Custom VTuber Badges & Icons: Commission Pricing Guide

A custom VTuber badge and icon commission is a bounded illustration job: a tiered set of subscriber loyalty badges exported to each platform's exact pixel specs. Typical scoped sets in this guide price at $35-$60 per badge, or $105-$480 for a 3-8 badge set, before rush fees, extra revision rounds, rights upgrades, and platform fees. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start.

This guide uses $35-$60 per badge and $105-$480 for a 3-8 badge set, with extra work sold separately. Price the set as a clear package — badge count, export sizes, commercial-use terms, exclusions, and delivery time — instead of an open-ended make me some art request, the same bounded-scope logic that applies to pricing a single custom comic page commission.

Badge sets are often ordered in the same season as emotes, especially when a channel launches memberships or reaches a subscriber milestone. No platform publishes commission-volume data for VTuber badge sets, so treat any claim about how often they are ordered as a market impression, not a verified number.

What is included in a VTuber badge commission?

A VTuber badge commission is a small set of subscriber loyalty icons, usually three to eight badges for subscription-length milestones. The set should share one mascot, color idea, prop, or visual progression so it reads as one family in chat instead of a pile of unrelated tiny drawings.

Each badge needs the export sizes required by the platform where the client will upload it. For Twitch, that means three PNG files per badge at 18×18, 36×36, and 72×72 pixels. A six-badge Twitch set is therefore an 18-file delivery, and the per-badge price should include all three exports.

You must upload the image in three different sizes: 18px x 18px, 36px x 36px, and 72px x 72px. The image must be uploaded in the PNG format. — Twitch Help, Subscriber Badge Guide

Most badge briefs reuse the VTuber model, mascot, palette, or channel prop. The goal is recognizability at chat size, not a full new character design. That is much smaller than a full VRChat avatar edit versus a full custom build, which changes the model itself.

If the client also wants bit icons, cheer icons, channel-point icons, or emotes, quote those as add-ons. They may look related, but they have their own use cases, platform rules, and export work. Do not let a badge listing quietly become every small channel graphic.

Badges only matter once a channel can actually use them. Twitch Help lists four Affiliate Program requirements: 25 followers, 4 hours streamed, 4 different stream days, and an average of 3 viewers. A pre-Affiliate VTuber can still buy art, but they cannot upload subscriber badges yet, so a profile icon or emote set may be the better first commission.

How many badges does a VTuber actually need?

Badge count follows the platform and the channel, not a universal commission rule. YouTube publishes membership badge durations and caps a channel at six membership levels. Twitch unlocks badge slots as the channel gains monetization tenure, so a newer Twitch client may need a starter set now and matching higher tiers later.

YouTube’s memberships Help page says there are 8 different badges, but the same page lists nine duration labels: New, 1 month, 2 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, and 5 years. The safest move is to confirm the exact uploadable slots inside the client’s membership dashboard before quoting the count.

YouTube also says a creator can run up to 6 membership levels. If a YouTube client asks for one badge per paid tier, six is the hard ceiling to price against. If they mean duration badges instead, ask them to show the membership badge slots before you start.

Twitch works differently. Twitch Help states that Monetized streamers begin with badge slots up to 1 year. Partners begin with badge slots up to 10 years, and explains the growth rule this way:

As your tenure grows, you will unlock more badge slots. You will unlock one year of badge slots longer than your current monetization tenure with Twitch. — Twitch Help, Subscriber Badge Guide

That means a brand-new Twitch Affiliate should not order a five-year badge just because it would look nice in a full set. Sell the slots they can use now, then offer a matched expansion when the channel unlocks more.

The table below is a commissioning recommendation, not a platform requirement. YouTube’s duration labels are set by YouTube, and Twitch’s ceiling is set by tenure. In practice, both types of clients can fill the lower tiers first and come back for higher tiers later.

What sizes and file formats do the badges need?

Ask where the badges are going before you draw. A Twitch badge set is not automatically a YouTube badge set, and a Discord emoji brief is not the same job. Twitch needs three transparent PNG exports per badge; YouTube accepts one JPEG or PNG under 1 MB with a minimum 32×32 px size; Discord caps each custom emoji file at 256KB.

YouTube’s channel memberships documentation lists the badge spec as JPEG or PNG, under 1 MB, minimum 32px × 32px. The display size is even more important, because that is what subscribers actually see:

Badges render at 14px x 14px in comments and the Posts tab. In live chat, badges render at 16px x 16px. — YouTube Help, Create or manage your YouTube channel’s memberships levels & perks

At 14×14 or 16×16 pixels, tiny details disappear. Price for careful simplification, strong silhouette, and readable contrast. A design that looks cute at canvas size can fail in chat if every tier depends on small interior lines.

