The creator income gap: most creators earn less than you think, and what top earners do differently

What makes this useful: A sourced EarnThread field guide written for creators turning attention into an owned business.

Creator income is far lower and far more uneven than social feeds suggest. In Linktree's survey of 9,576 users (opens in a new tab), 46% of full-time creators made less than $1,000 a year. MBO Partners found (opens in a new tab) 71% of US independent creators earned under $30,000. The creators who break through tend to share a few habits: several income streams, products they own, and an email list, often with a modest following.

Before the numbers, one warning. Each survey below asks a different group of people a different question, in a different year. Linktree surveyed its own users, Kajabi surveyed creators near its software, and MBO surveyed US independent workers. So this guide reports each one on its own terms and does not stitch them into a single trend.

Key takeaways

• Every major survey finds most creators earn a side income, but each measures a different group, so their figures can't be combined.
• Averages flatter the typical creator: CreatorIQ's average brand payment was $11,400 but the median was $3,000.
• Two-thirds of creators in Kajabi's 2024 research relied on a single income source.
• Top earners run several streams, own a product or brand, and often have modest followings plus an email list.
• Start with an email list and one validated offer, then add a second stream and bundle.

The creator income gap, survey by survey

Read across the table and the shape is consistent even though the numbers are not comparable. Most people earning from content earn a side income, not a salary.

A few details sharpen the picture. Linktree found that 66% of its respondents saw themselves as part-time creators, and 59% of beginners (under 12 months) had not monetised at all. MBO counted 8.1 million US independent creators in 2023, down slightly from 8.2 million in 2022, with 30% working full-time. Influencer Marketing Hub found that nearly 57% of full-time creators earned less than a $44,000 US living wage from content alone.

Why averages flatter the typical creator

The CreatorIQ average of $44,293 looks healthy next to the other surveys. Two things explain the gap.

First, the sample. CreatorIQ surveyed 300 creators, and its own income bands show 1% under $10,000 a year. That is a very different group from Linktree's, where most respondents were under $1,000. Different populations, different results, which is exactly why the table above cannot be read as one trend.

Second, averages hide concentration. CreatorIQ also looked at 14,400 creators paid by brands or agencies in 2025. The average campaign payment was $11,400, but the median was $3,000, and the top 10% of creators received 62% of all creator payments. When a small group earns most of the money, the average sits well above what a typical creator takes home.

So when you see a headline average, ask two questions. Who was surveyed? And is this the mean or the median?

Most creators depend on one income source

The second pattern across the surveys is concentration of a different kind: relying on a single income line.

Kajabi's 2024 research, reported by Net Influencer (opens in a new tab), found that two-thirds of creators relied on just one revenue source, which in 2022 was brand deals. Influencer Marketing Hub's 2025 report found that over 49% of creators earned most of their revenue from brand deals, a figure it says fell 10% on the previous year.

That dependence is a risk because the single source can move fast. In Kajabi's State of Creator Commerce survey of 1,717 respondents, creators reported a 52% reduction in brand-deal revenue, a 36% decline in affiliate income and a 33% decrease in platform payouts (opens in a new tab) over the previous year. Kajabi sells creator software, so read this as vendor research. The direction still matches what creators describe.

Platform payouts are the most fragile line of all for small accounts. Our companion piece on what ads and creator funds actually pay per view sets out the numbers; the short version is that at the median of $2.30 per 1,000 long-form views that AIR Media-Tech measured (opens in a new tab) across 300 YouTube channels, about 435,000 views earn $1,000.

How to read the next creator income headline

Creator income statistics are shared constantly, often without the context that makes them meaningful. Before you compare yourself with a number, run it through these checks.

1. 01
   Who was surveyed?

   Users of one platform, customers of a software company and a national sample of independent workers will give very different answers.

2. 02
   How many people?

   CreatorIQ's survey had 300 respondents; Linktree's had 9,576. Small samples swing more.

3. 03
   Who paid for it?

   Several of the studies above come from companies that sell creator tools. That does not make them wrong, but their framing tends to favour what they sell.

4. 04
   Mean or median?

   As the CreatorIQ figures show, one very large earner can pull an average far above the typical result.

5. 05
   Revenue or profit?

   Most surveys ask about income or revenue. A creator reporting $50,000 may keep much less after tools, contractors and tax.

6. 06
   Which year and which country?

   MBO's figures are for US creators in 2023; Linktree's survey ran in 2021. Rates and platform programmes have changed since.

The honest summary is that no survey tells you what you will earn. Together, they show that a typical creator earns a modest side income, and that the higher earners share some identifiable habits.

What top earners do differently

The same datasets that show the gap also describe the people who close it, and so does the income mix of eight creators who quit their day jobs. Four habits recur.

