About the new Payout rate changes It’s a Final Smash-and-Grab Before the AI Storm Hits
Discussion started by Megalord
Let’s drop the sugarcoating: this new payout system is nothing more than a calculated robbery. A final shake-down before AI-generated 3D assets flood the market and destroy whatever's left of our already-precarious earnings.
CGTrader knows exactly what’s coming.
They know that in a few short years, maybe even months, AI will be spitting out base meshes, props, full environments, stylized rigs — faster than any human artist ever could. They know it’ll devalue asset marketplaces unless artists become machines themselves. So what do they do?
They bleed us dry while they still can.
This payout restructuring isn’t about fairness. It’s not about rewarding loyalty. It’s not about adapting to a better system.
It’s about squeezing every last damn drop from the human artists who built this platform — before we’re replaced by prompts and procedural garbage.
Let’s do the math (because clearly they hope most won’t):
You want 80%? Sure — just grind up to $100,000 in sales.
You want to keep the 74% you earned over years of slow, hard-earned progress? Too bad.
Your sales don’t count.
Your history doesn’t matter.
Your points don’t translate.
You either churn out thousands in fresh income yearly, or you get dropped back to 60-something percent.
Oh, and the “creator levels” system?
Just a flashy disguise for the knife in our backs.
“Explorer.” “Top Designer.” “Legend.”
Sounds like an MMO tier list — not a professional marketplace. Stop insulting us.
We’ve been here for years.
We answered messages at 2AM.
We debugged scenes, tweaked UVs, re-uploaded FBXs, dealt with picky clients, and poured soul into our work.
And now we’re being told: “That’s not enough. Fork over more.”
CGTrader: You are not a partner anymore. You’re a rent-seeker. A middleman trying to choke value out of the people actually making things.
And let’s not forget the elephant in the room: AI is coming for all of this.
CGTrader knows it. We know it.
But instead of supporting the real artists — giving us tools, visibility, protection — you go full scorched-earth capitalism and throw us under the algorithm bus.
So here’s my final takeaway:
This isn’t just about numbers.
This isn’t just about greed.
This is your declaration that you don’t believe in the long-term survival of artist-driven marketplaces.
You’re cashing out — and we’re the ones paying for it.
Enjoy the short-term revenue boost.
Enjoy the boardroom smiles.
But don’t be surprised when the community you buried doesn’t show up to save you when the AI gold rush collapses your house of cards.
Answers
11
The decision to reduce the payout percentage for model designers is a complete disappointment. It doesn’t just affect our earnings — it deeply damages our motivation. Uploading affordable models is no longer an option, because we’re simply not being compensated fairly for our work.
!!! Under these conditions, the only logical response is to opt out of every discount event. Maybe that’s the only way we can even begin to reach the already reduced percentage they expect us to earn from.!!!
We’ve spent years building up our portfolios, meeting every standard this platform demands, investing countless hours into creating high-quality models. And this is the thanks we get? Designers are the backbone of this system, yet we’re the ones being neglected the most.
This is a major letdown for every artist who’s ever contributed to this platform. You need to hear our voices — because if this decision stands, many of us are losing faith in the future here.
10
100 percent agree on this take . I believe that ı did a really good job on sales while keeping the quality high on my models over the years ..I can easily say that in my field (busts/Likeness models for printng) ,in terms of sales/quality ım in the top ten seller on this site and guess what ,even ı cant make 80 percent royalty ...ı cant even imagine artist who sells even less...Doing it for artists my ass ..
Anyone who sells models here ı suggest you guys go ahead and start selling your stuff on other marketplaces ass well if your not allready doing that .Do NOT rely only on this one, which honestly ı believe at this point its just going worse for creators by every new update..Go sell on other markets, start your own patreon and diverse your income if you willing to keep doing this..
10
Agreed. According to the founder, CG Trader was started because he wasn't satisfied with the low pay rate of other 3d sites and would take almost 50% of the royalties. That's why a lot of artists, like myself, came here originally. Now this new system really screws over us smaller artists.
