Custom VTuber Badges & Icons: Commission Pricing Guide

A custom VTuber badge and icon commission is a bounded illustration job: a tiered set of subscriber loyalty badges exported to each platform's exact pixel specs. Typical scoped sets in this guide price at $35-$60 per badge, or $105-$480 for a 3-8 badge set, before rush fees, extra revision rounds, rights upgrades, and platform fees.

Price the set as a defined package — badge count, export sizes, revision limit, commercial-use terms, and turnaround — rather than as an open-ended "make me some art" request, the same bounded-scope logic that applies to pricing a single custom comic page commission. Badge sets are frequently commissioned in a batch alongside emotes when a channel launches or hits a subscriber milestone, though no platform publishes commission-volume data, so treat any claim about how often VTuber badge sets are ordered as an unverified market impression.

What is included in a VTuber badge commission?

A VTuber badge commission covers a tiered set of subscriber loyalty badges — commonly three to eight icons marking subscription-length milestones — drawn around one mascot, color, or prop motif so the set reads as one family in chat. Each badge ships in every export size the destination platform requires, and the tier count follows that platform's unlocked slots.

Twitch's subscriber badge specification requires three exported PNG files per badge, at 18×18, 36×36, and 72×72 pixels. Because Twitch requires three files per badge, a six-badge Twitch set is an 18-file delivery, and the per-badge rate should be quoted against three exports rather than one.

"You must upload the image in three different sizes: 18px x 18px, 36px x 36px, and 72px x 72px. The image must be uploaded in the PNG format." — Twitch Help, Subscriber Badge Guide

The badges usually reuse or riff on the VTuber's existing model or mascot rather than introducing a new character, since the point is recognizability in chat, not a standalone illustration — a much smaller edit than a full VRChat avatar edit versus a full custom build, which touches the base model itself. Some commissions bundle in matching bit/cheer icons or a channel-point icon set, a separate deliverable with its own size rules that should be priced as an add-on rather than assumed included.

Badges only exist once a channel is monetized, so confirm the client's status before quoting. Twitch Help lists four requirements to join the Affiliate Program: 25 followers, 4 hours streamed, 4 different stream days, and an average of 3 viewers. A pre-Affiliate VTuber can commission art but cannot upload a single subscriber badge yet, which is a reason to sell that client a profile or emote set first.

How many badges does a VTuber actually need?

Badge count follows the destination platform's documented slot structure, not a market convention. YouTube publishes a fixed list of membership badge durations and caps a channel at six membership levels, while Twitch grants badge slots that expand with monetization tenure, so a new channel commissions its lower tiers first and buys higher tiers later.

YouTube's memberships Help page states that "there are 8 different badges," each tied to how long someone has been an active paid member. The same YouTube Help page lists nine duration labels — New, 1 month, 2 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years — so YouTube's own count sentence and its own list do not match. The likeliest reading is that the count of 8 excludes the "New" entry state, but YouTube does not say so explicitly, so confirm the exact number of uploadable slots inside the channel's own membership dashboard before quoting a tier count.

YouTube also caps how many paid tiers a channel can run: "You can create up to 6 membership levels". A YouTube client asking for a badge per membership level therefore has a hard ceiling of six level-specific designs, which is a useful number to quote against when a brief says "one for every tier."

Twitch allocates badge slots by monetization tenure rather than granting a fixed lifetime set. Twitch Help states that "Monetized streamers begin with badge slots up to 1 year. Partners begin with badge slots up to 10 years" (Twitch Help), and describes the growth rule directly:

"As your tenure grows, you will unlock more badge slots. You will unlock one year of badge slots longer than your current monetization tenure with Twitch." — Twitch Help, Subscriber Badge Guide

Because Twitch unlocks one year of badge slots beyond a channel's current monetization tenure, a brand-new Twitch Affiliate has no 5-year badge slot to fill, which is the practical reason to sell a starter set now and a matched expansion later.

The phasing table below is a design and commissioning recommendation — which badges to draw first — not a platform requirement. YouTube's duration labels are fixed by YouTube regardless of how many badges a client commissions at once, and Twitch's ceiling is set by tenure, so both platforms allow a client to fill lower tiers first and buy higher tiers later.

What sizes and file formats do the badges need?

Badge specs differ by platform, so a set built for Twitch is not automatically valid on YouTube or Discord. Twitch requires three transparent PNG exports per badge at 18, 36, and 72 pixels; YouTube accepts a single JPEG or PNG of at least 32×32 pixels under 1 MB; Discord caps each custom emoji file at 256KB. Confirm the destination platform before starting art.

YouTube's channel memberships documentation lists the badge specification as JPEG or PNG, under 1 MB, minimum 32px × 32px. The same YouTube Help page states the rendered display sizes, which is the number that actually governs whether a design survives:

"Badges render at 14px x 14px in comments and the Posts tab. In live chat, badges render at 16px x 16px." — YouTube Help, Create or manage your YouTube channel's memberships levels & perks

A YouTube membership badge renders at just 14×14 pixels in comments and 16×16 pixels in live chat, which is smaller than the 18×18-pixel minimum export Twitch requires, so silhouette and contrast matter more than interior detail on either platform.

