Streaming Subscriber Revenue Calculator
Turn subscriber count, monthly price and platform fees into your real recurring revenue — MRR, annual run-rate and net-of-churn take-home.
How it works
Gross MRR = subscribers × price · Net MRR = gross × (1 − fee%) · ARR = net MRR × 12 · Avg. lifetime = 1 ÷ churn rate
Recurring revenue is subscribers times price, but the number that hits your bank is smaller: platforms and payment processors take a cut (Patreon, Substack, app-store and Stripe fees all live here). Churn is the quiet drag — at 5% monthly churn the average subscriber stays only about 20 months, so growth has to outrun cancellations just to hold steady. Net MRR after fees, and its ×12 annual run-rate, are the figures to plan a business around.
Worked example
500 subscribers pay $5/month, for $2,500 gross MRR. A 30% platform-and-processing cut leaves $1,750 net MRR — a $21,000 annual run-rate. At 5% monthly churn you lose about 25 subscribers a month and the average subscriber stays roughly 20 months.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as the platform fee?
Everything skimmed off the top before you get paid: the platform’s own percentage (e.g. Patreon 8–12%, Substack 10%) plus payment-processing fees (~3% + a fixed cent charge). App-store subscriptions can run as high as 30%.
How does churn affect revenue?
Churn is the percentage of subscribers who cancel each month. The average subscriber lifetime is roughly 1 ÷ churn rate, so 5% monthly churn implies a ~20-month lifetime. High churn means you must constantly acquire new subscribers just to stay flat.
Is annual run-rate the same as annual revenue?
Not exactly. ARR projects your current monthly revenue across 12 months as if it held constant. Real annual revenue will differ as your subscriber count grows or shrinks over the year.
Related calculators
Educational estimate — real earnings vary widely by niche, geography, platform terms and season.