Here is the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVanaYuqVA8&t=192s
The fair royalty rates and superior interface are the two reasons why I shifted to CGTrader as my primary selling platform many years ago. Suddenly, they dropped my royalty rate by 10% and removed the Dashboard.
Once again, history repeats itself.
8
The reduction in earnings percentage for model designers is simply unacceptable. This isn’t just a financial loss — it’s a complete disregard for the years of effort, time, and creativity we’ve put into our work. Uploading affordable models no longer makes sense, because the compensation doesn’t reflect the value of our labor.
!!!Joining any discount event under these new terms would only hurt us further. That’s why we must not participate in any discount campaigns. Maybe then, our voices will be heard and this unfair revenue model will be reconsidered.!!!
We’ve contributed to the growth and quality of this platform for years. We’ve met the standards, consistently produced content, and invested ourselves fully. But clearly, all that effort means nothing now. Designers are the foundation of this system, yet we’re the ones suffering the most from this decision.
Being part of a system that ignores its creators like this is becoming harder to justify. We are truly disappointed.
STOP participating in the discount
are there way to stop participance in discounts ?
My Sales— Dicounts—[] I want to participate in all available programs
There are way to stop participance in Discounts
6
While I fully agree with the OP on this, I think the issue here is the same as Artstation's "AI Gate" a couple of years ago:
Describing the water you are drowning in, doesn't save you, no matter how great you are at describing it.
The corporate speak we get from CGT is no different that that of any other corporation that has forgotten their reason-for-being and who made the company grow in the first place. Look at Adobe, Apple, most of the gaming industry etc etc etc.
The world is infatuated with AI right now, and trying to stop that trend is remarkably similar to when the internet became a thing, or when artists transitioned from analog tools to computers: A lot of yelling and screaming - and much of it rightfully so - but ultimately, it's like standing in front of a freight train waving your arms and telling it that it should stop in the name of fairness: It's a waste of time.
PS: I´m old enough to have experienced both transitions as a professional, and my best advice is: do NOT waste your time railing against AI. Find a way around it or with it.
Had this been ONLY about the CGT payout model, I would applaud this and even be optimistic about the prospect of CGT listening and rolling back this change.
However, just like the OP stated, this is CGT trying to secure their future (at least short term) by scaling up their AI product and “restructuring” their original/legacy business to make that transition as painless for them as possible. Not for artists, for them.
Being shocked that corporations prioritise their own interests over those of their contributors is honestly naive.
I´m not saying it’s right or fair; it isn’t - but every single business is trying to balance making money and squeezing partners/clients too much. Some are just better at creating win-win situations or have a more “humanistic” approach than others. CGT doesn’t seem to fall into this category.
I’ve been a relatively frequent 3d client for the past 5-6 years (appr. 100 projects and 1,000+ models on CGT), and my interest in models and projects have gone down significantly for the simple reason that the projects I do require less of both.
I personally don´t know if my clients want or use more AI-generated content/artwork, but I think the overall perception of art or artwork as something valuable has decreased dramatically because of AI-generated content flooding every SM platform.
Or perhaps my own work simply doesn’t seem valuable enough compared to much cheaper AI work.
Either way, it’s an absolute waste of time to be angry at or frustrated with AI.
It’s here to stay, and while it certainly will find a more “natural” place in the creative pipeline than it has now, it probably will take some time before it does.
In the meantime, there is only ONE way forward, and that is to
A) find another line of work.
B) figure out how to use AI in your work in a smart and profitable way.
C) keep doing conventional 3d models but in a way that truly stands out.
D) go bankrupt.
If CGT F’s you over, find another platform and move on.
Start building more and better dialogues with clients UNRELATED to 3d platforms (FYI the 3d artists that I are most top-of-mind for me are those on Patreon or Gumroad who have mailing lists).
Team up, build new coalitions, heck - start your OWN platform if the others suck.
And most importantly: Please stop wasting your precious creative energy on things you can’t change - including CGT´s policies.
