A BeatStars alternative for producers who want the artist, not just the checkout.
BeatStars is a real store. It handles the cart, the license contract, the payout and, on paid plans, the website and distribution. If your business is selling leases to strangers at volume, it is the standard for a reason. KollabMe is not a store. It is where a producer lists a beat with its deliverables, matches with artists by genre and distance, agrees the price or split in the chat and builds a relationship that outlasts one download.
Free to join on iOS, Android and the web. Compared September 2026.
What BeatStars is
BeatStars is a marketplace and storefront platform for selling beats, stems and sound kits. Accounts are free to create, with a free plan limited to a small number of tracks, and paid Starter, Growth and Professional subscriptions unlock unlimited uploads, custom licenses, stems, a Pro Page website and other business tools. BeatStars states that sellers keep 100% of their music sales with 0% seller commission on its plans. A Marketplace service fee is added to the buyer at checkout on the BeatStars Marketplace; per the BeatStars help center it is 12% of the subtotal and does not apply to purchases made on a seller's Pro Page, though sellers can choose to cover it.
Side by side
| BeatStars | KollabMe | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A beat store and storefront platform with checkout, license contracts, payouts and distribution. | A network where producers list beats with deliverables and match with the artists who will use them. |
| Cost to join | Free account with a limited track count. Paid Starter, Growth and Professional plans, with Starter billed yearly at $19.99. | Free to join. Paid plans are on the roadmap, not live. |
| Fees on a sale or job | 0% seller commission on plans. A 12% Marketplace service fee is charged to the buyer at Marketplace checkout, not on a seller's Pro Page. | No commission. The rate or split is agreed in the chat on a Collab Request card and settles between the two of you. KollabMe never holds the money. |
| Who is on it | Producers selling beats and kits, and artists buying them. | Producers, artists, musicians, engineers, photographers, videographers, studios and venues. |
| How you find people | Buyers search and filter the Marketplace. Producers reach buyers through the store, Pro Page and promotion tools. | A match deck ranked by role fit, genre, activity, distance and KollabScore. Beats carry deliverables (Tagged MP3, Untagged MP3, WAV, Trackout) and a credit flag so the terms are clear before the chat. |
| Payments and licensing | BeatStars runs the cart, issues the license contract and pays the seller out. | KollabMe never holds or processes payments. There is no escrow and no dispute arbitration. The record is the agreed terms, the timestamped thread and a two-sided completion confirmation. Licensing terms are whatever the two of you agree on the card. |
| Reputation | Store history, plays and sales inside the platform. | KollabScore, built from activity and completed collabs, plus the completion record on each thread. |
| Visual and space side | Not the purpose. BeatStars is about selling audio products. | Built in. Photographers and videographers match the same way as producers. Studios and venues list in Spaces with published rates and a walk-ins flag. |
Checked September 2026 against BeatStars Studio: Pricing, BeatStars Studio: Starter plan, BeatStars Help: How Much Does BeatStars Cost?, BeatStars Help: Why is there a service fee on the Marketplace?, BeatStars Help: How Do I Cover The Service Fee For My Customers?. Their pricing can change; the link is the source of truth.
Pick BeatStars when
- Your income is beat leases to strangers at volume and you need a cart, contracts and payouts that run without you.
- You want a storefront website, distribution and marketing tools in one subscription.
- You are an artist who wants to buy a license in five minutes with no conversation.
Pick KollabMe when
- You want to know who is using the beat and work with them on the record, the feature, the cover shoot and the release show.
- You would rather agree a custom price or a split in a conversation than post a fixed lease price.
- You want the studio, the photographer and the venue in the same network as the artist.
BeatStars or KollabMe, answered.
Is KollabMe free?
KollabMe is free to join. Paid plans are on the roadmap but are not live. Listing a beat is part of the free product.
Does KollabMe take a commission on beats?
No. KollabMe never holds or processes the payment. The price or split is agreed on a Collab Request card in the chat and settles between the producer and the artist.
Can I use BeatStars and KollabMe together?
Yes. Keep BeatStars as your store for lease sales and use KollabMe to find the artists, engineers and studios you want to build records with. Many producers link their store from their KollabMe profile.
Keep reading
Find the team. Agree the rate in the chat.
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