On hello.fan, fans pay from credits (100 credits = $1) per started 15 seconds, only while you're both connected; booked sessions are paid up front. You keep 60% of what fans pay, or 70% with a linked store.fan shop, with no monthly fee. Each earning becomes withdrawable 14 days after it is made, and payouts go to your bank through Stripe from $100, after a one-time ID check. This lesson walks through each step with examples. It explains how the platform works; it is not tax or financial advice.
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How do fans pay?
Fans never pay you directly, and you never send an invoice. On hello.fan:
- Fans buy credits before they call — 100 credits are $1. Joining is free, and as a launch offer fans get 20% extra credits on their first top-up.
- Live calls are paid from that balance per started 15 seconds, only while you're both connected. Ringing is free.
- Booked sessions are paid up front when the fan books. Weekly sessions book and pay themselves each week.
- Super Hellos (a gift with a private note) and Icebreakers (a one-line hello for 10 credits) are paid when they're sent.
Because the money is in place before the conversation starts, you never chase an unpaid bill, and a call never stops halfway to ask for a card.
How exactly is a call billed?
Your per-minute rate is split into 15-second steps, and the fan pays for every step that has started while you're connected.
Example: a voice call at 200 credits a minute costs 50 credits per 15-second step. A call that lasts 9 minutes 5 seconds uses 37 started steps: 1,850 credits, or $18.50. You keep $11.10 at 60%, or $12.95 at 70%.
The clock starts only once you're both connected. A call you don't answer, a ring the fan cancels, or a connection that never comes together costs the fan nothing — and earns you nothing either, which is one more reason to go offline when you can't pick up.
How much of each payment do you keep?
You keep 60% of what fans pay, or 70% while your store.fan shop is linked to your page. hello.fan keeps the rest to run the calls, payments, safety tools and payouts. There is no monthly fee and no charge for having a page.
| Example | Fan pays | You keep at 60% | At 70% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15-minute video call at 300 credits/min | 4,500 credits ($45) | $27 | $31.50 |
| 30-minute booked session at 3,000 credits | $30 | $18 | $21 |
| Weekly 30-minute session at 2,500 credits × 4 | $100 | $60 | $70 |
| One Icebreaker | 10 credits ($0.10) | $0.06 | $0.07 |
These are examples built from real hello.fan prices, not a forecast of what you'll earn. The simple formula is your rate × the minutes people spend with you × your share; try your own numbers in the earnings calculator and read the real math for what moves them.
What is the 14-day hold?
Every earning becomes withdrawable 14 days after it is made. It's a rolling clock, not a monthly cycle: each call, booking or gift starts its own 14 days.
Example: what you earn from a call on 1 October can be withdrawn from 15 October; what you earn on 10 October, from 24 October. After your first two weeks, money from your earlier calls becomes available day by day.
Holds like this are common on platforms that take card payments: they give time for refunds and payment disputes to surface before money leaves the platform. Plan for it — the money from this week's calls is money for the week after next.
How do payouts work?
- Check your ID once. A one-time ID check is required before your first payout. Once it's done, your page shows a blue Verified badge — a trust signal for fans as well.
- Connect your bank through Stripe. hello.fan pays creators through Stripe, straight to their bank account.
- Reach $100 withdrawable. Withdrawals start at $100 of earnings that are past their 14-day hold.
- Request your payout. Your share is sent to your bank through Stripe.
Do the ID check and the Stripe setup early, while your first earnings are still on hold, so nothing waits on paperwork when you reach $100.
How does the referral bonus add up?
If you invite other creators, hello.fan pays you an extra 10% of what each of them earns during their first 12 months. It is paid by hello.fan and never taken from the creator you invited — their share stays exactly the same. It is a limited-time launch offer with no end date announced.
Example: if a creator you invited earns $300 from their calls in a month, you receive an extra $30 that month. Invite people you'd genuinely recommend: a tutor friend, a coach from your gym, a creator whose followers keep asking to talk.
What records should you keep?
This course can't give tax or financial advice — the rules depend on where you live and your situation. What every creator can do:
- Keep a simple record of each payout you receive and when.
- Remember that what fans pay is not what you receive: plan with your share.
- If you're unsure how earnings from calls are treated where you live, ask a qualified local adviser before your first payout, not after the year ends.
What are the most common money mistakes?
- Planning with the fan's price instead of your share. At 60%, a $45 call is $27 to you.
- Expecting money the same day. Each earning is withdrawable 14 days after it is made.
- Leaving the ID check and Stripe setup until the end. Do them while your first earnings are on hold.
- Taking payments off the platform. You lose fair billing, privacy, block and report, and your payout trail.
Where to go from here
That's the end of Paid Chat 101. You know what paid chat is, who you're for, what to charge, where to share your link, how to win your first callers, how to run a great call and how the money moves. The next step is the smallest one: make your free page, set three prices and go online for an evening. If you'd like to compare platforms first, see the 2026 ranking; for every hello.fan detail on one page, see the fact sheet.