---
title: "Price your minutes: video, voice and chat | Paid Chat 101"
url: https://paidchatplatform.com/learn/price-your-minutes/
language: en
publisher: Premiums Only LLC (the company behind hello.fan)
---

Lesson 3 of 7

# Price your minutes: video, voice and chat

[Paid Chat 101](https://paidchatplatform.com/learn/) 7 min read

Set three per-minute prices that go down in order — video highest, voice the same or lower, chat the same or lower again (chat may even be free) — and choose numbers that make a short first call an easy yes. On hello.fan prices run from 50 to 5,000 credits a minute, 100 credits are $1, fans pay per started 15 seconds only while you're both connected, and you keep 60%, or 70% with a linked store.fan shop. Start a little lower than you think, then raise prices when your hours fill up.

Key takeaways
- Rates run from 50 to 5,000 credits a minute; 100 credits are $1.
- Fans pay per started 15 seconds, only while you're both connected — ringing is free.
- Keep prices in order: video ≥ voice ≥ chat. Chat may be free.
- Price booked sessions as a total and plan with your share: 60%, or 70% with a linked store.fan shop.
- Start a little lower, then raise one price at a time when your hours fill up.

## How does per-minute pricing work on hello.fan?

You set a separate rate for each kind of call — video, voice and chat — in credits per minute. Fans buy credits (100 credits = $1), so a rate of 300 credits a minute costs the fan $3 a minute. You can switch any kind of call off.

Two rules make per-minute pricing fair for both sides:

- **Ringing is free.** Billing starts only once you are both connected, and it stops when the call ends.

- **Fans pay per started 15 seconds,** not per started minute. Nobody pays for a minute they didn't use.

**Example:** at 300 credits a minute, each 15-second step costs 75 credits. A call that lasts 6 minutes 20 seconds uses 26 started steps, so the fan pays 1,950 credits ($19.50). You keep $11.70 at 60%, or $13.65 at 70%. A 40-second question at the same rate is 3 steps: 225 credits ($2.25).

That is why short calls work so well on a paid chat platform: a fan can try you for a minute without committing to an hour.

## Why should video cost the most and chat the least?

Because each step up includes the one below it. A video call has your face, your voice and the in-call chat. A voice call has your voice and the chat. A chat call has text only. Pricing them in that order — **video ≥ voice ≥ chat** — is what fans expect, and hello.fan keeps your prices in that order. Equal prices are fine: some creators charge the same for video and voice because the conversation is the product, not the camera.

Chat is the one kind of call you may offer for free. A free chat can be a gentle door for shy first-timers, who then move to a paid voice or video call. It can also fill your time with conversations that never turn paid. If you try it, watch what happens and switch it back to a price if it isn't leading anywhere.

## What should your first prices be?

There is no single right number — it depends on your niche, your audience and what your time is worth elsewhere. These example ladders show how the order works in practice. "You keep" is for a 15-minute video call.

| Example ladder | Video | Voice | Chat | 15-min video call | You keep (60% / 70%) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | 150 | 100 | 50 or free | $22.50 | $13.50 / $15.75 |
| Standard | 300 | 200 | 100 | $45 | $27 / $31.50 |
| Expert | 600 | 400 | 200 | $90 | $54 / $63 |
| Specialist | 1,500 | 1,000 | 500 | $225 | $135 / $157.50 |

Prices in credits per minute; these are illustrations, not recommendations for your market. For worked examples by niche — tutors, coaches, musicians, experts and creators — read [how to price your first paid call](https://paidchatplatform.com/blog/how-to-price-your-first-paid-call/), and try your own numbers in the [earnings calculator](https://paidchatplatform.com/earnings-calculator/).

## How do you turn a per-minute rate into something you can compare?

Most of us think in hours. A quick conversion helps you check whether a rate feels right next to what you charge elsewhere:

| Rate (credits/min) | Fan pays per minute | Per hour of talking |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 50 | $0.50 | $30 |
| 100 | $1 | $60 |
| 200 | $2 | $120 |
| 300 | $3 | $180 |
| 500 | $5 | $300 |
| 1,000 | $10 | $600 |

Two things to keep in mind. First, per-minute calls are often short, so a high hourly equivalent doesn't mean a big bill for the fan — a five-minute call at 300 credits is $15. Second, you keep your share of the price, not all of it: at 60%, a rate of 100 credits a minute is worth $36 to you per hour of talking; at 70%, $42.

## How should you price booked and weekly sessions?

Booked sessions have a fixed length and a fixed price, are placed inside your working hours and are paid up front. Think of the total, not the minute: "a 30-minute lesson is 3,000 credits ($30)" is easier for a fan to judge than a rate.

There are two sensible ways to set that total:

- **A little above your per-minute rate**, when you prepare for the session or reserve time that could have gone to instant calls — a portfolio review, a mock interview.

- **At or a little below it**, when the fan commits to a longer slot or a weekly rhythm and the session is easy for you to run — conversation practice, a regular check-in.

**Example:** a weekly 30-minute session at 2,500 credits ($25) costs the fan $100 over four weeks. You keep $60 at 60%, or $70 at 70%. Weekly sessions book and pay themselves, which is why tutors and coaches like them. [Pay per minute or paid bookings?](https://paidchatplatform.com/blog/pay-per-minute-vs-paid-bookings/) compares the two models in depth.

## Small prices around your calls

Two smaller payments arrive alongside your calls, and you don't set either of them:

- **Icebreaker** — a one-line hello a fan can send for 10 credits, even while you're offline. You reply once.

- **Super Hello** — a gift with a private note. You reply once.

They are small, but they keep fans in touch with you between calls — and a fan who said hello is often the next one to call.

## When should you change your prices?

Treat your first prices as a starting point. Signs it may be time to raise them:

- You're often already in a call when someone else tries to reach you.

- Your bookable times fill up ahead.

- The same people come back again and again.

Signs your prices may be a barrier: people visit your page (Lesson 4 shows how to see visits from your link) but rarely call, or they send Icebreakers asking about cost. In that case, try lowering voice or chat first and keep video where it is.

Change one price at a time, give it a week or two, and tell your regulars before a booked or weekly price changes.

## What are the most common pricing mistakes?

- **Pricing like a veteran on day one.** Let your first calls earn the higher rate.

- **Pricing so low it looks like you don't value your time.** A price also says something about quality.

- **Charging more for voice than for video.** It confuses fans — and hello.fan won't save prices out of order.

- **Forgetting your share.** Plan with what you keep, not with what the fan pays.

Do this today
Write down three prices in credits per minute — video, voice and chat, in that order — and check what a 15-minute video call would earn you in the earnings calculator.

[(← Previous lesson)**Find your niche and your offer**](https://paidchatplatform.com/learn/find-your-niche-and-offer/)[(Next lesson →)**Your link and where to put it**](https://paidchatplatform.com/learn/your-link-and-where-to-put-it/)

**Written by the PaidChatPlatform team**
PaidChatPlatform is published by Premiums Only LLC, the company behind hello.fan. We recommend hello.fan, describe other services fairly from their public information, and don't publish ratings, reviews or testimonials we can't stand behind.

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