VGen does not charge artists a subscription, and it does not add a fee to the client's side. It takes a flat 5% of each commission and passes the payment processor's fee through to you. That sounds simple until you notice the fixed $0.30 per payment, the higher PayPal rate, and the payout fee outside the US, all of which move the real number. Below is every VGen fee read from VGen's own help center, a calculator, and what the same commission leaves you on the sites artists compare it with.
The short answer. VGen charges US artists a 5% service fee plus Stripe processing of 2.9% and $0.30 per payment, so a $100 commission pays you $91.80, an 8.2% total. Paid through PayPal instead, the same commission pays about $91.02. Clients pay no VGen fee, only their own currency conversion. On large commissions the total settles near 7.9%; on a $25 sketch the fixed $0.30 pushes it to 9.1%.
VGen fee calculator
Put in the commission price the client pays and pick how you get paid. The calculator uses VGen's published 5%, Stripe's 2.9% and $0.30, and PayPal's US Checkout rate of 3.49% and $0.49.
For comparison, the same price on a gig page here keeps on Starter and on Studio, with the client charged nothing extra.
How much does VGen take from a commission?
VGen takes 5% of every commission as its service fee, and the payment processor takes its own cut on top, both deducted from what the client paid before it reaches you. For a US artist on VGen Payments the processor is Stripe at 2.9% plus $0.30 per payment, and withdrawals and refund processing cost nothing. Here is what that leaves at common price points.
| Commission | You keep, Stripe | Total fee, Stripe | You keep, PayPal | Total fee, PayPal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25 sketch | $22.72 | 9.1% | $22.39 | 10.4% |
| $50 bust | $45.75 | 8.5% | $45.27 | 9.5% |
| $100 half body | $91.80 | 8.2% | $91.02 | 9.0% |
| $250 full body with background | $229.95 | 8.0% | $228.28 | 8.7% |
| $500 reference sheet | $460.20 | 8.0% | $457.06 | 8.6% |
| $1,000 model or illustration set | $920.70 | 7.9% | $914.61 | 8.5% |
The pattern is the fixed fee. $0.30 is nothing on a $1,000 VTuber model and 1.2% of a $25 sketch, which is why low-priced sketch commissions lose a larger share than anything else you sell. If most of your queue is under $30, a single bundled sketch page (three sketches for one payment) keeps more than three separate orders.
Does VGen take a cut from clients?
No. VGen's help center states that it charges artists the 5% service fee and processing, and that clients are responsible only for their own currency conversion fees. The price a client sees on your service or proposal is the price they pay, which matters when you compare VGen with Fiverr, where the client is charged a 5.5% service fee on top of the gig, plus $3.50 on orders under $200.
Is VGen cheaper with Stripe or PayPal?
Stripe, for a US artist. VGen Payments costs 2.9% plus $0.30, while a PayPal payment is billed on your own PayPal account's terms; PayPal's published US rate for a Checkout payment is 3.49% plus $0.49. On a $100 commission that is $91.80 against $91.02, and VGen notes that it cannot show you an exact fee breakdown in advance for PayPal payments. It also states there are no chargeback fees on VGen Payments. Offer PayPal only if clients ask for it.
What fees do non-US artists pay on VGen?
The same 5% and the same Stripe 2.9% plus $0.30, plus a Stripe international payout fee of 1.5% to 2.5% depending on the country. On a $100 commission that takes the $91.80 down to roughly $89.50 to $90.42. Withdrawals are still free. This page prices for US artists, and the calculator uses 2% as the midpoint when you choose another country.
VGen vs Fiverr fees for artists
VGen is far cheaper than Fiverr on every price point. Fiverr takes 20% from the seller and charges the buyer 5.5% plus $3.50 on orders under $200, so a $100 commission leaves the artist $80 while the client pays $109. On VGen the same commission leaves $91.80 and the client pays $100. The difference is buyers: Fiverr's are mostly businesses browsing categories, VGen's are mostly fans, streamers and VTubers who want character art. If you sell to both, price the business work separately, with usage included; our illustration rates guide shows how to build that client price list from hours and a usage fee.
