Facebook Stars in 2026: what a Star pays and who can earn

Stars are a virtual good. A fan buys Stars from Meta and sends them to a creator they like. Meta's help pages say Stars work on gaming, live, on-demand, reel, photo and text content, and that they are open to creators on professional mode profiles and on Pages.

Meta's Stars Terms say Stars are not a currency, a donation or a crowdfunding tool. They have no monetary value, cannot be sold or passed to another user, cannot be exchanged for cash, and are not refundable unless the law says so. What you earn is a revenue share that Meta pays you, not the fan's money moving across.

• US$0.01paid for each Star, before deductions
• 500followers needed for 30 days in a row
• 18+minimum age
• 75countries and territories on Meta's list

Stars goals let fans help you reach a target. A goal shows as an overlay with a progress bar, on your whole Page or on one video. Meta says a goal can carry a reward for viewers, such as extra behind-the-scenes video.

In November 2022 Meta also said it was testing Stars turned on automatically for public creator content, Reels included, and bringing Stars Party to Reels: a community challenge that ends in a celebration when the creator reaches the goal. It also said it was testing gifts that match the content, such as dog gifts on a puppy reel.

Meta publishes one rate. Its Stars Terms (last updated 28 November 2022) say Meta may pay eligible creators USD 0.01 for every Star it sold and a fan used on the creator's content, minus deductions. The older Stars Streamer Terms (10 November 2020) and Meta's creators page, which says one cent a Star, give the same rate.

The Terms list what Meta can subtract from that rate, all as Meta decides from its own records:

• Fraud and other legal violations, and breaches of Facebook's terms or policies.
• Bad debt, chargebacks and refunds.
• Credit card processing fees and third-party data fees.
• Any other third-party fees and costs, such as payments to rights holders in your content.

Meta does not publish what a fan pays for a Star or a pack of Stars on any page we read. Its buying page gives only an example pack of 250 Stars, and the Stars Store, where fans pay with Facebook Pay, is described as having lower fees. So we cannot say what share of a fan's payment reaches you.

The Terms add that Meta may share revenue at its sole discretion and does not guarantee that any creator will receive a revenue share. The Streamer Terms say there is no promise about how much, or whether, you will be paid. Meta can also block Stars on your content, and can stop offering Stars at any time.

Meta's eligibility page lists these conditions for earning money from Stars:

Meta's creators page lists the same follower rule but not the age, so the help page is the fuller list. You check your own status in Meta Business Suite (Monetization, then View Page eligibility) for a Page, or in the Professional dashboard (Stars, under Tools) for a profile.

A fan is told before sending a gift whether you can earn from its Stars. Gifts you cannot yet monetize show in a Trophy Case. Meta also has a Creator Perks tool that gives virtual trophies and shows your progress toward monetization.

Meta's About Facebook Stars page has a list headed Stars availability. On 8 October 2026 it named 75 countries and territories. The page does not say whether the list is for earning, for sending or for both, and the eligibility page says only that you must live in a country eligible for Stars.

Meta names six places whose users cannot send Stars: Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Syria. Fans there cannot send you Stars, wherever you live.

Living in a listed country is one condition, not a promise: you also need the followers, the age and a clean policy record. The list shows no date of its own, so the day we read it is the only date we can give.

Meta pays Stars through the same payout system as its other Facebook tools: content monetization, Subscriptions and Storefront. Payouts are released around the 21st of every month for the month before. Your Professional dashboard shows approximate earnings, but Meta says these are estimates and the final amount can be higher or lower after review.

You are paid in US dollars, and your bank or PayPal converts them to your own money. Meta's payout pages show Facebook, Apple and Google fees and refunds taken off before you are paid.

1. You earnFans send Stars during the month.
2. Month endsMeta reviews earnings against its policies. The final payout can be higher or lower.
3. Around the 21stMeta releases the payout for the month before, if you passed the minimum.
4. 1 to 7 working daysYour bank or PayPal posts it. International payouts can take up to 10 days.
5. 5 monthsWith no payout account, you cannot earn more until you set one up.
6. 6 monthsWith no payout account, you forfeit your earnings.

