Video Monetization
How to Monetize Videos on Your Own Website
Choose the model. Set the price. Sell from your site.
Video monetization for clubs, studios, and arts groups: find the right model for live events, programs, or replay libraries. Learn about platforms and how to sell on your site.
Live class for members
Sold directly from your websiteSell every ticket and pass on your own site
Match the Model to the Video
Choose the model for each video, not the site. A ticket works for a one-off event, while a membership suits weekly schedules. The table below helps with matching.
Set the Price and Know the Fees
Create a pricing ladder: single ticket, monthly, and yearly options. On your WooCommerce store, the card processor takes a cut from each sale.
Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card in the US.
Buyers Pay, Then They Watch
Ticket holders pay via your WooCommerce checkout and access the stream from their confirmation email. Visitors without an order can't watch, as WpStream keeps the stream closed.
Sell access to live streams and replays through your own WordPress site. Enable Lock to Website to keep the stream from playing on other sites.
Pick Your Model
Monetizing Videos: Pay-Per-View or Subscription?
For organizations, video monetization means earning from owned videos by selling access. Pay-per-view requires one payment for one event or video. A subscription means recurring payments for a program or library. The type of video decides which model to use, not the platform.
Both models can run on the same site, and the best offers often combine them.
The table below matches each video type to its model. SVOD vs. TVOD has full definitions.
WpStream has no ad support, and the pricing page lists "No Ads" for every plan. If ad revenue is your goal, WpStream isn't the right choice.
| Your video | Sell it as | Why it fits | On WpStream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your video: One-off live event (final, gala, premiere, workshop) | Sell it as: Pay-per-view ticket | Why it fits: One payment for one event: buyers "pay a specific fee to access and watch a particular event" | On WpStream: Pay-Per-View Live Channel with a price |
| Your video: Recurring program (weekly classes, a season, a series) | Sell it as: Subscription: monthly, annual or season pass | Why it fits: Members pay for the schedule, not the session (why single sessions start from zero) | On WpStream: WooCommerce Simple Subscription, with Global Subscription Mode or Attach to Subscription per program |
| Your video: Replay library | Sell it as: Inside the subscription, or pay-per-view per title | Why it fits: The library carries the weeks members miss | On WpStream: Pay-Per-View VOD made from a recording, or VOD attached to the plan |
| Your video: Live event plus its replay | Sell it as: One pay-per-view product, switched to Video on demand after the event | Why it fits: Buyers rewatch without paying again | On WpStream: Change the product type from Live stream to Video on demand |
| Your video: Program plus a special event | Sell it as: Subscription, plus a separately sold pay-per-view event | Why it fits: The season pays the bills, the final sells on its own | On WpStream: Global subscription, plus the final as a product not attached to it |
Six Pricing Models for Streams
Here are six price examples from various organizations, checked on September 26, 2026. Most sell multiple options.
Single-Game Pass
The GLVC Sports Network charges $15 for single-game pay-per-view for 2026-27. This offers a simple choice for visiting families.
Monthly Subscription
GLVC charges $32 monthly. The River Yoga in Denver offers a $29/month Stream Membership, including live classes and a library of on-demand sessions.
Season Pass
GLVC's Full Year Access Pass for the 2026-27 academic year costs $145, with an early bird rate of $135 for fans who buy by August 14.
This often brings in money before the season starts.
Short Pass
New for 2026-27, GLVC sells a 4-Day Baseball/Softball Pass for $20, offering 96 hours of access.
This suits a tournament weekend better than a monthly plan.
Performance Ticket with Replay
San Francisco Opera charges $25 per livestream performance, including a recording available for 48 hours. After that, the replay closes.
Library-Only Tier
Big Shoulders Yoga in Chicago charges $80/month for online membership with live classes. The on-demand library costs $35, and a single online class is $15.
Subscriptions Are Won or Lost
After the First Payment
Members Often Leave Each Month
Antenna's Q3'25 report shows U.S. specialty SVOD churn at 6.6% monthly, ranging from 6.6% to 9.2% since 2023. Sports SVOD churn is at 5.1%.
At these rates, programs need to keep selling just to break even.
Some Members Leave by Accident
Recurly's July 2026 benchmarks show median annual churn for digital media at 4.14%, with 1.59% being involuntary due to failed payments. Our calculations suggest failed payments lead to about 38% of churn.
Recurly's solutions include "intelligent retry logic, automated dunning emails, and Account Updater services."
The Annual Answer
A season or full-year pass is paid upfront, leading to fewer renewals that can fail. This suits fans who plan to watch every home game and prefer not to think about billing until next season.