1. They run several income streams. Kajabi's 2024 research found the most successful creators average five or more revenue streams, and creators earning over $150,000 tend to have seven. Its 2025 platform data, reported by Net Influencer (opens in a new tab), found 75% of six-figure earners on Kajabi maintain multiple streams, averaging five.

2. They own a product or a business. Influencer Marketing Hub found that nearly 45% of full-time creators own a brand, and that they earn close to $100,000 a year. Kajabi's commerce survey reported that creators who own their audience relationships and revenue channels earn 25% more on average than creators who rely mainly on social platforms.

3. They do it with a smaller audience than you'd expect. Kajabi says the average six-figure earner on its platform has between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, an email list of about 4,000 people and 309 paying customers. That is a business built on a few hundred buyers, not millions of views.

4. They package what they sell. In the same Kajabi data, creators who bundle their products earn 4.5 times more than those with single offerings.

It is worth noticing what is not on the list. None of these habits requires a viral moment or a large following. They are business decisions a creator with a few thousand engaged followers can make this quarter: choose a second income line, build something you own, start collecting email addresses and package your work so one buyer can spend more.

Each of these findings is self-reported and drawn from Kajabi's own customers or survey panel, or from Influencer Marketing Hub's creator sample, so they describe correlation, not a guarantee. But they all point one way: the creators who earn a living treat their audience as customers of something they own.

Where the brand deals and platform money fit

None of this means turning down sponsorships or switching off monetisation. It means ranking them correctly.

Brand deals are lumpy. CreatorIQ's figures show how uneven they are: a $3,000 median payment, with most of the money going to the top tenth of creators. Platform payouts depend on thresholds and rates you do not control. Both are worth having. Neither is something you can plan a month around if it is your only source.

Owned income behaves differently. You set the price, you know what you keep after fees, and each customer can buy again. Visa's creator research with Morning Consult found that 77% of creators already promote their own services (opens in a new tab), alongside 94% who post brand partnerships and 78% who use affiliate marketing. Most creators are already mixing; the question is which line is growing.

A simple test helps. List every payment you received in the last six months and mark each one as owned (your product, service or membership) or borrowed (brand deals, affiliate commissions, platform payouts). If the borrowed column is most of the total, the surveys above suggest that is where your risk sits, and where your next month of effort should go.

A plan for closing your own gap

If you are at the start, the Kajabi profile of a six-figure creator is a useful target to work backwards from: one email list, one or two products, a few hundred customers. Here is a sequence that matches it.

1. 01
   Start the list now

   An email list is the asset most closely tied to owned income in the data above. Use our guide to building an email list with a lead magnet.

2. 02
   Validate one offer before you build it

   A pre-sale or waitlist tells you whether people will pay. See how to test demand before you build.

3. 03
   Add a second stream that sits next to the first

   A template plus a paid call, or a workshop plus a recording. Our guide to the ways creators make money shows how to sequence them.

4. 04
   Bundle when you have two products

   Given the bundling gap in Kajabi's data, it is worth testing early. Here is how to bundle digital products without confusing buyers.

5. 05
   Keep brand deals and payouts as extras

   Take them when they fit, and log them separately so you can see whether your owned income is growing.

Start your first owned income line

EarnThread is built for this stage. You get a mobile storefront for digital downloads, coaching and bookings, memberships and lead magnets, plus an audience list with consent records and attribution that shows which post led to a sale. Payments go straight into your own Stripe account.

The Launch plan is $0 a month with a 5% platform fee per sale, so you only pay when you earn; Growth and Scale lower the fee once your sales grow. The gap in the surveys is mostly the gap between creators who sell something and those who don't. Start free and put your first offer live.

Frequently asked questions

How much do most creators make?

Less than most people think, though the figure depends on who is asked. MBO Partners found 71% of US independent creators made under $30,000 in a year; Influencer Marketing Hub's 2025 survey found more than half earned under $15,000; Linktree found 46% of full-time creators made under $1,000. These are different groups, so compare each figure within its own survey.

What percentage of creators make over $100,000?

It varies by survey. MBO Partners found 9% of US independent creators reported over $100,000 in a year, and CreatorIQ's survey of 300 creators found 11% earned six figures. Kajabi's 2024 research found 96% earned under $100,000. Each survey sampled a different population, so treat the range as a rough guide.

How many income streams do successful creators have?

Kajabi's 2024 research found the most successful creators average five or more revenue streams, and those earning over $150,000 tend to have seven. Its 2025 platform data found 75% of six-figure earners on Kajabi run multiple streams, averaging five. These are Kajabi's own figures, so they show what its top customers do rather than a universal rule.

Do you need a big following to earn a living as a creator?

Not necessarily. Kajabi says the average six-figure earner on its platform has between 1,000 and 10,000 followers, an email list of about 4,000 people and 309 paying customers. That points to a business built on a few hundred buyers and a direct relationship with them, rather than very large view counts.