Sites like VGen: what each one leaves on a $100 commission
The sites artists compare with VGen bunch closely on fees and differ on who buys there. This is the same $100 commission through each, with the fees each publishes.
| Site and plan | Artist keeps on $100 | Client pays | Monthly fee | Who buys there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeviantArt, without Core | $76.20 | $100.00 | None | The DeviantArt community |
| Fiverr | $80.00 | $109.00 | None | Businesses browsing categories |
| Etsy | $90.05 | $100.00 | None | Shoppers after custom portraits and products |
| VGen, PayPal | $91.02 | $100.00 | None | Fans, streamers, VTubers |
| VGen, Stripe | $91.80 | $100.00 | None | Fans, streamers, VTubers |
| Ko-fi free, Payhip Free | $91.80 | $100.00 | None | Your existing followers |
| FreelanceNation Starter | $92.00 | $100.00 | $9 | Buyers searching for a service, plus your shares |
| FreelanceNation Pro | $95.00 | $100.00 | $19 | Same |
| Ko-fi Gold | $96.80 | $100.00 | $12 | Your existing followers |
| FreelanceNation Studio | $97.00 | $100.00 | $49 | Same |
Artistree is missing on purpose: its pages returned a bot-verification wall to every method we tried, and we will not publish a secondhand fee in a table you might price from. For the full comparison at three price points, with Payhip's paid plans included, see art commission sites compared by fee.
When does a monthly plan beat VGen's 5%?
Only above a certain monthly volume, and the honest answer for many artists is that it does not. VGen costs about 7.9% plus $0.30 per order and nothing per month. A plan with a lower percentage and a monthly fee wins once the percentage saved covers the fee.
| Plan | Cost | Beats VGen above, $50 orders | Beats VGen above, $100 orders | Beats VGen above, $250 orders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ko-fi Gold | $12 a month, 0% plus processing | $240 a month | $240 a month | $240 a month |
| FreelanceNation Pro | $19 a month, 5% | $543 a month | $594 a month | $629 a month |
| FreelanceNation Studio | $49 a month, 3% | $891 a month | $942 a month | $976 a month |
| FreelanceNation Starter | $9 a month, 8% | $1,800 a month | $4,500 a month | Effectively never |
Read the last row plainly: on fees alone, our Starter plan is not cheaper than VGen, because 8% is roughly VGen's 5% plus processing. Nobody should switch to it to save money on fan commissions. Starter is for a different buyer. A marketing manager, an author or a game studio looking for an illustrator searches Google, wants fixed packages with a price and a delivery date, and will not join an artist community to place an order. That is what a gig page is built for, and the sell art commissions page shows how one is laid out in Basic, Standard and Premium tiers.
Is VGen worth the fee?
For fan, OC and VTuber commissions, yes. VGen's 5% is low for a marketplace that sends you buyers, handles the request queue and milestone payments, mediates disputes and enforces your terms, and those buyers are already looking for exactly the kind of work you do there. For commercial work it is a weaker fit, because the clients who pay for usage rights rarely look for illustrators on VGen at all.
The practical setup for most US illustrators is both: VGen for the fan queue, and a gig page for business clients priced from hours plus usage. Whichever mix you run, the fees are a business expense and the commissions are self-employment income you report yourself, so set aside part of every payout for tax and file it at year end with tax software that reads your 1099 forms. Before you set prices on either, work out what each piece needs to earn with the art commission price guide, then check the result across every platform in the freelance fee calculator.
The short version
VGen takes 5% plus processing, about $8.20 on a $100 commission for a US artist paid through Stripe, a little more through PayPal, and a larger share on sketches under $30 because of the fixed $0.30. It charges clients nothing. It beats Fiverr, Etsy and DeviantArt on fees, ties with free Ko-fi, and loses to monthly plans only at several hundred dollars a month of sales. Choose it for the buyers it brings, and sell commercial illustration where commercial buyers search.