You look up the price of a custom song: you find €5, then €89, then a quote for €400. All for a gift that, from a distance, is the same object.
The spread is no accident: it covers four ways of making the same thing. Price follows two variables, who holds the microphone and how many human hours go into the track. Here are the real ranges, the delivery times, and what €5 actually buys.
Why the same gift costs €5 or €400
A custom song is three jobs stacked together: writing lyrics about one specific person, setting them to music, recording them. With a songwriter, that means three slots in a diary, and you pay for their time at the price of their time. With a guided music AI, writing and composing take a few minutes of computing.
So a low price does not buy less song: it buys fewer hours. Spending €400 does not guarantee sharper lyrics, only that a human read your anecdotes and picked the rhymes. The real question: what do I receive, and when.
The main price families
The studio musician: €150 to €600, one to four weeks
They call you, you talk, they write, they record. Budget €150 for voice and guitar, €300 to €600 with a proper arrangement, and one to four weeks of waiting. The right call when the artist's name is part of the gift. The pitfall is the calendar: without three weeks ahead of you, this whole family drops out. More on that in AI or musician.
The commission platform: €50 to €150, three to ten days
Marketplaces put you in touch with independent singers: €60 to €120 for a short track, delivered in three to ten days. The middle ground, for anyone who wants a human voice without the studio budget. The pitfall: quality varies wildly, and the advertised price is rarely the final one. Check the add-ons against these seven criteria.
Guided music AI: €5 to €30, a few minutes
You tell the story in a form; the service writes, composes, sings and delivers. At Tubissime that is €5, €8 or €13 depending on the plan, with the song in your hands within minutes. Elsewhere the category climbs to €30, often because the price hides a monthly subscription. The pitfall: everything rides on what you tell it. Three vague lines give a vague song; the suitcase left on the platform in Lisbon gives a chorus the whole room sings.
Doing it yourself: €0 to €20, an evening at the very least
Self-serve generators cost little, sometimes nothing on a trial. Except price is no longer the point: you write the verses, pick the style, hit regenerate fifteen times and stitch the pieces together. The pitfall is structure: lyrics with no chorus sound wrong whatever the tool. Budget a full evening, and the gift will have cost you four hours instead of €8.
What €5 buys, and what it does not
Let us be precise, because this is where scepticism is fair. At €5, The Single gives a song of about 2 min 30, written from your story, in two versions to compare and as a downloadable MP3. A whole song, with the real names and the real anecdote. Not a demo, not a thirty-second snippet.
What €5 does not buy: a human calling you back to rework the third verse, a singer whose name you know, unlimited rewrites. Nor the full-screen karaoke or the cover art, which come with The Gold Record at €8, the most chosen plan. The Platinum, at €13, adds 5 minutes of song, two styles, a photo slideshow and a video. Details on the plans page.
A low price does not buy less song: it buys fewer human hours. The question is which of those hours you would miss.
The best way to settle it is to listen. Our demos are public, with no account and no payment: the full Gold Record song, or the Platinum with its slideshow. A service that will not play you a complete track before you buy has already answered you.
Delivery time, the forgotten variable
Delivery decides it more often than price. Party on Saturday, it is Thursday evening: everything that needs a week drops out, even at €80, and the rush option is billed at 30% to 100% of the base price. Delivery in minutes, by contrast, lets you decide the night before, listen, and start again if it does not land.
The extras that push the bill up
- Rush fees, sometimes as expensive as the song itself.
- Revisions billed one at a time: two rounds and the invoice is up 40%.
- A monthly subscription presented as a one-off price.
- A file with no clear usage rights, or at reduced quality.
- Extras you assume are included: cover art, karaoke, download.
Prices and delivery times, plainly
| Option | Price | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Studio musician | €150 to €600 | One to four weeks |
| Commission platform | €50 to €150 | Three to ten days |
| Guided music AI | €5 to €30 | A few minutes to a few hours |
| Tubissime | €5, €8 or €13 | A few minutes |
| Doing it yourself | €0 to €20 | An evening of your time |
Start with the date: it removes half the options before budget comes into it. If yours is close, the order takes three minutes to fill in.
How much does a custom song cost on average?
There is no single average, there are four markets: €150 to €600 with a songwriter, €50 to €150 on a platform of independent singers, €5 to €30 with an AI-assisted service. At Tubissime: €5, €8 and €13.
Why do some services charge €400 and others €5?
Because they are not selling the same hours. A high price pays for an interview, hand-written lyrics and a studio vocal take. A low price pays for a tool that does that work in minutes.
Is a €5 song a complete song?
Yes: around 2 min 30, verses, chorus, a sung vocal, as a downloadable MP3, with two versions to compare. What is missing at that price are the presentation options (karaoke, cover art, slideshow) and a human hand on the lyrics.
What is the shortest delivery time for a custom song?
A few minutes with an AI-assisted service. With a musician, count on a week at the very least, often three. If your date is less than five days away, delivery decides before price does.
The short version
The price of a custom song depends on one variable: the number of human hours in the track. €150 to €600 with a musician, €50 to €150 on a platform, €5 to €30 with a guided music AI. Start with your date: it removes half the options on its own. Then listen to a complete example before you pay.