• Minimum balance: USD 5 in the US. Outside the US, USD 25 for most payout methods and USD 100 for a wire transfer. Under the minimum, the balance carries over to the next month.
• Payout account: you give your legal name, date of birth, address, phone number and tax details, and link a bank account, a PayPal account or a debit card. The name on your tax ID must match, or the payout cannot be processed. For US creators with a newly issued tax ID, tax checks can take up to 60 days.
• Starting on a phone: Meta says you can start earning from Stars before the payout account exists, up to USD 500 per tool and USD 1,500 across three tools.
• Changes: a change to your payout details puts a 5-day hold on the account. Make it at least 10 days before the payment date, or the payment waits for the next cycle.
• Delays: Meta can delay or reject a payout when it sees suspicious or fraudulent activity, and it adjusts earnings from fraudulent Stars purchases.

Meta's pages disagree on two details. The Stars Streamer Terms (10 November 2020) say payment comes about 60 days after the end of the month, and that Meta may hold amounts under USD 25 in the US or USD 100 elsewhere. Meta's payouts help page, which shows no date, says around the 21st, with minimums of USD 5, USD 25 and USD 100 by method. We use the help page, and suggest you check Professional dashboard, then Tools, then Payouts for your own status.

The Streamer Terms also say Meta makes no payment for content that breaks its terms or policies, including content flagged as possibly infringing someone's rights. Do not post clips, music or footage you do not own.

Meta's creators site and payouts page treat Subscriptions as a second fan support tool beside Stars. A fan pays a monthly price and gets perks you choose, such as exclusive content, a subscriber group, live video or a badge. Subscriptions are paid out with Stars, through the same payout account.

Subscriptions depend on where your Page is. On Meta's creators page they are open to Pages in 37 countries and territories, and invite-only elsewhere. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not among the 37. The United Arab Emirates and Turkey are, with Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Portugal.

• Size: 10,000 followers or 250 Return Viewers, and one of 50,000 post engagements or 180,000 watch minutes in the last 60 days.
• Policies: your Page and content follow the Partner Monetization Policies, the Content Monetization Policies and the Fan Subscription Creator Terms. A Page that does not yet use a Facebook monetization tool goes through a Page review first.
• Perks and price: you choose at least one perk. Meta may offer discounts and free trials, and your share is then based on what fans actually pay.
• Payout: monthly. The creator terms (effective 6 March 2024) say within 60 days after the end of the month, with amounts under USD 25 in the US or USD 100 elsewhere rolled over.

On fees, the pages disagree again. The help page says Meta will not take fees from Subscriptions until the end of 2025, and it still said so on 8 October 2026, with no later rule. The Fan Subscription Creator Terms (6 March 2024) let Meta keep up to 30% of a subscription, after it first deducts what Apple, Google or other platforms charge, and let Meta change this with 30 days' notice. We cannot tell you which applies to you today.

Meta's Stars pages carry no date, and none that we read shows a change to Stars in 2025 or 2026. The newest dated Stars document is the Stars Terms of November 2022. That does not prove nothing changed. It means Meta has not said so on these pages.

1. 10 Nov 2020Date of the Stars Streamer Terms, which set USD 0.01 a Star.
2. 17 Aug 2022Meta's creators site lists Stars on Reels as new.
3. Nov 2022Meta announces a test of Stars turned on automatically, and Stars on photo and text posts.
4. 28 Nov 2022Date of the current Stars Terms.
5. 6 Mar 2024Effective date of the Fan Subscription Creator Terms.
6. End of 2025The date until which Meta says it takes no fee from Subscriptions.
7. 8 Oct 2026We read Meta's pages. None shows a Stars change dated 2025 or 2026.

• Stars is still listed with Subscriptions, Storefront and content monetization as a separate payout tool on Meta's payouts page, read on 8 October 2026.
• Some help pages say only that Meta will pay you for each Star. The amount is in the Terms and on the creators page.
• Meta does not publish how many creators earn from Stars, or what they earn. We found no figure for Stars alone on the pages we read.

Before you plan around Stars, re-read Meta's pages and your own payout settings. The rules, the country list and the payout terms all sit on pages that Meta can change without a date.