Most playlist pitching sites will not tell you what the curator gets. It is worth knowing, because that number decides what kind of attention you are buying.
The arithmetic
On the entry plan here a credit works out at about $0.76. A curator is paid $0.50 of every credit a review cost. Bigger playlists cost more credits — reach is the only thing that moves the price — so a review for a list of 200,000 pays the curator four times what a list of 200 does, and costs you four times as much.
The rest runs the place: card fees, the checks on every playlist, the server clock that times every listen, and refunds when a curator misses the window. That is the whole model. The curator's share is most of what you pay, and it is printed here rather than hidden.
If you just want a quick yes or no, you can pitch free a few times a week to curators who take free pitches. Nobody is paid for those, so nobody is promised a written review. Credits are for when you want one.
Why the fee is flat
Here is the thing that actually changes what you get back. A curator here earns the same whether they add your track or pass on it.
Think about what happens when that is not true. If an add pays more than a pass, every curator on the platform now has a reason to add. If an artist can see which curator says yes most often, every artist pitches that curator, and every curator learns that saying yes is what gets them pitched. Within a few months the reviews are worthless, the playlists are full of tracks nobody chose, and the adds mean nothing to anyone.
A flat fee is the only arrangement where a curator has nothing to gain by lying to you. It is also the reason a pass here is worth reading. Somebody was paid properly to listen for 60 seconds and write you 20 words about why it is not for their list. That is not a rejection, it is the thing you were buying.
What you are not buying
You are not buying a placement. Anyone selling you one is breaking Spotify's rules and putting your catalogue at risk, and the fact that it sometimes works is exactly why it is dangerous. You are buying a listen and an opinion from somebody whose name is on it.
If nobody answers inside 72 hours, the credit comes back to you automatically and the curator is paid nothing. You do not have to ask.