Creator Economy Salary Data for Discord, Patreon, and More Startups

Karat Financial, a fintech upstart that created a payment card for content creators, told BI in June that it raised $70 million via a $40 million Series B and $30 million debt financing raise, for example.

Unlike in 2020 when time spent on social media surged and creator upstarts pitched themselves as runaway-growth businesses, companies today are operating with more humility.

“We understand the skepticism, and we’re not approaching this as, ‘Look at this sexy story and look at the sizzle,'” said Justin Kenna, CEO of GameSquare, which in October announced it planned to acquire esports company FaZe Clan. “How do we de-risk this? To me, that is pulling out costs, creating runway, plugging in our infrastructure, and really working closely with the founders on re-engaging audience and the brand.”

The decision to join a creator startup comes with risk. At least 20 creator-economy companies, including Jellysmack, Patreon, and Substack, have laid off employees in the past couple of years as they’ve responded to a broader economic downturn. 

But the upside can also be large, as getting in early at a company that offers equity options can pay out down the road.  

To see how much jobs in the creator economy pay, BI analyzed salary data from 176 US work-visa applications between October 2021 and September 2023.

The pay data includes salaries ranging from a data scientist position that offers $170,000 per year at Discord to a staff engineer role that earns $250,000 or more at Patreon. The salaries tended to vary by location, with many of the jobs based in California and New York where pay levels are typically higher than other parts of the country, and a handful based in Texas.

The data has limitations. It includes only base salaries and not other forms of compensation like stock options. It only covers US-based jobs for which the companies sought to hire through work visas, which can be few and far between at smaller companies and skew toward tech jobs. Some of the creator-economy companies had pay data for only one role.

Still, the data offers insight into salary levels across the creator economy.

The pay is largely competitive with what larger platforms like TikTok and Snap offer. For instance, senior software engineers at TikTok and parent company ByteDance earned $180,000 to $230,000 per year (or more depending on the specialty), which is comparable to what companies like Discord and Teachable offered, according to the data.

Here’s a breakdown of what the companies offered for certain roles:

At Discord, a data scientist would make $170,000 or more

Discord is a social platform that lets users chat and stream audio or video. The platform is a popular community tool for creative communities such as gamers, K-Pop stans, NFT projects, and content creators.

In 2021, the platform reported it had 140 million monthly active users.

Here are annual salaries for various jobs at Discord: 

• Art Director, Graphic Design: $132,870
• Data Science Manager: $240,200 median; ranging from $202,400 to $278,000
• Data Scientist: $170,000
• Data Scientist, Analytics: $190,000 median; ranging from $180,000 to $190,250
• Engineering Manager: $285,000 median; ranging from $250,254 to $285,000
• Graphic Designer: $129,000,000
• Outsourcing Manager, Scaled Programs: $134,000
• Product Designer: $165,650
• Product Manager: $218,000
• Product Manager, Trust and Safety: $235,000
• Product Policy Specialist: $138,500
• Senior Analytics Manager: $262,200
• Senior Data Engineer: $220,000
• Senior Data Scientist: $208,650 median; ranging from $190,000 to $220,650
• Senior Data Scientist, Analytics: $198,900 median; ranging from $195,000 to $215,000
• Senior Data Scientist, Machine Learning: $234,500 median; ranging from $218,000 to $251,000
• Senior Developer Experience Analyst: $145,000
• Senior Software Engineer: $234,650 median; ranging from $190,000 to $236,100
• Senior Software Engineer, Data Products: $239,700
• Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning: $235,000
• Software Engineer: $200,000 median; ranging from $125,000 to $225,000
• Software Engineer, Machine Learning: $205,000 median; ranging from $165,000 to $210,740
• Staff Security Engineer, Enterprise Security: $270,000
• Staff Software Engineer: $245,000 median; ranging from $236,100 to $270,000

Discord did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

At FaZe Clan, legal counsel would make upwards of $133,000

FaZe Clan is an esports organization that features a roster of influencers and professional gamers who play “Call of Duty,” “Fortnite,” “Valorant,” and other team-based games. The company is in the process of being acquired by gaming and marketing firm GameSquare.

