Discord Server Subscriptions Requirements: The Full Checklist
To enable Server Subscriptions, Discord requires you to be the server owner, at least 18, based in the United States with a US bank account and US identification for Stripe, with a verified email, Two-Factor Authentication enabled, and an account in good standing. Your server needs Community enabled, MFA set up for moderation, and content that isn't primarily NSFW. Revenue splits 90/10: you keep 90% of every subscription, Discord takes 10%. Those are the requirements as Discord documents them in its creator help center, and the US rule is the one that surprises most people.
Notice what the list doesn't contain: a member count. TikTok gates monetization at 10,000 followers and Twitch Affiliate at 50, while Server Subscriptions has no numeric threshold at all. A 40-member server can technically switch it on. Whether anyone pays is a different problem, and that's where size enters the picture. This page walks the checklist, the tier and payout mechanics, and the two other ways servers make money on Discord when the official gate stays closed.
The eligibility checklist, item by item
Discord splits the requirements between your account and your server, and all of them have to be true at once.
- Server owner. Admins can help manage tiers later, but only the owner can enable monetization, which happens through the Developer Portal under your server's settings.
- 18 or older. Fixed, the same bar as every other monetization surface.
- US-based, with a US bank account and US ID for Stripe. Payouts run through Stripe, and Discord's creator documentation lists US residency plus US banking as a hard requirement. Owners outside the US are locked out of the official program entirely, which is why the sponsorship route below matters.
- Verified email and 2FA. Both mandatory. Once you have published subscription tiers, Discord will not let you remove 2FA.
- Account in good standing. No active Terms or Guidelines violations, no safety strike in the past 30 days, no fraud or suspicious-activity flags, and no unpaid balances owed to Discord.
- Server conditions. Community must be enabled, moderation actions must require MFA, and the server can't be built primarily around NSFW content. What you sell also has to clear Discord's Monetization Policy, which bans monetizing gambling, dating, political campaigning, charity fundraising, and a long list of other categories.
One honest note on the US rule. Discord has signaled interest in expanding availability, and you'll find third-party posts claiming a wider rollout, but the creator help center still lists US residency as the requirement as of this writing. Check the eligibility section of Discord's own Server Monetization article before you plan around anything looser.
Tier mechanics and the payout math
Once monetization is on, you create between one and three paid tiers. Each tier gates access: you can make specific channels subscriber-only, which Discord calls its most popular setup, or paywall the whole server so every member pays to get in. Perks attach to tiers as roles, exclusive channels, and optional Premium Emoji, and you can run free trials to soften the entry price.
The money works like this. Discord keeps 10% of every subscription and one-time purchase and you keep 90%, with payment processing fees shaved off before the final number lands. Servers are reviewed at the end of each month. Your first payout unlocks once you've earned at least $100 total, and after that the bar drops to $25 per cycle. Run the numbers on a small server: twenty subscribers on a $4.99 tier gross about $100 a month, which clears the first-payout threshold in month one and pays out the month after.
The three routes to money on Discord
Subscriptions are the official route, but they're not the only one, and the requirements differ enough that most servers end up running two of these at once.
| Route | Requirement | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Server Subscriptions | US-based owner, 18+, 2FA, good standing, no member minimum | 90% of each subscription, first payout at $100 earned |
| Sponsorships | No Discord gate. Sponsors price on member count and activity | Negotiated flat fee per post or campaign, paid directly |
| Server Discovery | 1,000 members, Community enabled, clean moderation record | No direct payout; a free stream of members that feeds the other two |
Read the middle column closely. The official route checks who you are, sponsors check how big and active your server is, and Discovery checks a straight member count. Each route responds to a different lever.
Sponsorships price on member count
If the US requirement rules you out, or you'd rather not paywall your community, sponsorships are how most servers earn. Brands and projects pay for a pinned announcement, a dedicated channel, an event, or a role mention, and the rate card is built almost entirely on two numbers: total members and visible activity. A 5,000-member server with a live general chat commands real fees. A 300-member server gets ignored, since nobody sponsors an empty room. There's no application and no platform cut, so this route scales with the same growth work you'd be doing anyway. Our guide on how to grow a Discord server covers the engine that feeds it.
The 1,000-member Discovery flywheel
Server Discovery is Discord's built-in search and browse directory, and its headline requirement is 1,000 members, alongside an enabled Community setting, a clean moderation record, and some age on the server. Crossing 1,000 is the closest thing Discord has to a monetization threshold in practice, because listing turns your server into a destination people find on their own. Free members arrive daily, those members raise activity, activity raises sponsorship rates and subscription conversions, and the flywheel keeps turning without ad spend. We broke down the full listing criteria in our Server Discovery guide.
Where bought members fit, honestly
Bought members move exactly two of the numbers above: the Discovery count and the size a visitor or sponsor sees when they land on your server. Those are real, mechanical effects. A server sitting at 600 members can buy Discord members and cross the 1,000 line in days. On FastSocial, 100 members cost $7, 500 cost $10, and 1,000 cost $17, with smaller packs from $4 for topping up. The full comparison of options is in our best place to buy Discord members post.
Here's the part sellers skip. Purchased members don't chat and they don't subscribe, so subscription revenue only ever comes from real people who joined for the content. Buying works as scaffolding: it gets you past the count-based gates and makes the server read as established, and the humans who then find you through Discovery or an invite are the ones who pay. A padded server with a dead chat converts nobody, so pair any purchase with the activity work, or skip it.
The bottom line
The requirements as Discord documents them: server owner, 18 or older, US-based with US banking for Stripe, verified email, 2FA, good standing, Community enabled, and content that clears the Monetization Policy. Discord keeps 10%, you keep 90%, and the first check needs $100 earned. If you qualify, turn subscriptions on early, since there's no member minimum and the tier setup costs nothing. If you don't, sponsorships and Discovery carry the earning load, and both of those reward one thing above all: a server big enough and alive enough to matter. Member packages are on the Discord members page.
Sources: Discord documents Server Subscriptions eligibility, the 90/10 revenue split, and payout thresholds in its Server Monetization article for creators. Account-level eligibility rules and prohibited content categories are listed in the Discord Monetization Policy.