Price customs from a base rate that covers your shooting and editing time, then add for length, complexity, rush turnaround, and anything outside your normal content. Charge a deposit before you start, quote a firm scope in writing, and treat every custom as a small paid project, not a favor.
A pricing formula that pays for your time
Most creators price customs by guessing a number that feels okay, then quietly resent the hours it takes. The fix is to build the price from your actual costs. The biggest cost is your time, and customs eat more of it than regular content because each one is a one off shoot, edit, and back and forth conversation. Use a simple formula you can apply in seconds.
A custom is not a tip with homework. It is a commissioned project, and it should be priced like one.
- Base rate. Your minimum to open a custom at all. It covers setup, the conversation, editing, and delivery even for a short clip.
- Time add. A per minute rate for finished length. A ten minute custom costs more than a three minute one because it is more to shoot and cut.
- Complexity add. Outfits, props, locations, scripts, specific scenarios, or anything you do not already have set up.
- Rush add. A flat surcharge, often twenty five to fifty percent, when a fan wants it faster than your normal turnaround.
- Boundary premium. If a request is near the edge of what you offer, the right price is one that makes it worth your while, or a polite no.
Run every quote through the stack and you will stop underpricing by habit. Remember that the platform takes its cut on top of this. On OnlyFans and Fansly the fee is a flat twenty percent of everything you earn, customs included, so a 100 dollar custom nets you 80 dollars before your own costs. Price with that twenty percent in mind, the same math we use in how pay per view pricing works.
Sample custom price tiers
These ranges are illustrative starting points, not a rate card to copy. Customs vary enormously by niche, audience, and what you offer, so treat the numbers as a structure to adapt. The point is the laddering, not the exact figures.
| Tier | What it covers | Illustrative range |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Short clip, simple request, your standard setup | Your base rate, often a low two figure floor |
| Standard | Medium length, a named scenario, one outfit or prop | Base plus time and one complexity add |
| Premium | Longer, scripted, specific outfit or location | Base plus several adds, priced as a project |
| Rush | Any tier delivered faster than normal | The tier price plus a flat rush surcharge |
Publish a short custom menu so fans self select and you stop negotiating from zero each time. A clear menu also pairs well with a tip menu and your higher tier upsell ladder.
The intake to delivery workflow
Pricing is half the battle. The other half is a workflow that keeps customs from swallowing your week. Use the same five steps every time so nothing slips and no order lives only in your memory.
- Quote and confirm. Restate the request, the length, the price, and the turnaround in writing. Nothing starts until the fan agrees to those four.
- Take the deposit. Collect payment, or at least a deposit, before you shoot. This single step removes most ghosting.
- Log the order. Add it to a simple tracker: fan, request, price, paid status, due date, delivered status.
- Produce in a batch. Group customs with similar setups into one shoot day, the same logic as batching content to save time.
- Deliver and close. Send the finished custom, confirm receipt, mark it delivered, and ask if they would like to commission again.
Keep the tracker somewhere you will actually look. A spreadsheet is plenty to start, and it doubles as a record at tax time, which connects to handling invoices and custom orders.
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How to stop scope creep before it starts
Scope creep is the quiet profit killer of custom work. A fan asks for a small change, then another, and the ten minute job becomes an hour. The defense is the written quote. Anything inside the agreed scope is included. Anything beyond it is a new quote, priced from the same stack. Say it warmly and plainly: you are happy to add that, here is what it would bring the total to. Deposits do the rest of the work, because a paid order is a serious order.
Handling refunds and chargebacks honestly
Customs carry real refund and chargeback risk because they are personal and a disappointed buyer may dispute the charge. Protect yourself by delivering exactly what was agreed, keeping your written confirmation, and being responsive. If a fan is unhappy within reason, a reshoot is often cheaper than a chargeback, which can cost you the payout plus a fee and can count against your processor standing. Build the rare refund into your pricing rather than pretending it never happens. For the wider pattern, see reducing refunds and chargebacks.
- Build custom prices from a stack: base rate, time, complexity, rush, and a boundary premium.
- Always take a deposit and confirm scope, length, price, and turnaround in writing first.
- Run every order through the same five step workflow and log it in a tracker.
- Remember the platform takes a flat twenty percent, so price your customs net of the fee.
- Treat scope creep with new quotes and reduce chargebacks by delivering exactly what was agreed.