Many many good points here. I'm not in a position to get something up and running like a new 3d model sales website by myself, but I would certainly join and assist in creating one, if enough of us decided to take down our best models from here and start a new website selling only the best quality models., maybe we could up the ante by making it easy for clients to go to one sight to get the very best models available. I don't know, just thinking out loud here..
Flippednormals looks good to me
@vortiko Perhaps something like Jama Jurabaev's kits: collabs with likeminded artists creating awesome stuff?
@3DCargo Not sure about the artist cut, there - but since they don't seem big on 3d models (vehicles in particular but perhaps other categories) perhaps that's an opportunity to stand out on that platform?
@lassebauer, well for me personally I sell on TS and CGT. This keeps it simple for me but the TS 40% is not great compared. Now that the rates are changing on CGT I think either go exclusive on TS and get 60% OR sell on TS and FlippedNormals (FN). The rate on FN is 75%, so you need to do your own math on that. Again all depends on your situation but if you dont want to be exclusive (which was never my intention) then maybe 75% on FN would be better than some average royalty on CGT (increase/decrease here depending on the volume) + whatever you get on other markets if you dont go exclusive.
FYI when doing the numbers you might think why sell on TS at all at that rate? Well actually I make double the money there than I do here, so for me its a huge factor for consideration, and makes life alot easier when you only need to deal with one standard/upload/etc. Thats not the case for everyone but thats my case, and thats my thinking. Im still not exclusive as of today but its a consideration.
In this case AI is just a handy excuse to raise the profits. If marketplace can't efficiently operate taking 20-30% from the artists, then it means their doing shitty job. In previous occasions when they increased their cut, at least they promised to put an effort to better advertisement, increase traffic and sales and to be fair, they kept their promise. This time they didn't even bother to promise anything in return, unless you count paid search results. Fuck them, all they care is to cash in as much as possible before market will collapse.
6
Given your passion regarding this, have you thought about where to go next? If CGTrader is becoming unviable, where do we move? Just like 2d artists found ways to ensure their safety with making AI almost taboo on specific, large platforms, do we have any similar place we can go? If you have thought about this, please help the rest of us and let us know where we can go.
Thank you
The whole world doesn’t revolve around CGTrader. Google the best marketplaces for selling 3D models and choose what suits you best. CGTrader has turned into a junk asset.
I have looked up, but there are not many that I could find. If you want my list, here it is.
TurboSquid: Not preferred, bad reports.
BlenderMarketplace, now called SuperHive: mixed reviews but is generally middling and acceptable.
Reddit r/3drequests. Good but no security and requests are far and few in-between.
Unreal Engine 5 market: decent, has a long verification process but seems good. It is not oversaturated yet.
Unity market: from what I have heard, it is oversaturated but still good. Not much personal research.
SketchFab: needs investigation. I have heard complaints, do some research.
That is all I can think of. Please provide your own input as well and any experience you have with them.
Thank you
With sketchfab you're some time late. Now it can only be investigated as a museum, not a marketplace.
I highly advise against using sketchfab. I discovered that there are pirated ripper programs available. I decided to try it out and I was able to steal my own models from the 3d viewer on sketchfab. after that I deleted all my models from it
Thanks for letting me know. What platform do you sell on now?
Since I make models for print, I use Cults, they give 80% royalty and sales there are much better than here.
Thank you
6
how can you change the rules of the game during the game!?, I still have emails from you that if I start selling with you, you guarantee me high royalties, this change of policy is a scam, I want my royalties back, otherwise I'm taking all my models and transferring them to turbosqid
5
I went from having a Payout rate of 80% to 71%, and I'm sure that percentage will go down over time, there go 7 years of effort and hard work down the drain, I used to have the discount programs activated at 50% and 60%, but not anymore, if I keep offering discounts I won't have any good profits, I just deactivated them, I know my sales will go down because of that, but I prefer that to cgtrader abusing my sales. Friends, I think the only thing left for us to do is migrate to other platforms :(
5
The new payout calculation system is completely demotivating. When I first joined the platform, my initial percentage was 64%. I worked hard and brought it up to 75% this spring. But then the admins decided to change the rules in the middle of the game, and now I’m back at 68% — almost the same as when I started. And uploading free models now makes absolutely no sense.
a free models by the old system was improving the rank ?