Discord's custom emoji specification is different again. Discord Support states that a custom emoji file must stay under 256KB in JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WEBP format, and that "every server can add up to 50 static custom emojis by default," with servers on Nitro or Nitro Basic able to add another 50. Discord's Server Boosting FAQ documents the boosted ceilings as +50 emoji slots (100 total) and +100 emoji slots (250 total) at higher boost levels (Discord Support, Server Boosting FAQ), so a Discord brief is capped by slots, not by badge tenure.

Treat a Discord-emoji brief and a Twitch-badge brief as separate line items even when one client requests both. For badge-adjacent emote work, see how much to charge for Twitch emotes.

How should a VTuber badge set be priced?

Price a badge set as a per-badge rate multiplied by the tier count, with every required export size folded into that rate rather than billed as an add-on, and publish the price, revision count, commercial-use terms, and turnaround before a buyer orders. Every dollar figure below is illustrative arithmetic from stated assumptions, not a surveyed market rate.

Anchor the quote to what the badges are worth to the channel rather than to an hourly guess. A Tier 1 Twitch subscription costs $5.99 per month on the web in the United States, and Twitch Help states that "the standard subscription revenue split for Affiliates is 50/50 between you and Twitch" (Twitch Help, Affiliate Program FAQ) — about $3.00 a month per Tier 1 subscriber at that documented split.

At the documented $5.99 Tier 1 price and 50/50 Affiliate split (Twitch Help, Local Subscription Pricing by Country and Twitch Help, Affiliate Program FAQ), an illustrative $240 six-badge set is recovered by roughly 80 Tier 1 subscriber-months — a number an artist can put in a pitch instead of arguing about price in a DM.

The 50/50 split is not universal. Twitch's Plus Program pays qualifying Affiliates and Partners an enhanced net revenue share at Level 1 (60/40) or Level 2 (70/30) (Twitch Help, Plus Program), which raises the channel's share of a $5.99 Tier 1 subscription from about $3.00 to roughly $3.59 or $4.19 at the Tier 1 price Twitch publishes.

The package table below lists illustrative prices, not a rate card or a guarantee. Each illustrative price assumes a per-badge rate of $35-$60, one revision round per badge, flat PNG or JPEG exports at every size the platform requires, non-exclusive commercial use on the client's own channel, and no layered source files.

Every pricing assumption moves the number. Raising the revision allowance from one round to three, adding a second platform's export set, or granting exclusive rights instead of non-exclusive channel use are the three changes most likely to double the hours without changing the badge count.

Size the emote half of a bundle against the client's actual slot count, which Twitch publishes. Twitch Help states that "Affiliates receive immediate access to 5 emote slots," with more unlocked at subscriber-point milestones (Twitch Help, Emote Slots), while Twitch's Partner Program overview states that "Partners can unlock up to 60 emote slots based on the total amount of subscriber points you have". A 5-slot Affiliate and a 60-slot Partner are not the same emote job, so confirm slot count before quoting a flat add-on.

Fees come off the top of a badge order. FanBell applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays, with no monthly fee, and Stripe's standard United States online card rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge (Stripe Pricing). On an illustrative $240 badge order, FanBell's published 12% fee is $28.80 and Stripe's published US card rate is $7.26, leaving roughly $204 for the artist (FanBell pricing and Stripe Pricing). Any price shown on this page is illustrative only, not a promise of what a given creator can charge or earn.

Two FanBell mechanics shape how a badge package should be listed. A FanBell Creator Service order caps its delivery window at 5 days, or 120 hours (FanBell Creator Services), which is why the badge-plus-emote bundle is sold as two separate listings rather than quoted as a single 10-day job. FanBell delivery is "a written note plus up to 5 files (video, audio, images, PDF, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint), and/or a private link (Google Drive, Loom, Dropbox…) for anything larger" — and because Twitch's three-file-per-badge rule makes a six-badge set an 18-file delivery, that set ships as one zipped archive behind a private link rather than as loose attachments.

Should badge feedback be a paid question or a full service?

Sell badge feedback as a paid question and badge production as a service. A narrow styling question — "does badge tier 3 read clearly at 18 pixels?" — fits a text-only paid question answered by text or voice, while a full badge commission needs a service listing, because reference art goes in and finished image files come back.

Do not try to deliver finished badge files through a Paid Private Question, which supports text or voice replies only and has no file or image delivery in either direction (FanBell how it works). A full badge commission belongs in a Creator Service instead. If a "quick question" turns into "can you also make the set," treat the new request as a separately priced Creator Service rather than an expansion of the question.

