Picsart launched monetization for all creators — no audience thresholds

Picsart launched an open monetization program called "Earn with Picsart" — without a whitelist and without thresholds for subscriber count. The platform will pay authors based on audience engagement, not the size of their subscriber base.

How the new program works

Most monetization programs for creators work by similar logic: the larger the audience, the higher the income. YouTube pays with a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 viewing hours per year. TikTok Creator Fund has earned a reputation as a platform with extremely low payment rates.

Instagram Reels Bonus has never become available to most creators outside the US. Picsart offers a fundamentally different scheme: compensation depends on engagement — how actively the audience interacts with the creator's content. Likes, saves, template downloads, content reuse — all of this affects payments.

In theory, a small account with high engagement can earn more than a large account with a passive audience. The program is open to all 150+ million registered Picsart users. No invite list, no pre-registration required.

• Rewards are calculated based on engagement metrics, not reach
• No minimum threshold for subscriber count
• No invitations — any user can participate
• Potential program audience — 150+ million people
• Works with both graphic content and creators' AI tools

Context: AI marketplace in March

"Earn with Picsart" is a continuation of the strategy the company is consistently implementing in 2026. In March, Picsart launched an AI agents marketplace where creators could publish and sell their own tools, templates, and AI presets. This was the first step toward creating a full economy around the platform. Now monetization extends beyond direct asset sales. Authors can earn not only by selling their work, but simply by having their content resonate. Users download a template — the creator receives a share of the payout. The more active the engagement, the higher the income.

A comparison with competitors shows how non-standard this approach is. Canva monetizes designers through Canva Marketplace, but access is limited. Adobe Stock focuses on professional photographers and illustrators. Picsart is betting on a broad mobile audience — people without professional background who create content for personal and local needs.

Why this is interesting for niche creators

The program potentially opens opportunities for a category of creators that major platforms traditionally ignore: niche creators with small but engaged audiences. Consider a designer who creates templates for wedding invitations, cafe decoration, or holiday posters. Their audience consists of several thousand people in a specific niche.

But each of them regularly downloads and uses the templates. By Picsart's logic, exactly this kind of creator deserves monetization — even without a hundred-thousand-strong subscriber base. This is the concept of the "long tail" applied to creator economy: a huge number of small creators, each producing sought-after content in their niche.

Together, they form a significant portion of consumed content, but virtually never get paid for it on existing platforms. If Picsart can monetize this segment, the company will gain a powerful tool for audience retention.

What this means

Picsart is changing its positioning: from a mobile photo editor to a full-fledged ecosystem for creators with a real economy. The key question is how tangible the payouts will prove in practice. If the figures are competitive, the program can attract a large wave of niche creators and shift the balance of power among design platforms.