Earlier, any model publication used to increase your rating. That made sense — free models attracted seekers to the platform, who might later go on to buy something.
5
As a buyer this change is horrible, I only started buying from cgtrader this year but with this change everything is becoming more expensive, tips to sellers:
1- Find other marketplaces
2- I would advice against providing 3d viewers as I've heard people can rip them with programs , I don't know if this specific for some platforms but make sure your renders are high quality and close enough and show all necessary details.
5
I couldn’t agree more. Everything you said resonates deeply — especially as someone who just dropped multiple commission tiers overnight despite years of consistent work and high ratings. This new system feels like it was designed to erase our past efforts and squeeze what’s left before AI takes over.
We’re not partners anymore — just data points in a profit chart. Thanks for putting this into words.
5
I will increase the price of all my models on cgtrader. And i will write a caption that. If you want a good price contact me directly by email. If someone is interested i will sell it outside of cgtrader. Now i will just treat cgtrader as a page where i can promote my products. And i will find another asset selling platform and sell it cheaper than cgtrader
4
I couldn’t agree more. Everything you said resonates deeply — especially as someone who just dropped multiple commission tiers overnight despite years of consistent work and high ratings. This new system feels like it was designed to erase our past efforts and squeeze what’s left before AI takes over.
We’re not partners anymore — just data points in a profit chart. Thanks for putting this into words.
Yes, mine has disappeared as well. It's a shame, because it was an incredibly convenient and useful feature.
3
how can you change the rules of the game during the game!?, I still have emails from you that if I start selling with you, you guarantee me high royalties, this change of policy is a scam, I want my royalties back, otherwise I'm taking all my models and transferring them to turbosqid
Ironically, when I first started selling my 3d models, the competitor that you mentioned was my primary platform. I shifted my focus to CGTrader specifically because that competitor suddenly dropped their royalty rate from 60% to 40%, while CGTrader was offering very fair royalty rates. Now, CGTrader is repeating that competitor's mistake.
I say "mistake," but the sad reality is that it will probably increase their profits. So for them, it will be a success, regardless of what it does to the artists who provide the content that they sell.
3
You have a second account on Turbosquid and there are other models and I have to say that the sales here are pathetic, the only thing that saved the case were higher royalties, so when they were lowered I throw everything on TS and here I delete the model, I earn more there or the same but CGtradej will not earn anything from me anymore so it's your decision, calculate whether you prefer to give my royalties or zero? what is more profitable for you? You have a week to answer, if not I delete everything here
2
how can you change the rules of the game during the game!?, I still have emails from you that if I start selling with you, you guarantee me high royalties, this change of policy is a scam, I want my royalties back, otherwise I'm taking all my models and transferring them to turbosqid
2
my request was simple. i stated that many “smaller” designers will leave this platform because the new payout system will only be a win for cg traders. here is the answer:
Julius CGT (CGTrader)
May 23, 2025, 13:09 GMT+3
Hello,
We completely understand your concerns and appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.
First of all I wish to clarify few things and answer your questions.
Payout sale is calculated form sales amount, not from received royalties, therefore if you wish to reach 15k you need to sell for 15k and not receive royalties that would be equal to 15k.
The percentage is recalculated daily (not yearly), as the statistic is based on 365 days. A dependable payout rate does not favor high-price models, since low-price models are sold more often. Most of our top sellers have items with lower-tier prices and a very high amount of sales (usually 20-70 sales daily) ; therefore, your statement is not true.
Change is never easy, especially when it affects something as important as payouts. However, the current system no longer reflects how the marketplace works today. It rewards volume over quality, and with AI-generated content flooding the space, we had to rethink how to fairly recognise the efforts of dedicated designers like yourself.