Here are the annual salaries for a job at FaZe Clan:

• Legal Counsel: $142,273 median starting range; from $133,308 to $194,437

FaZe Clan did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

At Fohr, a director of client services would make $150,000

Fohr, formerly known as Fohr Card, is an influencer-marketing agency and platform for brands and creators. The company was founded by James Nord in 2013 and is based primarily in New York.

Here are the annual salaries for a few jobs at Fohr (listed in the data under Fohr Card Inc.): 

• Data Analyst: $140,000
• Director, Client Services: $150,000

A Fohr spokesperson confirmed these salary ranges.

At Grin, a product operations analyst would make $115,000

Grin is an influencer-marketing platform used by brands to run sponsored campaigns with influencers on social media. 

Founded in 2014 by Brandon Brown, Ryan Brown, and Brian Mechem, the influencer-marketing company works with brands like Allbirds, Warby Parker, and other DTC companies. 

Here are salaries for a handful of jobs at Grin (listed in the data as Grin Technologies, Inc.):

• Associate Software Engineer: $104,291
• Director, Product Marketing: $215,000
• Product Operations Analyst: $115,000
• Senior Test Automation Engineer: $135,000

A spokesperson for Grin declined to comment.

At Jellysmack, an AI lead’s salary would start at $120,000

Jellysmack works with creators on a variety of monetization products, including buying the rights to YouTube back catalog content and helping influencers adapt videos to earn ad revenue across platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

Here are annual salaries for a few jobs at Jellysmack (listed in the data under Keli Network Inc., doing business as Jellysmack):

• Lead AI: $120,000 to $160,000
• Legal and Business Affairs Associate: $100,000 to $120,000

A spokesperson from Jellysmack did not respond to a comment request.

At Karat, a creator partnerships role would make $120,000

Karat is a fintech startup that offers financial services for content creators, including a charge card and spend management dashboard. The company takes into account the size of an influencer’s social-media audience to assess their creditworthiness. 

Here are the annual salaries for a few jobs at Karat (listed in the data as Karat Financial, Inc.):

• Creator Partnerships: $120,000
• Head of Risk: $250,000
• Product Manager: $190,000

Karat did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

At Linktree, a product marketing manager would make around $123,500

Linktree is a link-in-bio solution for creators cofounded by Australian brothers Anthony and Alex Zaccaria and Nick Humphreys. Linktree’s links are one of the most popular solutions for creators on social media.

Here are annual salaries for several jobs at Linktree:

• FP&A Manager: $172,500
• Onboarding Specialist: $82,000 to $92,000
• Principal Product Manager: $175,000 to $275,000
• Product Marketing Manager: $123,469
• Staff Software Engineer (Backend), L5: $185,000 to $230,000
• Strategy & Ops Specialist: $98,000 to $115,000
• US Technical Talent Acquisition Manager: $141,900

Linktree did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

At LTK, a senior software engineer would make $130,000

LTK, formerly known as RewardStyle, is an affiliate-marketing and social-commerce platform used by influencers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. 

Amber Venz Box, a former blogger, cofounded the platform alongside her then-boyfriend-now-husband Baxter Box in 2011. In November 2021, the company was valued at $2 billion.

“LTK has grown the organization, across engineering, product, design, and creator success, to build a strong, 800-person team of world-class experts and leaders,” an LTK spokesperson told BI in an email. “We continue to expand our team and attract talent by offering competitive compensation packages to further accelerate LTK’s dominance in the creator commerce industry.”

(LTK is based in Dallas, Texas, which generally has a lower cost of living than California and New York.)

Here are salaries for a handful of jobs at LTK (listed in the data under RewardStyle Inc.):

• Director of Analytics: $135,000
• Senior Software Engineer: $130,000
• Senior Software Engineer II: $140,000
• Staff Engineer Backend: $220,000

Read more: Why influencer commerce company LTK is hiring in spite of a tech downturn and what it’s looking for in job candidates

At Mighty Networks, a product designer would make $100,000 to $150,000 per year

Mighty Networks is a platform that helps creators sell digital products, with an emphasis on community and fans. Creators can charge for services, including online courses, subscriptions, or memberships.

