Every "DistroKid vs TuneCore" article on Google was written by an affiliate trying to push you to whichever distributor gives them the highest referral payout. We're going to do this differently. We're going to model an actual indie artist's costs over 5 years, on the four distributors that matter, DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby and WBBT, and show you exactly where the money goes.
The artist we'll model: 1 album (10 tracks) every 18 months, 2 EPs (4 tracks each) per year, 6 singles per year, averaging 80,000 streams a month across the catalogue. That's a moderately active independent artist, exactly the kind who reads comparison posts before signing up.
1. Sticker Prices (May 2026)
| Distributor | Entry Tier | Pro Tier | Royalty Share | Lock-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid | $22.99/yr (Musician) | $39.99/yr (Musician+) | ~91% | Stop paying → tracks pulled |
| TuneCore | $14.99/yr per single | $34.99/yr per album | 100% | Stop paying → tracks pulled |
| CD Baby | $9.95 single (one-off) | $29 album (one-off) | 91% (lifetime) | Lifetime, keeps 9% forever |
| WBBT Free | $0 | $0 | 100% | None |
| WBBT Pro | $5.99/mo or $59/yr | £12.99/mo Label | 100% | Cancel anytime |
What that table doesn't show you
Sticker prices are the bait. The real cost comes from these line items, which most comparison articles skip:
- DistroKid charges per track per year after the first 10 on the Musician plan. Your 11th release of the year? Extra $0.99 per track.
- TuneCore charges per release per year, forever. Your 2018 single still costs $14.99/yr to keep on Spotify.
- CD Baby's 9% commission is lifetime, meaning every dollar you ever earn on every track you ever upload, 9% goes to them, even decades later.
- DistroKid takes 9% commission on YouTube Content ID revenue if you don't upgrade to Musician Plus ($39.99/yr).
- None of the big three include video distribution (Vevo, Apple Music videos, Tidal Videos). DistroKid charges $5/yr per video. TuneCore $4.95.
- Beatport access is paywalled on DistroKid (Musician Plus tier only) and entirely missing on CD Baby's basic tier.
2. The 5-Year Cost Model
Here's what our model artist (1 album every 18 months + 2 EPs/year + 6 singles/year + 80k streams/month) actually pays across 5 years on each platform. All figures are USD; storage and Content ID add-ons included.
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 (cumulative) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid Musician+ | $73.97 | $219.91 | $439.85 + 9% YT |
| TuneCore (per release) | $184.81 | $554.43 | $1,003.32 |
| CD Baby Pro Standard | $148.50 | $346.50 | $579.50 + 9% lifetime |
| WBBT Free | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| WBBT Pro Annual | $59 | $177 | $295 |
Now factor in commission. Our model artist earns about $3,360/year at 80k monthly streams (mixed Spotify + Apple + YouTube Music + Beatport). Over 5 years that's $16,800 in royalty income.
| 5-Year Subscription | 5-Year Commission Lost | 5-Year Total Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid Musician+ | $439.85 | ~$0 (audio) + $151 (YT) | ~$591 |
| TuneCore | $1,003.32 | $0 | $1,003.32 |
| CD Baby Pro | $579.50 | $1,512 (9% × $16,800) | $2,091.50 |
| WBBT Free | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| WBBT Pro Annual | $295 | $0 | $295 |
3. The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
Takedown fees
If you stop paying DistroKid or TuneCore, your releases are pulled within 30 days. To bring them back later, you'll need a manual reactivation request, and you lose all stream history, editorial-playlist position and Spotify Discover Weekly seeding from scratch. WBBT releases stay on the platforms even if you downgrade to Free, only premium add-ons (sync pitching, video distribution) deactivate.
Storage and "vault" upgrades
DistroKid's Musician plan limits you to 10 active releases at any given time. Above that you pay per-track. CD Baby has no limit but levies a $0.49/year storage fee on each older release.
Splits and collaborator payouts
DistroKid: free splits on Musician+. TuneCore: built into all plans. CD Baby: $5 per split per year. WBBT: free, unlimited splits paid via SWIFT/IBAN/PayPal, not just to a DistroKid account that the collaborator might not have.
Beatport, Vevo, Tidal Videos
Beatport delivery is paywalled or unavailable on the basic tiers of all three competitors. Beatport delivery is included on every WBBT plan from Free up, including the full Beatport Pro DJ catalogue for electronic music. Video distribution through Vevo + Apple Music videos is included on WBBT Pro and above.
4. Where Each Distributor Actually Wins
5. The Quiet 2026 Trend: Distributor Stickiness
One thing that's changed materially since 2023: distributors lost their ability to lock you in. Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube all started honoring re-distribution requests within 14 days in late 2024 (forced by the EU Digital Markets Act). That means switching distributors is now genuinely viable, your stream history transfers if your distributor sends the proper "ownership transfer" DDEX message to the DSP.
This is why we put the 5-year math front and center. In 2020, switching cost you your back catalogue. In 2026, it costs you ~30 minutes and a transfer request. The cost of staying on a 9%-commission lifetime distributor is now a choice, not an inheritance.
6. How to Switch (Including from Us, If We're Not Right)
If you're already on DistroKid, TuneCore or CD Baby and want to move, the process in 2026 looks like this:
- Sign up with the new distributor (us or someone else) and create your release placeholders with identical ISRCs and UPCs.
- Request a "DDEX transfer" from your current distributor, DistroKid does this in their dashboard, TuneCore via support ticket, CD Baby by email. All are required to comply within 14 days.
- The DSPs (Spotify et al.) automatically remap stream history to the new distributor on receipt of the transfer message.
- Old distributor closes the release, new distributor takes over royalty collection from the date of transfer onwards.
WBBT does this for free, including the support ticket help if your old distributor stalls. Tell us where your catalogue lives now and we'll quote the transfer in writing.
7. The Honest Verdict
If you make music seriously, the cheapest distributor over 5 years for a moderately active artist is, by a wide margin, WBBT Free, then WBBT Pro Annual, then DistroKid Musician+. CD Baby and TuneCore both sit at multiples of that cost without giving you proportionally more. We say this with full bias acknowledged: we built our pricing to be competitive precisely because the comparison math used to be ugly.
Run the numbers for your own release pattern in our royalty calculator and our distributor cost calculator. If WBBT isn't right for you, the maths in this post still saves you money.