Solana creator fees explained: how meme coin creators earn from trades

A Solana creator fee is a small cut of every trade in a meme coin that goes to the person who launched it. It is charged on buys and sells alike, so a creator earns from trading activity, not from the price going up. On a Solana coin launched through sasa, the creator fees are split half to the creator and half to sasa, and that split is fixed in the launch itself.

This guide covers where the fee comes from, how it adds up at different volumes, what changes it over a coin's life, and how it compares with the creator fee on sasa's EVM launches. For the general concept across all chains, see what is a creator fee.

Where does a Solana creator fee come from?

Every trade on a launch curve carries a trading fee taken from the trade's value. Part of that fee is set aside as the creator fee. The trader does not pay it as a separate charge; it is part of the price they get. A buyer receives slightly fewer coins and a seller slightly less money than they would without fees, and the difference goes to the parties the launch names.

Because the fee is a percentage of the value traded, the amount a creator earns is simply the coin's trading volume multiplied by the creator's share of the fee. Nothing else goes into it: not the number of holders, not the market cap, not whether the price is up or down.

How is the creator fee split on sasa's Solana launches?

On a Solana coin launched through sasa, the creator fees are split half to the creator and half to sasa. The split is part of the launch itself, written in when the coin goes live on Solana's standard launch curve. That has two practical consequences:

• It cannot be changed afterwards. sasa cannot raise its half later and the creator cannot reassign it, so buyers and creators know the terms from day one.
• It applies to every trade on the curve, not only to trades placed through sasa. Someone buying through a Solana wallet or another app pays the same fee on the curve, and the split is the same.

The launch itself costs about $5 from your USDC Cash plus your optional first buy, as covered in how to launch a meme coin on Solana.

Worked example: what creator fees add up to

Example (made-up figures to show the arithmetic, not a forecast): suppose the total creator fees generated by trading in your coin come to $300 over its first week. With the half-and-half split, $150 goes to you and $150 to sasa.

Now consider how that week usually looks. A typical meme coin does most of its trading in the first few hours. Suppose $240 of that $300 in creator fees came on day one, $40 on day two and $20 across the rest of the week. Your half is $120 on day one, $20 on day two and $10 after that. The lesson is that creator fees track attention, and attention on most meme coins drops fast.

Compare the other direction: a coin with a steady community that trades every day might generate a similar $300 in its first week but keep producing a smaller, steady amount for weeks afterwards. That second coin is far more valuable to its creator over time, even if its launch day looked smaller.

Do creator fees depend on the price going up?

No. A creator fee is earned on volume in both directions. A coin that people are dumping still generates fees on every sell. That is why creator fees are often misunderstood: a falling coin with heavy selling can produce more fees in an afternoon than a quietly rising coin with little trading.

It also means creator fees are not a reason to hold a coin or to push it. They are a side effect of other people trading. The creator's reputation, and whether buyers trust the coin enough to keep trading it, is what keeps fees coming.

What happens to creator fees when the coin graduates?

When the launch curve fills, the coin graduates and trading moves to a regular liquidity pool. What fees apply after that depends on how the pool it moves to is set up, so the curve-phase creator fee should not be assumed to carry on in the same form. The move itself, and what changes for holders and creators, is covered in what happens when a Solana meme coin graduates.

How does this compare with creator fees on sasa's EVM launches?

sasa's EVM launch race works differently. One coin launches on Base, BNB Chain, Robinhood Chain and Arc at once, the chain with the most buying in five minutes wins, and the winning pool is locked forever. sasa pools charge 2% per trade, and the creator earns 30% of that fee forever, or can choose buyback-and-burn instead, where that share is used to buy and burn the coin. The burn option is explained in buyback and burn explained.

• Solana launch: launches on Solana's standard launch curve; creator fees split half to the creator and half to sasa, fixed in the launch.
• EVM launch race: launches on four chains, ends in one locked pool; 2% fee per trade, of which the creator earns 30% forever or chooses buyback-and-burn.

Neither model is a promise of income. Both pay the creator only when other people trade. For a broader look at how creators earn from trading activity, see earn from meme coin trading fees.

Do Solana coins count in the creator competition?

No. sasa's creator competition runs from October 23 to November 25, 2026 and ranks creators by the volume other traders bring to the coins they launched on sasa during that period. Solana coins do not count toward it. The prize goes only to first place: 0.25% of that volume, up to $100,000, and there is no prize if the winner's volume is below $100,000. The competition guide, meme coin creator competition, has the full rules.

What actually increases creator fee earnings?

• A clear idea that people want to talk about, so trading continues after launch day.
• Staying active: replying, posting, giving holders reasons to come back.
• Not selling your own first buy early. Creator sells are visible and often end trading entirely, which ends the fees too.
• A fair launch. Coins where one wallet or a cluster of linked wallets holds a large share scare off the traders who would have produced volume.
• Realistic expectations. Most coins earn very little in creator fees because most coins stop trading quickly.

Common misunderstandings about Solana creator fees

• Creator fees are not paid by the creator. They come out of other people's trades, as part of the price those traders get.
• A high market cap does not mean high creator fees. A coin with a big market cap and little trading earns less than a smaller coin that trades all day.
• Creator fees are not a sign that a coin is safe. Any coin on the curve generates them, including coins whose creator later abandons them.
• Holding a large share of your own coin does not increase your creator fees. Your share of the fee is set by the launch, not by your balance.
• Launching many coins at once does not multiply earnings in practice. Attention is split, and each coin tends to trade less.

Keeping these in mind makes it easier to judge a launch honestly: creator fees reward a coin that people keep wanting to trade, and nothing else.

The risk side

Creator fees are not a salary. They depend on strangers choosing to trade your coin, and most meme coins lose that interest within hours. Launch because you want to try an idea, budget the launch cost and first buy as money you may not get back, and treat any creator fees as a bonus if the coin finds an audience.