Discord’s custom emoji rules are different again. Discord Support says a custom emoji file must stay under 256KB in JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WEBP format, and that every server can add up to 50 static custom emojis by default. Discord’s Server Boosting FAQ documents higher boosted ceilings as +50 emoji slots (100 total) and +100 emoji slots (250 total) at higher boost levels (Discord Support, Server Boosting FAQ).

Quote Discord emoji work and Twitch badge work as separate line items, even when the same client wants both. The files, sizes, and slot logic are not the same.

How should a VTuber badge set be priced?

Price the order as a per-badge rate multiplied by the tier count, with every required export size included in that rate. Publish the fixed price, exact files, exclusions, usage terms, and delivery time before the client orders. The dollar figures below are illustrative arithmetic from stated assumptions, not a surveyed market rate.

Anchor the quote to what the badges are worth to the channel, not only to an hourly guess. A Tier 1 Twitch subscription costs $5.99 per month on the web in the United States, and Twitch Help says the standard Affiliate subscription revenue split is 50/50 between the streamer and Twitch (Twitch Help, Affiliate Program FAQ). That is about $3.00 a month per Tier 1 subscriber at the documented split.

At the documented $5.99 Tier 1 price and 50/50 Affiliate split, an illustrative $240 six-badge set is recovered by roughly 80 Tier 1 subscriber-months. That gives an artist a concrete way to explain the price instead of negotiating the whole commission in DMs.

The 50/50 split is not universal. Twitch’s Plus Program pays qualifying Affiliates and Partners an enhanced net revenue share at Level 1 (60/40) or Level 2 (70/30) (Twitch Help, Plus Program). At Twitch’s published $5.99 Tier 1 price, that raises the channel’s share to roughly $3.59 or $4.19.

The package table below is not a guarantee and not a rate card. It assumes a per-badge rate of $35-$60, one final delivery, flat PNG or JPEG exports in the required sizes, non-exclusive commercial use on the client’s own channel, and no layered source files.

Every added condition moves the quote. More badges, a second platform’s export set, rush work, exclusive rights, or source files can all change the amount without changing the basic commission type. Put each addition in the scope before the client orders.

Size the emote half of a bundle against the client’s real slot count. Twitch Help says Affiliates receive immediate access to 5 emote slots, with more unlocked at subscriber-point milestones (Twitch Help, Emote Slots). Twitch’s Partner Program overview says Partners can unlock up to 60 emote slots based on the total amount of subscriber points you have. A 5-slot Affiliate and a 60-slot Partner are not the same emote job.

Price Brillay’s 8% fee for paid work and 5% fee on tips and goals into the order, and keep the agreed scope and delivery record together in case a client disputes the charge. Stripe’s standard United States online card rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge (Stripe Pricing). On an illustrative $240 badge order, Brillay’s published 8% fee on a Custom Work order is $19.20 and Stripe’s published US card rate is $7.26, leaving roughly $214 before any other costs. Any price shown here is illustrative only, not a promise of what a specific artist can charge or earn.

On Brillay, keep the listing small enough to finish inside the time you promise. For Custom Work, you set a delivery time of 1 hour to 5 days (Brillay Custom Work), which is why a badge-plus-emote bundle is cleaner as two separate orders instead of one 10-day job. Custom Work delivery can include text, up to 5 files of any allowed type, and up to 5 links; because Twitch’s three-files-per-badge rule makes a six-badge set an 18-file delivery, send the finished set as a zipped archive through a private link rather than as loose attachments.

Should badge feedback be a paid question or a full service?

Use Paid Questions for paid badge feedback and Custom Work for badge commissions and custom work. A narrow styling question, such as whether tier 3 reads at 18 pixels, fits a written reply. A full badge commission needs a service order because reference files may go in and final image files come back.

Paid Questions let a follower pay your set price to ask you one private question, and you send back one written reply, privately (Brillay how it works). If a quick question turns into can you also make the set, price that as a separate custom request.

What should a badge commission listing spell out before payment?

A badge commission listing should answer the questions a client would otherwise ask across several DMs: how many badges, which milestones, which platform, which export sizes, what reference material is needed, what is not included, and when the final files will arrive.

