What is the difference between platform transaction fees and payment processor fees?

Payment processor fees (e.g., Stripe 2.9% + 30¢) are charged by financial institutions to process credit card transactions. Platform transaction fees are extra commissions charged by the course software company (e.g., 5% to 10%) on top of merchant fees.

At what revenue volume is a flat monthly subscription cheaper than a transaction-fee plan?

Typically, once your monthly course sales exceed $1,500 to $2,500, paying a $79 to $119 flat monthly subscription with 0% transaction fees becomes significantly cheaper than using a '$0/month + 10% fee' platform.

Are credit card processing fees included in platform subscription prices?

No. Credit card processing fees (standard 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction) are universally charged by merchant processors (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net) and are not covered by platform monthly subscription fees.

How do annual prepay discounts impact platform break-even calculations?

Prepaying annually reduces your fixed monthly overhead by 15% to 33%, lowering the sales volume needed to reach profitability and maximizing creator margins.

Financial Margin & Fee Breakdown|Real Take-Home Modeling

True Cost & Revenue Take-Home Calculator

Software pricing pages advertise deceptively low \$29 - \$39 monthly fees while quietly taking a 5% to 10% slice of every sale. Adjust your monthly volume and course price below to reveal exactly how much money remains in your pocket after platform cuts and payment gateways.

Instant Scenarios

Click a creator profile to pre-fill realistic revenue & pricing metrics

Configure Your Business Metrics

Drag the sliders or use the +/- buttons to adjust volume and discover your true net margin.

Include Tool Add-ons

Monthly Gross Sales

$500$25k$50k

Product / Course Price

$10$500$1,000

Email Subscribers

010k25k

Product Catalog

3 courses

11020+

Monthly Gross Sales$5,000

Annual Gross Volume$60,000

Order Volume33 orders/mo

Annual Fee Spread~$12,336

MIGRATION ALPHA CALCULATOR

Already using an existing platform? Check your switching upside.

Select what software you run today to see how much commission and redundant SaaS cost you can recover.

My Platform:

Fee Inflection Alert

At $5,000/mo, choosing Systeme.io (Free) over Disco.co (Enterprise) saves you $1,028 every single month ($12,336/year) in avoided cuts and separate SaaS software.

Platform Net Profit Rankings

Evaluated across 39 platform subscription tiers for your specific volume.

🏆 #1 Highest Take-Home

Systeme.io

Free Tier

$4,796Net Monthly Retained

Subscription:$0/mo

Platform Commission:$0 (0% Cut)

Payment Processing:-$155/mo

Required Add-on Tools:+$49/mo

Effective Fee Rate:4.1% of sales

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🥈 #2 Runner Up

Systeme.io

Startup Tier

$4,779Net Monthly Retained

Subscription:$17/mo

Platform Commission:$0 (0% Cut)

Payment Processing:-$155/mo

Required Add-on Tools:+$49/mo

Effective Fee Rate:4.4% of sales

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🥉 #3 Value Choice

Tutor LMS

Free Core Plugin Tier

$4,767Net Monthly Retained

Subscription:$0/mo

Platform Commission:$0 (0% Cut)

Payment Processing:-$155/mo

Required Add-on Tools:+$78/mo

Effective Fee Rate:4.7% of sales

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Need to evaluate features beyond pricing?

Cross-examine SCORM, video watermarking, native mobile apps, and community engines side-by-side.

100+ Feature Matrix →60s Platform Matcher →

🏆 #Systeme.io: $4,796/mo NetSaves ~$1,028/mo vs worst tier

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Transaction Fee & TCO FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions About Course Platform Fees

Clear answers on how platform commissions, credit card fees, and volume thresholds affect your creator margins.

The True Cost Calculator combines fixed monthly subscription costs, variable platform percentage transaction fees, and payment gateway fees (typically Stripe/PayPal at 2.9% + 30¢) across your monthly sales volume to calculate your net revenue and effective fee percentage.