What should a badge commission listing spell out before payment?

A badge commission listing should state six things before payment: badge count and milestones, required export sizes, file formats, revision limit, what reference material the client must send, and what is explicitly excluded. Ambiguous listings invite scope disputes on small icon commissions, because buyer and artist can each hold a different working definition of "a badge set."

• Badge count and milestones: for example, "6 badges: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 months."
• Export sizes: name the platform — Twitch's required 18×18, 36×36 and 72×72 px PNG trio, or YouTube's minimum 32×32 px under 1 MB — so the buyer knows exactly what arrives.
• File format: transparent PNG is the only format Twitch accepts for subscriber badges; confirm separately whether the client also wants a layered source file.
• Revision limit: for example, one round of edits per badge, with additional rounds billed at a stated per-badge price.
• Reference requirements: what the client sends (existing model sheet, palette, prior badge set) before work starts.
• Exclusions: state plainly if emotes, channel-point icons, exclusive rights, or a second platform's export set are not included.

A request arriving outside the listed scope — a seventh badge tier, a rush timeline, a platform the listing never covered — can be refused rather than absorbed as free work. FanBell's Creator Services page states the rule directly: "If a request is out of scope, you can decline and refund it". FanBell's Terms of Service, section 10, carries the same rule as published policy: "Creators may reject and refund inappropriate requests".

What else can a VTuber-focused illustrator sell alongside badges?

A VTuber-focused illustrator usually needs three or four offers beside badge commissions: a personalized shoutout for milestone celebrations, tips for viewers who liked a free preview, a wishlist or project-support goal for equipment, and a separate brand-collaboration intake for agencies proposing recurring badge and emote work.

• Personalized Shoutout: a short congratulations or milestone clip for a VTuber hitting a subscriber goal.
• Tips: a way for a viewer who likes a free badge preview to support the artist without commissioning a full set.
• Wishlist / Project Support: funding toward a specific goal, such as a drawing-tablet upgrade or a rig-adjacent asset pack.
• Brand Collaboration Inquiries: a separate intake for VTuber agencies or talent management companies proposing recurring badge and emote work.

Related reading: how do VTubers make money covers the broader income mix a badge commission sits inside, and async VTuber rig troubleshooting covers the adjacent paid-support format for an existing rig rather than new badge art.

How do you take a VTuber badge commission without a marketplace listing?

Post the badge package on a link-in-bio page with the price, tier count, export sizes, and turnaround visible, so a VTuber or talent manager can order without DMing to ask. The buyer pays upfront and uploads reference material on the same page, with no marketplace application, approval queue, or open-slot announcement required.

On FanBell, a fan chooses the package, pays, and submits reference material directly on the creator's page, and the creator delivers inside the turnaround they set. FanBell requires no follower minimum and charges no monthly fee, and its 12% platform fee applies only once a fan actually pays. Selling this way replaces the marketplace queue with a published price page, which is the same information a badge buyer would otherwise extract over several DMs.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about VTuber badge commissions cover export sizes, platform differences, whether design feedback can be sold as a question, and what FanBell charges. Each answer below cites the platform's own documentation or FanBell's own published pricing, so a buyer or an artist can verify the spec before a listing goes live.

How many badge sizes does a single subscriber badge need?

Twitch requires each subscriber badge to be uploaded in three sizes — 18×18, 36×36, and 72×72 pixels — in PNG format. Price that three-file export into the per-badge rate rather than treating it as a free extra.

How many badge tiers can a Twitch channel actually use?

Twitch Help states that "Monetized streamers begin with badge slots up to 1 year. Partners begin with badge slots up to 10 years," and that a channel unlocks "one year of badge slots longer than your current monetization tenure with Twitch". Quote the tiers the client's tenure has already unlocked, then sell an expansion later.

What are YouTube's current loyalty badge specs?

YouTube's membership badge specification is JPEG or PNG, under 1 MB, minimum 32px × 32px, and badges render at 14px × 14px in comments and the Posts tab and 16px × 16px in live chat. The same page states there are 8 badges while listing nine duration labels from New through 5 years, so confirm the uploadable slot count in the channel's membership dashboard.

Can badge feedback be handled as a quick paid question instead of a full service?

A narrow styling question about an existing badge design can go through a Paid Private Question, which is text-only with a text or voice reply and no file delivery. Sending or receiving finished badge image files requires a Creator Service instead.

Do Discord emoji specs work for Twitch badges?

No. Discord custom emoji must stay under 256KB per file in JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WEBP format, and a server holds 50 static custom emojis by default, while Twitch subscriber badges require a separate PNG trio at 18×18, 36×36 and 72×72 pixels. Quote and deliver each platform's assets as distinct line items.

What does FanBell charge for a badge commission listed as a Creator Service?

FanBell is free to start with no monthly fee and applies a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays. There is no follower minimum, and Stripe's standard US card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge applies on top of the platform fee.

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