Growing on X
How to make money on X (Twitter) in 2026
X closed Creator Revenue Sharing in September 2026. What pays now: Original Content Rewards and Subscriptions, what you need, and where replies fit.
Short answer: X pays creators through Original Content Rewards, which replaced Creator Revenue Sharing on September 7, 2026. To apply you need X Premium, 500 verified followers, and 500,000 Home Timeline views from verified users in the last 90 days. Views on your replies don’t count toward that. X then pays every two weeks for unique views from Premium users, with a $30 minimum. Creator Subscriptions pay you directly from your followers but need 2,000 verified followers and 5 million views in three months. Replies don’t earn on their own: they bring the followers the programs ask for.
Creator Revenue Sharing is gone
If you read an older guide, it will tell you about Creator Revenue Sharing and its 5 million impressions in three months. X closed it:
The program is being retired; new enrollments ended August 7, 2026, and it closes September 7, 2026.
The last payout went out around September 11. X’s creator team explained why it changed course on the day it announced the new program:
Revenue Sharing had reached a point where its incentives were misaligned.
Original Content Rewards: what you need
- X Premium or an X Subscription plan
- 500 verified followers
- 500,000 impressions from verified users in 90 days
- Impressions on replies don’t count
- Original posts, made by you
- A verified email, two-factor login and an ID check
| Requirement | What X asks |
|---|---|
| Age and place | 18 or older, in a country X supports |
| Subscription | X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business, or an X Subscription plan |
| Views | 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users in the last 90 days, replies excluded |
| Followers | 500 verified followers |
| Posting | You actively post original content |
| Account | In good standing, a personal or business account, with a complete profile, a verified email and two-factor login |
Sources: X Help Center, Original Content Rewards and Creator Monetization Standards.
X reviews every application, and meeting the numbers doesn’t mean you’re in. The launch post says X answers within three business days. If you’re turned down, you get one appeal, and after that you can apply again 42 days later.
How Original Content Rewards pays
Qualified impressions are unique impressions from Premium users (subscribers to X Premium Basic, Premium, Premium+, or Premium Business) on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50% of the post is visible.
- Every two weeks, once you’ve earned at least $30.
- In the US, through X Money since September 2, 2026. Everywhere else through Stripe, with an identity check.
- Not paid: copied or re-uploaded posts, posts made by automated means, posts about making money on X itself, and posts with a helpful Community Note.
X doesn’t publish a rate per 1,000 views, and earnings depend on who sees your posts. Any number you read in a guide is one person’s payout.
Creator Subscriptions
Subscriptions let your followers pay you every month for posts, Articles, replies and Spaces only they can see. To turn them on you need:
- 2,000 verified followers
- 5 million organic impressions in the last three months
- to have been active in the last 30 days
X says creators can earn up to about 97% of what subscribers pay, and pays once you pass $50, about 60 days after the month ends. Source: X Help Center, Creator Subscriptions.
Other ways X pays
- Articles for subscribers. Long posts that only your subscribers can read.
- Amplify pre-roll and sponsorships. Ads before your videos, or a brand paired with your videos. It’s for partners X accepts, through an account manager.
- Grok Bot template rewards. An invite-only pilot in the US.
What gets you thrown out
X watches for posts that ask people to engage. In July 2026, Nikita Bier, then X’s head of product, wrote:
Soliciting engagements (“I’ll follow everyone who replies”) 3 or more times will results in removal from the program
He added that nearly 4,000 accounts were removed that day. Two weeks later he said X doesn’t count the views on posts that tell people to engage. The rules of Original Content Rewards now say it plainly: no asking people to like, reply, bookmark, follow or repost. More in engagement farming on X.
Where replies fit
Views on your replies don’t count toward the 500,000. Replies still help, in a slower way: they put your name in front of people who don’t follow you yet, under posts they already care about. Some of them open your profile, and the followers you get that way are the ones the programs count.
X’s own help page for Articles gives the same advice for your posts:
Engaging in the first wave of replies boosts visibility and signals momentum.
Our guides to growing on X and writing a good reply cover how.
- RepliesGet seen under big posts
- FollowersVerified ones count
- Your postsWhat X pays for
- Views500,000 in 90 days
- ApplyX answers in about 3 business days
Questions
How much does X pay per 1,000 views?
X doesn’t publish a rate. Original Content Rewards pays on unique views from Premium users in the Home Timeline, so two posts with the same views can earn different amounts.
Do you need X Premium to make money on X?
For Original Content Rewards and Articles, yes. Every X creator program also asks for a complete profile, two-factor login and an identity check.
Do replies earn money on X?
Views on replies don’t count toward the 500,000 you need to apply. X doesn’t say whether a reply that shows up in someone’s Home Timeline earns.
Is Creator Revenue Sharing still available?
No. It closed on September 7, 2026, and Original Content Rewards took its place.
How long does X take to review an application?
X’s launch post says three business days.