--- title: MCP monetization FAQ: pricing, license keys, payouts, rev-share · Stevens Keys source: https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/mcp-monetization-faq description: An honest FAQ for MCP creators on charging for an MCP server: free vs paid tiers, license keys vs OAuth, per-call vs subscription, payouts, marketplaces, revocation and rev-share. publisher: Stevens Keys (Canada Site Ops) --- # MCP monetization FAQ Straight answers for MCP server creators thinking about charging: pricing models, how to gate access, payouts, marketplaces and fees. Stevens Keys is in preview (test mode), and we say below what is and isn't built. - [Should my MCP server be free or paid?](#q1) - [License keys, OAuth or API keys: which should I use to gate a paid MCP server?](#q2) - [Should I charge per call or by subscription?](#q3) - [How do payouts work with Stevens Keys?](#q4) - [Should I sell on an MCP marketplace or from my own site?](#q5) - [How fast do revoked keys stop working?](#q6) - [What rev-share do MCP marketplaces typically take?](#q7) - [Is there a free tier?](#q8) ## Should my MCP server be free or paid? Most MCP servers today are free, and that is a reasonable default while you find users. A common pattern is a free tier that is useful on its own (a monthly call cap, or a subset of tools) plus a paid tier for heavier use or premium tools. Charge when your server costs you real money to run, or when it saves users real time. If you aren't sure anyone will pay, a free tier with a usage cap tells you who your heavy users are before you set a price. ## License keys, OAuth or API keys: which should I use to gate a paid MCP server? **License keys** are API-style secrets tied to a purchase: one key per customer, checked on every request, revocable, and easy to meter. They suit paid remote servers where the customer pastes a key into their client config (usually `Authorization: Bearer `). **OAuth** is the better fit when your server acts on the user's account in another service, or when you need per-user identity and consent. It is more work to build and not every client handles it the same way. **Plain API keys** you roll yourself work too, but then you own hashing, revocation, quotas and usage tracking. A license key service is that same idea with those pieces already built. You can also combine them: OAuth for identity, a license key or entitlement check for what the user paid for. ## Should I charge per call or by subscription? **Per call** (usage-based) matches price to cost and suits expensive tools, but bills are harder for customers to predict and you need accurate metering. **Subscriptions** are predictable for both sides and simpler to sell; you usually add a monthly call cap so one customer can't run up your costs. Many creators start with a subscription plus a quota, and add overage or per-call pricing later. Whatever you pick, count usage in the same step that checks the key so quotas and usage can't drift apart. ## How do payouts work with Stevens Keys? Plainly: **payouts are not live yet.** Stevens Keys is in preview, in test mode. No real charges are taken and no money is paid out. Revenue shown in the dashboard is simulated demo sales plus Stripe test sales (CAD), no real money, so you can see how the 85/15 split would work. The plan is payouts through Stripe Connect, where you would connect your own Stripe account and receive 85% of each sale. That is planned, not built or switched on, and there is no launch date yet. Today you can issue, validate, meter and revoke keys in test mode. ## Should I sell on an MCP marketplace or from my own site? Marketplaces bring discovery and handle checkout, but the buyer purchases on their storefront, so the customer relationship is theirs and moving later means re-issuing keys. Selling from your own site, docs or GitHub README keeps the customer and pricing yours, but you have to drive discovery and run keys and billing. A billing layer that isn't a storefront, which is what Stevens Keys is built to be, lets you sell wherever you already are and still list on directories like Smithery or Glama. ## How fast do revoked keys stop working? It depends on caching. At least one marketplace documents that a revoked key can keep working for up to 24 hours because valid results are cached. In Stevens Keys every check for a key goes through one Durable Object, so a revoke is seen by the next validation call. Validate responses include a `cache_ttl` hint (30 seconds by default, 0 on deny) for servers that choose to cache allows; if you cache, revocation takes up to that long. You can try revoking a key in the [demo](https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/demo). ## What rev-share do MCP marketplaces typically take? From published terms we reviewed in October 2026, creators keep between 80% and 85%: - MCP Marketplace: creator 85%, platform 15%. - Apify: creator 80% of user fees minus platform usage costs of the runs. - MCPize: 80/20 for servers monetized since June 10, 2026 (calculated after Stripe fees); earlier servers keep 85/15. - CuratedMCP: creator 80%, platform 20%. - Smithery and Glama: hosting and directories, no creator payouts found. Stevens Keys is set at 85/15 (creator 85%), free to start. Terms change, so check each platform's current pages. ## Is there a free tier? Yes. Sign-up is free with no monthly fee, up to 10 products, and a soft limit of 50K validations per month per creator. Sign-up includes a quick Cloudflare Turnstile human check. Passing it verifies your account for test mode right away (test keys, API secrets, Stripe test checkout); no email needed. Anything live will need manual review. ## Next steps Read the [creator docs](https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/docs), try issuing and revoking a key in the [demo](https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/demo), or read [how to gate a paid MCP server with license keys](https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/mcp-license-keys), or compare [license keys vs OAuth vs API keys](https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/mcp-license-keys-vs-oauth). [Read the docs](https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/docs) [Try the demo](https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/demo) ### More from Stevens Keys - [Surface](https://nova-otter-delta-cloud.grok.me): free MCP server with per-request metering - [Usage Lab](https://usage-lab.pages.dev/) - [Server Track Lab](https://server-track-lab.pages.dev/) - [API Meter Lab](https://api-meter-lab.pages.dev/) Machine files: https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/llms.txt · https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/openapi.json · https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/mcp · https://stevens-keys.pages.dev/agent-quickstart.md