X review 2026: Original Content Rewards, Premium and Subscriptions

X pays creators for impressions on their original posts, but only impressions from paying Premium users, and only if you pay for Premium too. As of October 2026 the program is called Original Content Rewards, and it replaced Creator Revenue Sharing after September 7, 2026. X publishes no per-impression rate. For writers who already post every day, it’s a bonus. As a business plan, it’s a gamble on rules X rewrote as recently as September 2026.

How much does X take?

X doesn’t publish a split for either of its creator programs. Original Content Rewards pays on impressions at rates X sets, and Subscriptions pay a share X decides based on volume, price and fees.

X’s Subscriptions terms say your share depends on the number and price of subscriptions and on fees and taxes charged by Apple, Google, the payment processor, banks and card companies. They add that you should not expect any particular percentage to apply over time. With no fixed split, we can’t give a take-home figure for X.

How do X payouts work?

X pays through a third-party payment processor, and you must set up an account with it, pass identity verification and submit tax details before any payout. Payouts arrive net of the processor’s fees, and you pay any currency conversion costs.

For Original Content Rewards, X’s terms let you move money to your bank once your balance passes a minimum set in X’s Help Center, and they let X pay at any cadence it chooses. Android Headlines reported that payouts are issued every two weeks, with the first payout for creators who joined after September 8, 2026 scheduled for September 25. Accounts that drop below the impression threshold stay enrolled, but X won’t pay out balances under the minimum.

For Subscriptions, X pays about 60 days after the end of the month in which it received the revenue, in US dollars, once you have at least $50. Smaller balances roll over. Chargebacks and refunds can be clawed back from future payments.

How do you make money on X?

Original Content Rewards

X announced Original Content Rewards on August 7, 2026, and its terms took effect the same day. X stopped taking new Creator Revenue Sharing applications at the same time, kept paying existing members through September 7, and let them move to the new program from September 8.

X’s terms list these requirements:

• Be at least 18 and live in a supported country.
• Keep an X account in good standing with no history of repeated violations.
• Subscribe to an eligible X Premium, Premium Business or Premium Organizations tier, which X can change.
• Complete identity verification before your first payout.
• Not work for a government institution, hold elected office, represent a political party or do election-related work.

The terms point to the Help Center for follower and impression thresholds. According to Android Headlines’ report of those rules, you need 500 verified followers and 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users over the last 90 days, with replies excluded. The old program asked for 5 million organic impressions in 3 months.

Payment is based on impressions from Premium users. Reporting on the launch says a view counts only when a unique Premium subscriber sees at least half of the post in the Home Timeline. Impressions from posts X boosts under its Boosted Program don’t count, and X keeps the right to change the formula at any time.

The content has to be yours. Original reporting, self-shot media, custom illustrations and genuine analysis qualify. Reposts, copied clips and lightly edited versions of other people’s work don’t.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions let followers pay you monthly for access to subscriber content. You set the price from the options X builds into the feature, and X must approve you for the program. X can limit prices, the number of subscriptions and who can buy them.

If you stop delivering the benefits you promised, X can withhold your share, and frequently inactive subscription accounts may be removed. You can block a subscriber, but you then forfeit your share of that person’s payments.

What changed from Creator Revenue Sharing?

Original Content Rewards changed what X pays for. The old program paid on engagement from Premium users, and the new one pays on impressions from Premium users on original posts.

The lower impression bar opens the program to smaller accounts, but the original content rule cuts out accounts that mostly repost or aggregate. If you leave the program, X pays out your remaining balance above the minimum and you give up anything below it. If X finds bots or other artificial views on your posts, you forfeit what X owes you and lose your place in the program.

Who is X best for?

X suits writers, journalists, analysts and commentators who already post original material every day, and who would pay for Premium anyway for its other features. For them, rewards are extra money on existing work. Our guide to how creators make money shows where this fits next to brand deals and paid newsletters.

Skip X as an income source if you aggregate or repost other people’s content, since the new program excludes it. Skip it too if you need predictable pay. X sets every rate, publishes none, and switched from engagement-based to impression-based pay in September 2026.

X alternatives

• Substack and beehiiv let writers charge subscribers directly. Compare them in Substack vs beehiiv.
• YouTube publishes its ad split and pays 55% on long-form videos.
• Facebook pays invited creators on text posts and photos as well as video.
• For paid writing, see our best platforms for writers.