Before we get to making your first sale, it’s important to know what it will cost to use Freemius. Even if you’ve already reviewed our Pricing page, we want to ensure everything is crystal clear.
No upfront fees
You only start paying when you start earning. With Freemius’ revenue-sharing model, you won’t pay a dime until you make your first sale.
Transparent pricing that grows with you
Our SaaS and Software solution is offered at a competitive rate of 4.7% per successful transaction.
No hidden fees
Unlike some other payment solutions, Freemius is committed to complete transparency:
- We don’t charge any setup or monthly fees.
- We don’t apply our revenue share to the sales tax/VAT.
- We don’t add extra fees on subscription payments.
- We don’t charge any fees on payouts.
- We don’t charge extra fees on payments recovered through cart recovery.
- We don’t charge extra fees on payments recovered with dunning (failed renewals recovery).
- We don’t charge extra fees on payments generated from affiliates.
- We don’t charge extra fees on PayPal transactions.
- We don’t charge fees for currency conversion. Instead, you can receive payouts in the native currency in which they were processed. If you sell in USD, EUR, and GBP, you can receive payouts in 3 separate currencies to 3 different bank accounts.
WordPress Solution
If you’re selling a WordPress plugin or theme, our dedicated WordPress solution eliminates the hassles of setup, maintenance, and server hosting, so you can jump straight to selling and focusing on growth. This service comes at a modest additional cost of 2.3%. Explore our detailed WordPress Solution Pricing to discover all the features and benefits and determine if it’s the right fit for you.
Gateway processing fees
Gateway fees may vary, but thanks to the high transaction volumes processed on Freemius, we’re consistently negotiating the best possible rates with Stripe and PayPal. The current average effective rate is 3.5%. As we grow, we’re committed to reducing these fees, and we want to be clear that Freemius does not take any portion of the processing fees.
High-volume rates
We offer complete transparency even as you scale — ensuring you understand exactly how our collaboration evolves without the need for the exhausting, time-consuming negotiations that you’d typically have to initiate with other payment providers. This approach gives you peace of mind, allowing you to focus on growing your business.
When your monthly gross sales exceed $50,000, you qualify for our Growth Pricing. With this plan, the revenue share progressively decreases as you scale, dropping to as little as 0.5% on sales beyond $100,000 per month.
| Monthly gross | Progressive rev-share |
|---|---|
| 0-$50,000 | 4.7% |
| $50,001 – $60,000 | 4.5% |
| $60,001 – $70,000 | 4.0% |
| $70,001 – $80,000 | 3.0% |
| $80,001 – $90,000 | 2.0% |
| $90,001 – $100,000 | 1.0% |
| $100,000+ | 0.5% |
For example, if you earn $67k in a given month, the first $50k is subject to a 4.7% share, the next $10k to a 4.5% share, and the remaining $7k to a 4.0% share.
Freemius vs. Others
Let’s examine an example breakdown of a $100 PayPal subscription from a French consumer, including a 20% VAT.
Freemius fees breakdown
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product price | $100 |
| VAT | $20 |
| Total transaction | $120 |
| Freemius rev-share (4.7%) | $4.7 4.7% applies only to product price |
| Gateway fee (3.5% avg. effective rate) | $4.2 |
| Total fees | $8.9 |
Competing Merchant of Record fees breakdown
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product price | $100 |
| VAT | $20 |
| Total transaction | $120 |
| Transaction fee (5% + 50¢) | $6.5 |
| International card (+1.5%) | $1.8 |
| Subscription payment (+0.5%) | $0.6 |
| PayPal payment (+1.5%) | $1.8 |
| Payout currency conversion (2-4%) | $2.4 – $4.8 Applies if your country’s currency doesn’t match the payout currency. E.g., if you’re from the UK selling in USD. |
| Payout fee (Up to 3%) | $0 – $3.6 Vary based on payout method and your country. |
| Total fees | $10.7 to $19.1 $8.9 to $17.3 for credit card subscription |
Stripe standard fees breakdown
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product price | $100 |
| VAT | $20 |
| Total transaction | $120 |
| Transaction fee (2.9% + 30¢) | $3.78 |
| International card (+1.5%) | $1.8 |
| Subscription payment (+0.5%) | $0.6 |
| Invoice issuing (+0.4%) | $0.48 |
| Tax calculation and monitoring (+0.5%) | $0.6 |
| Fraud protection | $0.2 |
| Payout currency conversion (2-4%) | $0 – $4.8 Applies if your country’s currency doesn’t match the payout currency. E.g., if you’re from the UK selling in USD. |
| Total fees | $7.46 to $12.26 |
PayPal Standard Fees Breakdown
While PayPal may appear more affordable, it is actually the most expensive solution. It lacks essential billing features, such as invoicing and sales tax calculation/monitoring, which means you’ll need to invest in additional services to cover those gaps.
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product price | $100 |
| VAT | $20 |
| Total transaction | $120 |
| Transaction fee (3.49% + 49¢) | $4.678 |
| International card (+1.5%) | $1.8 |
| Payout currency conversion (2-4%) | $2.4 – $4.8 Applies if your country’s currency doesn’t match the payout currency. E.g., if you’re from the UK selling in USD. |
| Total fees | $8.878 to $11.278 |
Refunds
You can issue full or partial refunds, and our revenue share will be returned proportionally. However, Stripe and PayPal do not refund their processing fees.
Dispute and Chargeback fees
We handle disputes and chargebacks on your behalf, achieving astoundingly high winning rates: 29.6% for credit card disputes, and nearly all PayPal disputes resolved in our favor. Keep in mind that a dispute fee of $15 to $20 is deducted directly by payment processors from your balance, regardless of the outcome.
