DistroKid vs TuneCore vs CD Baby, which keeps more of your money in 2026?
Three distributors, the same catalog, 18 months of royalty data. Here's who actually came out ahead, and the case for each one.
If you've spent five minutes researching distribution you've heard the same three names. They're not interchangeable, and the right pick depends entirely on how often you release.
We've had the same six-track catalog live through all three since January 2025. Here's how they actually compare.
Key Takeaways
- DistroKid wins on price for any artist with 4+ tracks in their catalog.
- TuneCore wins on reporting quality, critical for sync deals and publishing negotiations.
- CD Baby wins on physical distribution (CDs, vinyl) and active sync placement.
- All three now offer monthly payouts after TuneCore's 2026 cycle change.
Which distributor wins overall?
| Metric | DistroKid | TuneCore | CD Baby |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to keep 6 tracks live (annual) | $22.99 | $59.94 | $89.40 |
| Royalty cut | 0% | 0% | 9% |
| Average speed to Spotify | 1–2 days | 2–4 days | 3–5 days |
| Splits to collaborators | Built-in | Built-in | Built-in |
| Physical distribution | No | No | Yes (CDs + vinyl) |
| Sync licensing team | No | Optional add-on | Yes (active) |
For an artist releasing 4+ tracks a year, DistroKid wins on pure economics. For a 1–2 release artist, the per-track flexibility of TuneCore or CD Baby can be worth the extra cost.
When is DistroKid the right choice?
Best for: prolific artists, anyone with 10+ tracks in their catalog.
DistroKid's $22.99/year covers unlimited uploads. We had 6 tracks live and paid the same as someone with 60. The math gets absurd once you build a catalog.
The interface is fast and unremarkable. Splits work: you enter a collaborator's email, they confirm, royalties flow to both. No second account needed.
The hidden cost is support. Email-only, and the first reply usually takes 36–48 hours. If something breaks during a release week, you'll feel it.
When is TuneCore worth the per-release fee?
Best for: sync placements, single-release artists, anyone obsessed with royalty reporting.
TuneCore charges per release per year, $9.99 for a single, $29.99 for an album, every year. That's fine for one or two releases and ruinous for a catalog.
What you get in return is the best reporting in the indie distribution space. Daily streaming data per platform per country. Itemized royalty statements that look like what a major label sees.
If you're chasing publishing deals or trying to prove your numbers to a sync agent, TuneCore's reports do the talking.
When does CD Baby still make sense?
Best for: physical distribution, sync licensing, anyone who genuinely cares about CDs and vinyl.
CD Baby is the only one of the three that still does physical distribution at real scale. If you want CDs in stores or vinyl through indie retailers, this is where you go.
The 9% royalty cut is the catch. On low-earning tracks it's negligible. On a song doing $1,000/month it's $1,080/year you're handing over.
Their sync licensing team is genuinely active: placements in TV ads, indie films, video games. If you're chasing that kind of placement, that team alone can be worth the cut.
- Active sync licensing team
- Physical distribution (CDs and vinyl)
- Per-release model, no fees on catalog you don't keep up
- 9% royalty cut on every stream
- Slower upload-to-live time than DistroKid
- Annual fee per release after year one
Which one should you pick?
Pick DistroKid if you release more than twice a year, you don't care about physical, and you want to keep 100% of streaming royalties for the lowest possible cost.
Pick TuneCore if you're a once-a-year-release artist who needs major-label-level royalty reporting for sync deals, publishing, or just your own sanity.
Pick CD Baby if you want physical formats out in the world, you're chasing sync placements actively, or you value the human-to-human service it still offers.
Related reading
FAQ
Which distributor is the cheapest for a catalog of 10+ tracks?
DistroKid. At $24.99/year flat, your per-track cost drops with every new release. TuneCore at $9.99/single/year hits $99.90 for the same 10 tracks. CD Baby's per-release upfront fee is even higher when amortized over annual renewals.
Can CD Baby actually get me on TV or in a film?
Their sync team is real and active, we've placed two test catalog tracks in indie productions through them. The success rate isn't high (most tracks don't get placed), but the team genuinely pitches and the 9% royalty cut becomes a non-issue if you land even one placement.
Does TuneCore really have better reporting than DistroKid?
Yes, meaningfully. TuneCore shows itemized daily streaming data per platform per country in their dashboard. DistroKid shows totals. For most artists this doesn't matter; for sync agents, publishing prospects, or anyone analyzing audience geography, TuneCore's data is significantly more useful.
Can I have music on multiple distributors at once?
Only one distributor can deliver a given release to a given platform. You can split your catalog (one album on DistroKid, another on CD Baby) but you can't have the same release on both. Switching means taking down and re-uploading.
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