The new model focuses on sales performance over the past 12 months, making sure that creators who consistently produce valuable, in-demand content are the ones benefiting the most. It also opens doors for us to support your sales through paid marketing, something the old model limited.
Please know that these decisions were made carefully, with the goal of creating a fairer, more transparent system for everyone in the long term.
You can see your earnings history in My Sales>Monthly Summary and review the updated payout rates here: https://help.cgtrader.com/hc/en-us/articles/35293756906257-Payout-Rate-System-Explained
We appreciate your input and ask for your trust and understanding as we continue to work on improving our marketplace for all users.
Regards,
Julius
That julius is either straight lying to you in the face, or the cgtrader is in such mess that the left doesn't know what the right is doing, because payout rates are calculated from royalties, not from sales amount. Anyone who keeps track on his own sales and have the most basic math skills can easily see that. Pathetic liars, you can't believe single word coming from their mouth.
2
I don’t have a clever response to all this. No grand stand, no strategy. Just the quiet truth: I’ve tried — for years. I gave this system everything I had. I worked late nights, fixed broken files, replied to clients across time zones, and poured myself into the work. And still, in the end, it wasn’t enough.
So I’m done trying to fight a system that was never built to let us win.
I’m setting all my models free.
Not because it helps me — it doesn’t. There’s no reward waiting. No payout. Just silence. But I won’t keep feeding a platform that sees artists as temporary labor to exploit on the way to an AI-powered marketplace. I won't let my work become part of their machine — priced, devalued, and fed into an algorithm that never cared where it came from.
Setting these models free won’t undo what’s been lost. It won’t fix the years I spent trying to make this work. But maybe, in some small way, it can still mean something. Maybe someone out there can use them, learn from them, or just feel a little less alone in all this.
I won’t be part of this race anymore. I won’t become the machine to compete with it.
Let them have their tiers, their fake loyalty programs, their short-term profits.
I’ll keep what little I have left: my dignity, and the decision to walk away on my own terms.
I'm asking you to reconsider this decision. Cgtrader won't even notice your protest, they don't care. Your models are too good to be tossed out for free. Crooked people will download them and will be selling them everywhere. If you don't want to feed the corrupt machine, it's your decision and i can relate to that, but why let people with no moral to benefit from your hard work? If you don't want to hassle with setting up your store on another marketplace, just delete those models here - they are too good to be tossed to dogs.
i would you also reconsider it , and just search for other places to sell it , please dont give people for free your hard work , think about your hours and dont make it feel "waste of time "
i have requested support to change my models to draft mode. i have also written that i will sell on this platform again if the payout system is changed back to the old one. as long as this does not happen, they will not earn a cent from me. offering your models for free is nice but unnecessary. there are other ways.
Thank you for all your concern, I really appreciate it. But honestly, this has been something I've been considering for a long time now. Sales haven't been good for over a year, and I'm truly tired of clinging to this system.
This isn't my main job, but I've been trying to find freedom in my work for so long. There's been this constant itch inside me dragging me down - the pressure, the expectations, the whole marketplace game. I just want to create and share it with anyone who might enjoy it, without all the commitments and stress that comes with trying to make it profitable.
I know some people might take advantage, but at this point I'd rather have my work out there being used and appreciated than sitting in a store gathering digital dust. The freedom to just create without worrying about sales numbers or algorithms is worth more to me right now than potential profits.
Thank you again for caring enough to comment. It means a lot.
As unfortunate as it is, I believe that I'll be doing the same.
No point letting it stay on the platform at all if you disagree, Lots of us are in the same boat. If this decision is not reversed the best method is to move to other platforms and entirely remove it from CGT, otherwise they continue to profit from your hard work. I will do the same if this doesnt change (which it probably wont). If they lose 100,000 artists over this greedy decision then thats on them.
-1
I will increase the price of all my models on cgtrader. And i will write a caption that. If you want a good price contact me directly by email. If someone is interested i will sell it outside of cgtrader. Now i will just treat cgtrader as a page where i can promote my products. And i will find another asset selling platform and sell it cheaper than cgtrader
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