What Does a Video Monetization Platform Take from Each Sale?
Platform fees vary. A hosted platform might take a share of each sale, charge monthly fees for subscribers, or a flat rate. Card processing fees usually apply unless stated otherwise.
Vimeo OTT Starter uses the per-subscriber model: $1 per subscriber each month. App stores charge their own cut only when selling in iOS or Android apps.
For U.S. users from June 30, 2026, Google Play charges a 10% service fee plus a 5% billing fee on auto-renewing subscriptions. A sale on your own site's checkout avoids these fees.
On your WooCommerce site, the card processor's fee is the only cut per sale, alongside a flat platform bill.
| Fee type | How it is charged | Example (vendor's own page) | Card processing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee type: Revenue share | How it is charged: A percentage of every sale | Example (vendor's own page): Patreon: 10% on the standard plan, for pages published after August 4, 2025 | Card processing: On top: 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Fee type: Per-subscriber fee | How it is charged: A monthly fee for each paying subscriber | Example (vendor's own page): Uscreen Growth: $149/month billed annually + $1.99 per subscriber | Card processing: On top |
| Fee type: Per-transaction commission | How it is charged: A percentage plus a fixed amount per purchase | Example (vendor's own page): Dacast paywall: 9.9% + $0.40 per purchase, from the Event plan ($63/month billed annually) | Card processing: Included: Dacast says the commission "factors in" processing |
| Fee type: Flat plan | How it is charged: One plan price, no cut of sales | Example (vendor's own page): WpStream: from $24/month (Lite), metered in hours; payment goes through your own WooCommerce store | Card processing: On top: your processor's fee only |
| Fee type: Card processing | How it is charged: Paid to the processor on every card sale | Example (vendor's own page): Stripe (US): 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card. PayPal Checkout (US): 3.49% + $0.49 | Card processing: This is the processing fee |
| Fee type: App-store cut | How it is charged: Only when subscriptions are sold inside an iOS or Android app | Example (vendor's own page): Apple: you receive 70% in a subscriber's first year, 85% after | Card processing: Not charged on your own site's checkout |
Buyers pay your WooCommerce store. WpStream charges hours, never a cut of tickets.
Lite
Lite: $24/month, $190/year, or $36 one-time.
100 broadcast hours, 500 viewer hours, 25 recording hours, up to 200 viewers at once, 5 live channels.
A 1-hour class watched live by 40 members uses 40 viewer hours. Twelve classes a month total 480, within Lite's 500 hours.
Plus
Plus: $59/month, $490/year, or $89 one-time.
250 broadcast, 2,000 viewer, and 100 recording hours, up to 1,000 viewers at once, 15 channels.
A home game with 250 fans exceeds Lite's 200-viewer cap, so Plus is needed. Recording hours count the video length kept in the library.
The trial
The pricing page states: "All paid plans include unrestricted PPV streaming." Start with the free trial.
Its starter resources (100 viewer, 20 broadcast, and 10 recording hours) come with every feature, including monetization.
Fair comparison
When is YouTube or a Hosted Platform Better?
To monetize on YouTube, a channel needs "1,000 subscribers with 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months" or 1,000 subscribers with 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days, per YouTube Help.
YouTube pays 70% of net revenues from channel memberships. If discovery is more important than direct sales, YouTube is the right choice.
A hosted platform is better if you lack a website or someone to run WordPress, or need native mobile and TV apps.
Uscreen's App Essentials plan includes "2 Mobile Apps (iOS & Android)." WpStream sells on your site and does not document native TV apps. Our platform comparison lists the options.
If you already sell tickets or memberships and want control over orders and prices, sell on your site with a self-hosted stream.
Sell Access to Video on WordPress in Four Steps
WooCommerce handles payments. WpStream reads orders and shows streams or replays only to buyers.
Pay-per-view needs free WooCommerce; recurring billing requires the WooCommerce Subscriptions extension, costing $279 a year on woocommerce.com. Four steps put a paid live stream on sale.
Product
Create the Pay-Per-View Product
Go to All Channels, then Add new Pay-Per-View Channel. Set Product data to Live Channel, add a price, and publish. In Channel Settings, enable "Record Live Stream" before activating the channel. For recorded classes, create new Pay-Per-View VOD from the recording or upload an .mp4 or .mov.
Subscription
Build the Membership
Create a Simple Subscription product with a price and period. For all-access, enable Global Subscription Mode and paste the product ID. For one plan per program, attach it to each channel or video.