Here are annual salaries for a handful of jobs at Mighty Networks (listed in the data under Mighty Software, Inc.):

• Engineering Manager: $190,000 to $230,000
• Product Designer: $100,000 to $150,000
• Senior Software Engineer: $184,540 to $230,000
• Software Engineering Manager: $195,000 to $235,000

Might Networks declined to comment.

Read more: 11 startups helping creators build and make money from online communities, as influencers seek to ‘deepen the bond’ with their followers

At Patreon, a staff engineer would make $250,000 or more

One of the creator economy’s first unicorn valuations, Patreon is a platform that helps content creators and other creatives monetize their audiences with monthly subscriptions and membership tiers to unlock paywalled content. 

In 2021, Patreon was valued at $4 billion. The company’s valuation later dropped off, internal documents viewed by BI in 2022 showed.

The startup rolled out several new community features in 2023, including group chats and user profiles.

Here are annual salary ranges for various jobs at Patreon:

• Attorney: $190,000 to $210,000
• Chief of Staff, Legal: $270,000 to $280,000
• Content Designer: $255,000 median starting range; from $245,000 to $265,000
• Data Scientist: $160,000 to $170,000
• Localization Project Manager: $105,000
• Principal Product Designer: $330,000 to $350,000
• Product Designer: $151,500 median starting range; from $143,000 to $180,000
• Senior Backend Engineer: $222,700
• Senior Data Engineer: $270,000 to $280,000
• Senior Data Scientist: $167,000
• Senior Product Designer: $205,000 median starting range; from $190,000 to $230,000
• Senior Social Media Manager: $167,500 median starting range; from $165,000 to $185,000
• Senior Software Engineer: $225,000 median starting range; from $190,000 to $265,000
• Senior Software Engineer, Payments: $220,000 to $230,000
• Site Reliability Engineer: $150,000 to $160,000
• Software Engineer: $195,000 median starting range; from $125,000 to $245,000
• Staff Engineer: $250,000 to $260,000

Patreon did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

Read more: Patreon’s CEO breaks down the top 3 priorities of the company’s ‘next chapter’ and explains why he’s betting on group chats

At Spotter, a senior director of analytics would make $200,000

Spotter is a financing solution for video creators that strikes deals to buy a creator’s catalog of videos. Spotter raised a $200 million Series D round in 2022.

Here are annual salary ranges for several jobs at Spotter:

• Associate, Data Science: $100,000 to $130,000
• Data Scientist: $153,171 to $180,000
• Director, Data Engineering: $119,038 to $140,000
• Manager, Analytics: $125,000 median; ranging from $100,000 to $145,000
• Senior Associate, Data Science: $120,037 to $135,000
• Senior Director, Analytics: $200,000
• Senior Director, Engineering: $140,000
• Senior Engineer, Product: $115,000 to $140,000
• Senior Manager, Analytics: $145,000 median starting range; from $140,000 to $175,000
• Senior Manager, DevOps: $135,000 median starting range; from $130,000 to $150,000
• Statistician: $116,979 to $170,000
• Systems Architect: $140,000

Spotter did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

Read more: A startup that plans to spend $1 billion on YouTube back catalogs breaks down what it looks for in creators and videos

At Substack, a product manager would make $140,000 to $160,000 a year

Substack is a newsletter platform that helps writers build an audience, either by writing free or paywalled content for subscribers. 

Here are annual salary ranges for several jobs at Substack: 

• Data Analyst: $140,000 to $200,000
• Engineering Director: $225,000 to $245,000
• Engineering Manager: $225,000 to $245,000
• Information Trust and Safety, Quality Assurance Analyst: $69,826
• Product Manager: $140,000 to $160,000
• Software Engineer: $170,000 to $190,000

Substack did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

At Teachable, a level II senior software engineer would make $190,000

Teachable is a platform where creators can build and sell online courses and coaching programs. In 2020, the platform was acquired by Hotmart.

• Here are annual salary ranges for several jobs at Teachable: 
• Data Analyst: $69,826 to $85,000
• Senior Software Engineer: $160,000 to $180,000
• Senior Software Engineer – Core: $150,000 to $170,000
• Senior Software Engineer II: $190,000
• Software Engineer: $125,000 to $135,000

Teachable did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

This story has been updated to include the latest data available.