VO Business Answers · Rates & money
Union vs non-union voiceover: what's the difference for pay?
Union (SAG-AFTRA) voiceover work pays published minimum rates ('scale') plus contributions toward pension and health, with contract terms enforced by the union. Non-union work has no rate floor — everything is negotiated — which allows both better and far worse deals. Many working VOs build non-union careers using published guides like GVAA as their de facto floor.
Union coverage brings standardized session fees, defined usage cycles (like the 13-week television cycle), required P&H contributions from the producer, and recourse when a client misuses your work. The tradeoff is eligibility rules and, once you join, limits on accepting non-union work (Global Rule One).
Non-union is where most newcomers start and where a large share of corporate, e-learning, and web work lives. The absence of a floor makes your own pricing discipline the only protection — which is why rate guides and honest peer communities matter so much on the non-union side.
The practical difference shows up in bookkeeping too: union jobs carry P&H percentages and sometimes paymaster payroll (with tax withheld before you're paid); non-union jobs are straight invoicing. Your records need to handle both without confusing gross, net, and withholding.
VOpilot models both worlds on the same job form — union status, SAG P&H rate, tax withheld by a paymaster, agent commissions — so your net-to-self is computed, not guessed.
Sources: SAG-AFTRA
By Jack Daniel — working voiceover artist; founder, VOpilot. Updated 2026-07-24.
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