Access
Decide What Buyers See
Before buying, visitors see the "Add To Cart" button or a message for subscription items. After purchasing, members access the stream from the confirmation email link or My Orders.
Go live
Turn the Channel On
Go live from OBS with the server and stream key or directly from the browser. Run a short test first, as test streams use broadcast hours.
After the Event
Ticket Buyers Keep the Replay
A pay-per-view live stream shows the live player only. The recording won't appear on its own. After the event, switch the product type from Live Stream to Video on Demand. Then, select the recording under "Choose Video." Everyone who bought it can rewatch without extra payment.
Some organisations offer a fixed window. For example, the San Francisco Opera gives ticket buyers 48 hours on demand.
Video unavailable. Please try again later.
Before You Open the Box Office
Here are nine steps to follow before selling your first ticket or membership:
Nine Checks Before Launch
01
Choose a model for each video using the table above. Write it down for your team.
02
Estimate viewer hours: runtime multiplied by viewers. A 1-hour class with 40 members uses 40 viewer hours. Multiply that by your monthly schedule.
03
Check your biggest night against the viewer cap. Lite allows 200 viewers; Plus allows 1,000. Size your plan for the final, not the average.
04
Install WooCommerce. Add WooCommerce Subscriptions ($279 a year) only if you sell recurring plans. A pay-per-view ticket works without it.
05
Set the price ladder: single ticket, monthly, and yearly options. Include an early bird date to encourage fans to buy now.
06
Confirm you hold the rights to stream the match, performance, and music. YouTube Help advises channels to “clear the rights” too.
07
Enable “Record Live Stream” in Channel Settings before turning on the channel. You can’t change this while the channel runs.
08
Run a short test stream and a test purchase using a non-admin account. Test streams use broadcast hours, so keep them brief.
09
After the event, publish the replay for ticket holders. Edit the not-subscribed message to guide visitors on which pass or ticket to buy.
Sell the home game before the whistle, not during it.
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See full reviewGo Deeper on Video Monetization
How To Sell Access To Live Streams On Your Website
Gate live streams using WooCommerce and WpStream. This guide covers the cost math and the recording trap.
How Do I Restrict Video Content To Paying Subscribers On WordPress?
This guide covers the order check, three access models, and a step-by-step setup for a program only paying subscribers can watch.
SVOD vs AVOD vs TVOD: Which Model Fits Your Stream?
Learn about subscription and pay-per-view models, complete with revenue benchmarks and audience thresholds to find the right fit for your program.
Questions about selling your video
No. On your own website, there’s no minimum audience size. One sold-out performance or a class of 40 members is enough to start. Subscriber thresholds apply to YouTube’s Partner Program, not to sites selling their own tickets. With WpStream, you just need a plan that covers enough viewer hours for your buyers.
Consider five items: a WpStream plan from $24 a month or $36 one-time, free WooCommerce, WooCommerce Subscriptions at $279 a year (if you sell recurring plans), card processing per sale (Stripe takes 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card in the US), and your WordPress hosting. The full cost breakdown does the math.
Yes. Run a global subscription or season pass for the weekly program. Sell the final as a separate pay-per-view product. A global subscription covers everything except unattached products. The GLVC Sports Network sells single games, months, and full-year passes side by side.
Yes. Switch the product from Live Stream to Video on Demand after the event. Everyone who bought a ticket keeps access without paying again. Turn recording on in WpStream before the channel goes live, as this setting can’t change while it runs.
Start with what members already pay in person. Then build a pricing ladder with an early bird date to encourage early sales. Big Shoulders Yoga sets its online membership price with live classes above its library-only tier. On WpStream, each rung is its own WooCommerce product.
Your ticket price competes with a subscription explains the one-off side.
Yes. The WpStream plugin runs on WordPress. Its WordPress.org listing states, “Pay-per-view requires WooCommerce.” A membership plugin like MemberPress can gate a free channel instead. If you have no website or anyone to manage one, a hosted platform may be a better fit for your organisation.
You can make it harder. Access follows the buyer’s order. The “Lock to Website” option keeps your WpStream player off other sites, while “Encrypt Video” makes on-demand files harder to download. No setting can completely stop sharing. Read about video DRM before a major event.
Viewer hours are the total watch time of everyone, both paid and free. For example, 10 viewers watching for 1 hour uses 10 viewer hours. Monthly hours reset and don’t roll over, while one-time hours don’t expire. When hours run out, the docs say a few limits “may apply” until you top up.
Ready when you are
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