• Badge count and milestones: for example, 6 badges: 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12 months.
• Export sizes: name the platform — Twitch’s required 18×18, 36×36 and 72×72 px PNG trio, or YouTube’s minimum 32×32 px under 1 MB — so the client knows exactly what arrives.
• File format: transparent PNG is the only format Twitch accepts for subscriber badges; ask separately if the client wants a layered source file.
• Delivery rule: Delivery is one-time. If the client wants different work afterward, make that a new order.
• Reference requirements: say what the client must send before work starts, such as a model sheet, palette, prior badge set, mascot, or prop notes.
• Exclusions: state plainly if emotes, channel-point icons, exclusive rights, source files, rush work, or a second platform’s export set are not included.

A request outside the listed scope — a seventh badge tier, a rush timeline, a second platform, or a usage right you did not offer — does not have to become free work. Followers pay upfront; you can decline a request.

What else can a VTuber-focused illustrator sell alongside badges?

A VTuber-focused illustrator can offer Personalized Videos, Tips, Goals, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries beside badge commissions on the same Brillay link.

Personalized Videos let a follower pay upfront for one personalized video for themselves or someone they care about: you set the price and the delivery time, then record it on your schedule. For a VTuber artist, that could be a short congratulations clip for a client hitting a subscriber goal.

Tips let followers send a one-time thank-you, with nothing for you to deliver and no membership for them to join. That gives a follower who loves the badge set a simple way to say thanks without ordering another commission.

A Goal is one named goal with a progress bar: followers make one-time contributions and every contribution is yours whether or not the goal is reached — no deadline unless you set one, and nothing to ship. For this niche, it might be a rig-adjacent asset pack you cannot fund alone.

Brand Collaboration Inquiries is a “Work with Me” form on your Brillay page that collects a brand’s budget, timeline, and deliverables into a separate brand inbox.

Related reading: how do VTubers make money covers the broader income mix a badge commission sits inside, and async VTuber rig troubleshooting covers the adjacent paid-support format for an existing rig rather than new badge art.

How do you take a VTuber badge commission without a marketplace listing?

Put one fixed badge package in your bio with the price, tier count, export sizes, reference requirements, and delivery time visible, so clients can order without another sales post or a long DM exchange. A VTuber or talent manager can choose the order without asking for every detail in DMs.

On Brillay, a follower chooses the package, submits the brief and reference material, and gets the finished delivery inside the time you set. You can start with a small audience: Brillay has no follower minimum, no application, and no monthly fee. Its platform fee applies only when a follower pays: 8% when a follower pays for work, 5% on tips and goals. Creators can receive payouts in 41 supported countries. Custom Work is one time, no membership, and can sit beside Tips, Goals, Paid Questions, Personalized Videos, and Brand Collaboration Inquiries on one link.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about VTuber badge commissions are really scope questions: how much to charge, what to include, how to avoid endless changes, when payment should happen, and what the site takes. The answers below stick to platform documentation or Brillay’s published pricing so the artist and client can verify the spec before the listing goes live.

How many badge sizes do I need to quote for?

For Twitch, quote each subscriber badge as three PNG exports: 18×18, 36×36, and 72×72 pixels. Build that three-file export into the per-badge rate instead of treating it as a free extra.

How many badge tiers can my Twitch client use right now?

Twitch Help says monetized streamers begin with badge slots up to 1 year, Partners begin with badge slots up to 10 years, and channels unlock one year of badge slots beyond their current monetization tenure. Quote the tiers the client can use now, then sell a matched expansion later.

What are YouTube’s loyalty badge specs right now?

YouTube’s membership badge spec is JPEG or PNG, under 1 MB, minimum 32px × 32px. Badges render at 14px × 14px in comments and the Posts tab and 16px × 16px in live chat. The same Help page gives an 8-badge count while listing nine duration labels, so confirm the uploadable slots in the client’s membership dashboard.

Can I sell quick badge feedback as a paid question?

Yes, if it is one narrow written answer about an existing badge idea. If a follower needs finished badge files or a full custom order, list it as Custom Work; followers can attach reference files.

Can I reuse Discord emoji specs for Twitch badges?

No. Discord custom emoji must stay under 256KB per file in JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WEBP format, and a server has 50 static custom emojis by default. Twitch subscriber badges need a separate PNG trio at 18×18, 36×36, and 72×72 pixels. Quote and deliver each platform’s assets as distinct line items.

What does Brillay take when I list the badge order as Custom Work?

Brillay's Custom Work fee is the platform fee set out earlier on this page; Stripe processing fees are separate and come out of creator earnings. There is no follower minimum, and the client only sees the price you list.

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