DeviantArt Core used to be an easy call for commission artists: any paid tier dropped the commission fee to zero. That ended on July 1, 2026, when DeviantArt removed commissions and moved custom work to Originals, which charge a fee on every tier. The membership now has to earn its price through a lower percentage, so the question is simple arithmetic. Here is what each tier costs, what it saves, and the monthly sales at which it starts paying for itself.
The short answer. DeviantArt Core costs $6.67, $8.33, $12.50 or $16.67 a month, billed as one yearly payment (about $80, $100, $150 or $200). For selling custom art it pays off quickly: above about $83 a month in Originals, Core Pro+ costs less than no membership and less than every other tier. Below that, no Core is cheapest unless the $100 sale cap forces you to buy. Core+ is the tier to skip, because Core Pro costs only $20 a year more and cuts the Originals fee from 15% to 10%.
How much is DeviantArt Core membership?
DeviantArt sells four Core tiers. The membership page shows a monthly figure, but the small print says the displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions paid in full at purchase, so the real decision is a once-a-year payment. The fee columns come from DeviantArt's help center fee table.
| Tier | Shown price | Paid per year | Originals and Exclusives fee | Downloads, Galleries, Subscriptions fee | Max sale price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Core | $0 | $0 | 20% | 20% | $100 |
| Core+ | $6.67/mo | about $80 | 15% | 12% | $1,000 |
| Core Pro | $8.33/mo | about $100 | 10% | 5% | $10,000 |
| Core Pro+ | $12.50/mo | about $150 | 5% | 2.5% | $10,000 |
| Core Max | $16.67/mo | about $200 | 5% | 2.5% | $15,000 |
Every sale also carries a processing fee of 3.5% plus $0.30 (Merch excepted), and withdrawing your earnings to PayPal, Stripe or BitPay adds a payout fee that depends on the provider. The platform fee is taken from buyer tips at checkout as well, so a generous client tipping $20 on an Original still leaves DeviantArt its percentage of the tip.
Is DeviantArt Core worth it for selling art?
Yes, once you sell more than a small amount each month. A higher tier costs a fixed sum and saves a percentage, so each upgrade has a break-even: the monthly sales at which the fee you save equals the extra membership cost. The per-order $0.30 is the same on every tier, so it drops out. These are the break-evens for Originals and Exclusives, the products custom artists actually sell.
| Upgrade | Fee saved | Extra cost per month | Pays off above, in monthly sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Core to Core+ | 5 points | $6.67 | $133.33 |
| No Core to Core Pro | 10 points | $8.33 | $83.33 |
| Core+ to Core Pro | 5 points | $1.67 | $33.33 |
| Core Pro to Core Pro+ | 5 points | $4.17 | $83.33 |
| Core Pro+ to Core Max | 0 points | $4.17 | Never, on fees alone |
Read the table and a buying rule falls out. Two rows break even at the same $83.33: no Core to Core Pro+, and Core Pro to Core Pro+. So if you sell less than about $83 a month in Originals and every piece is under $100, staying on no Core costs you less than any membership, and above $83 a month Core Pro+ is the cheapest tier outright, however much you sell. Core Pro is never the cheapest tier for Originals on fees alone; it earns its place only when you need a membership at low volume, or when you mostly sell Premium Downloads, where it charges 5% against 2.5% on Pro+ and the break-even sits at $166.67 a month. Max only makes sense if you need sale prices above $10,000.
Why Core+ is the tier sellers should skip
Core+ looks like the sensible starter tier, but for anyone selling it is dominated by Core Pro. The difference is $20 a year, and Core Pro takes 5 points less on every Original and 7 points less on Premium Downloads. A seller with $34 a month in sales already recovers the difference. Core+ only makes sense if you buy Core for the profile features and sell almost nothing.
One more reason the bottom of the table matters: without Core, DeviantArt caps any single sale at $100. A $150 half body cannot be listed as an Original at all. For an artist pricing at a living rate, the cap forces the purchase before the fee math even starts, and our guide to art commission prices shows why most serious price sheets cross $100 by the second tier.
What changed for commission artists in July 2026
Before July, commissions carried a 0% platform fee on every Core tier. A Core Pro artist selling four $150 commissions a month paid only processing and the membership, about $30.53 a month. The same four pieces sold as Originals at 10% now cost $90.53 a month, an extra $720 a year for identical work. On Core+ the jump is $90 a month, because Originals there take 15%.
That is the real reason the Core question is back. If your commission buyers are DeviantArt members who find you through the site, the answer is usually to move up to Core Pro+ and accept 5%. If your buyers came from Instagram, X, Discord or search and DeviantArt was only the checkout, paying a membership plus a percentage for a checkout is the expensive option. Our page on where DeviantArt commissions go now has a calculator that runs your own price and volume through both.
DeviantArt Core vs selling commissions on your own page
Here is the full yearly cost of selling Originals on each tier, against a FreelanceNation gig page plan with card processing included at Stripe's US rate of 2.9% and $0.30, since our marketplace fee is billed separately from the payment. Average order $150.
| Where you sell | $200 a month in sales | $600 a month | $1,500 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeviantArt, no Core (orders over $100 not allowed) | $568.80 | $1,706.40 | $4,266.00 |
| DeviantArt Core+ | $528.80 | $1,426.40 | $3,446.00 |
| DeviantArt Core Pro | $428.80 | $1,086.40 | $2,566.00 |
| DeviantArt Core Pro+ | $358.80 | $776.40 | $1,716.00 |
| FreelanceNation Starter | $374.40 | $907.20 | $2,106.00 |
| FreelanceNation Pro | $422.40 | $811.20 | $1,686.00 |
| FreelanceNation Studio | $734.40 | $1,027.20 | $1,686.00 |
The honest read: Core Pro+ is the cheapest way to sell on DeviantArt, and the cheapest row in the whole table from about $146 a month up to about $1,083 a month. Below $146 our Starter plan costs less; above $1,083 our Pro plan does. Against Core Pro and Core+, a gig page costs less at almost any volume (our Starter plan beats Core Pro above $25.64 a month and Core+ above $30.70). So fees alone rarely decide this. What decides it is where your buyers come from and whether you need DeviantArt's audience to find them.
What does DeviantArt charge without Core?
Without Core, DeviantArt takes 20% on everything you sell, from Originals to Premium Downloads, plus 3.5% and $0.30 processing, and limits each sale to $100. A $100 Original pays you $76.20 and a $50 sketch pays $37.95. That is workable for occasional small sales and nothing more, which is why no-Core sellers who outgrow sketches end up choosing between a membership and a different checkout.
Which DeviantArt Core tier should a seller buy?
- Selling under $83 a month, all under $100: no Core. A membership will not pay for itself.
- Under $83 a month, but some pieces over $100: you need a membership for the cap. Core+ below $33 a month in sales, Core Pro from $33 to $83.
- Above about $83 a month in Originals: Core Pro+, the lowest fee at the lowest price that carries it.
- Need sale prices above $10,000: Core Max. Nobody else should pay the extra $50 a year for fees.
- Buyers come from outside DeviantArt: price the same volume on a page you own before renewing.
Whichever way you go, the commission menu matters more than the tier. Artists who leave DeviantArt usually lose discovery first, so the move works best when the finished pieces keep going out: repurposing one finished piece into posts for every channel keeps a new commission page fed without doubling your posting time. To set up fixed tiers clients can order from, see how a gig page works on sell art commissions, and compare every platform's cut on the same order in art commission sites compared by fee. If you collect payment yourself, our PayPal for art commissions page shows what each payment method costs.