up with a form that staff process. |
| Pre-save and pitching | Yes. Free pre-save pages (HyperFollow), and a chance to be featured on DistroKid's own Spotify playlists. You pitch Spotify's editors yourself in Spotify for Artists. | Yes. Pre-save links through a partner service, using store links RouteNote gives you. You pitch Spotify yourself before release. |
| Cover song licences | Yes. Sells cover song licences: $12 per cover song per year. | No. Does not sell cover licences; it recommends a licensing service. Some stores accept covers without one. |
| AI music | Yes, with AI credits. DistroKid accepts music made with AI tools if you own all the rights, do not copy anyone's voice or likeness without permission, and are not flooding stores. The upload form asks whether AI generated any part of the track. | Yes, with limits. RouteNote accepts some AI-generated content if you follow the AI tool's terms and do not imitate real artists, but AI releases cannot go to Content ID-style services, Amazon, or its Korean partner stores, and may take longer to review. |
| Upload lead time | Upload about 4 weeks before release day, so it goes live everywhere on the day. | No lead time published on its own pages. |
| Artificial streaming fee | DistroKid does not publish its own fee for artificial streaming. Spotify charges distributors per track (TuneCore puts it at €10 per track per month); check your DistroKid notice and statements for any amount. | RouteNote has not published an amount; it refers to Spotify's per-track charge. |
What the first year costs
| Singles in 12 months | DistroKid | RouteNote |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $24.99 on Musician | $0 on Free, keeps 15% |
| 4 | $24.99 on Musician | $0 on Free, keeps 15% |
| 12 | $24.99 on Musician | $0 on Free, keeps 15% |
Costs are for the first 12 months on the cheapest plan, from the prices on each distributor's page, in US dollars before tax, with no add-ons. Yearly plans renew every year; one-off fees do not. The picker above adds Content ID, splits and a cover licence when you need them.
Stage is not paid by any distributor and none of the links on this page are affiliate links. We read each distributor's own pricing and help pages on the date shown and link every fact to the page it came from. Prices change, so open the source before you pay.
Questions artists ask
Is RouteNote really free?
Yes. RouteNote Free has no up-front or yearly fees; RouteNote keeps 15% and you keep 85% of the money.
What does RouteNote Premium cost?
$10 per single, $20 per EP and $30 per album up front, then $9.99 a year per release from the second year. You keep 100%.
Does DistroKid have a free plan?
No. The cheapest DistroKid plan is Musician at $24.99 a year.
Can I pitch to Spotify with RouteNote?
Yes, you pitch yourself in Spotify for Artists before the release is live. RouteNote also runs its own playlists.
Related
- Which music distributor should I use?
Answer 7 questions and get a ranked shortlist of 12 music distributors, with each one's price, cut and rules, read on its own site on 16 October 2026. - DistroKid vs TuneCore: which one fits you?
DistroKid vs TuneCore: both start at $24.99 a year and keep 0% of streaming money. Content ID, pre-saves, covers and AI rules compared, with sources. - DistroKid vs CD Baby: yearly plan or pay once?
DistroKid charges $24.99 a year and keeps 0%. CD Baby charges $9.99 per single once and keeps 9%. Which fits you depends on how often you release. - TuneCore vs CD Baby: which one fits you?
TuneCore is $24.99 a year and keeps 0% of streaming money. CD Baby is $9.99 per single once and keeps 9%. Both include YouTube Content ID. Sources linked. - Music release planner: every deadline from upload to release day
Free release planner: pick a date and distributor and get every deadline (upload, Spotify pitch, pre-save, release day), each with its dated source. - Can you upload AI music? Rules for 24 platforms and distributors
Spotify: yes. Bandcamp and CD Baby: no. Most distributors: yes, with limits. AI music rules for 24 platforms in each company's own words, dated. - Streams to money calculator: what every platform pays per stream
What Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and 7 more pay per stream in 2026, after your distributor's cut and splits. Sourced, dated ranges. Free. - Artificial streaming checker: your Spotify numbers, notice and fee
Got an artificial streaming notice? Check your Spotify for Artists numbers, estimate the €10 per track fee, and see what your distributor says to do.
Sources
- DistroKid pricing · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid plans and pricing · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid help: What Are Album Extras? · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid: Spotify · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid cover song licensing · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid Help: Can I Upload Music Made With AI Tools to DistroKid? · checked 15 October 2026
- DistroKid help: How to Release Music on DistroKid · checked 16 October 2026
- DistroKid Help: I Received an "Artificial Streaming" Notice from Spotify. What Should I Do? · checked 16 October 2026
- RouteNote: Which pricing model should I choose? · checked 16 October 2026
- RouteNote: How much does Premium cost? · checked 16 October 2026
- RouteNote: How can I monetise with YouTube? · checked 16 October 2026
- RouteNote blog: Revenue Sharing · checked 16 October 2026
- RouteNote: How do I get my Pre-save links? · checked 16 October 2026
- RouteNote: Can I upload cover songs? · checked 16 October 2026
- RouteNote Support Hub: Can I upload AI releases? · checked 15 October 2026
- RouteNote blog (21 May 2024): What Spotify's artificial streaming policy means for RouteNote artists · checked 15 October 2026
Found something out of date? Email info@groovegainer.com and we fix it, usually the same week. How we check our sources.