How We Make Money
No hidden fees. No fine print. Here's exactly how Audibase works financially: what we charge, what Stripe charges, what it costs us to run, and what you keep.
Our Promise
Two fees come off a sale, and only two. Our platform fee, which depends on your plan. And Stripe's card fee: Stripe, who process the payment, charge their own card fee on every sale: 1.5% + 20p for most UK cards, more for cards from abroad. It comes off the sale before you are paid. There are no listing fees, withdrawal fees, or surprise charges. If we ever change our rates, we'll announce it publicly and give you advance notice.
Where Does Your Money Go?
A £10 sale on each plan, paid with a UK card. Every penny is accounted for.
Free
Free forever
82% to you on this sale
Pro
£9.99/mo
89% to you on this sale
Studio
£19.99/mo
94% to you on this sale
Commission Rates
The platform fee is what Audibase takes. Stripe's card fee (1.5% + 20p for most UK cards) comes off each sale as well.
| Sale Type | Free | Pro£9.99/mo | Studio£19.99/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracks & Software | 15%keep 85% | 8%keep 92% | 3%keep 97% |
| Event Tickets | 15%keep 85% | 10%keep 90% | 5%keep 95% |
What Our Platform Fee Pays For
Everything below comes out of our platform fee. The only other fee on a sale is Stripe's card fee.
Payment Handling
Checkout, splitting each sale and paying you through Stripe Connect
Platform Infrastructure
Hosting, databases, CDN, and edge computing to keep things fast globally
Storage & Delivery
R2 object storage with zero egress fees for streaming and downloads
Support & Security
Customer support, fraud protection, and secure payment handling
Our Real Infrastructure Costs
Adjust the user count to see how our infrastructure costs scale. We want you to see exactly where the money goes.
Costs scale linearly from a 10k-user baseline
| Service | Est. Cost |
|---|---|
Cloudflare R2 Storage | ~£75/mo |
Vercel Hosting | ~£50/mo |
Firebase / Firestore | ~£120/mo |
Transactional Email | ~£35/mo |
Stripe Processing | 1.5% + 20p/sale |
| Estimated Total (excl. Stripe) | ~£280/mo |
Infrastructure Costs
~£280/mo
Storage, hosting, database, email
Stripe Card Fee
1.5% + 20p
Most UK cards. Comes off each sale before you are paid
Hidden Fees
£0
Our platform fee and Stripe's card fee are the only two
Our costs will grow as we grow
We want to be honest: as more artists join and upload content, our storage, database, and bandwidth costs will increase. Use the slider above to see how costs scale. If we ever need to adjust commission rates to keep the platform sustainable, we will tell you first, explain why, and give you time to plan. Our priority is always the artists on this platform, and we will never make changes behind closed doors.
Audibase Revenue Overview
See how Audibase makes money based on real plan prices and commission rates from our codebase, combined with your assumptions about user behavior.
Your Assumptions
Total users (set above): 10,000
Creator Subscriptions
Facts from our code
These values come directly from our codebase and cannot be edited.
Plan prices
Commission rates
Creator subscription fee
Collected via Stripe Connect application_fee_percent
Payment processing
Subscription Revenue
Commission Revenue
Creator Subscription Fees
Monthly Summary
These are estimates based on your assumptions. Real results vary with actual user behavior, churn, seasonal trends, and market conditions.
How Payouts Work
Your money goes directly to you. We never hold your funds.
A fan buys your track
Stripe takes the payment and charges its card fee.
We pay you straight away
As soon as the payment goes through, your share goes to your connected Stripe account: the sale price less our platform fee and Stripe's card fee. Both are shown on the sale.
Stripe pays your bank
Stripe pays out to your bank account on your configured schedule. Standard payouts arrive in 2-3 business days.
How We Compare
Platform fees compared. Card fees come on top everywhere, in one form or another.
| Platform | Total Fees | You Keep |
|---|---|---|
| Bandcamp | 15% + payment processing | ~80% |
| Gumroad | 10% + $0.50 per sale | ~87% |
| Beatport | ~50% of retail | ~50% |
| Audibase Free | 15% + card fee | 85% |
| Audibase Pro | 8% + card fee | 92% |
| Audibase Studio | 3% + card fee | 97% |
Plans at a Glance
Pick the tier that fits your needs. Upgrade or downgrade anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you take a cut of creator subscription revenue?
Yes. When fans subscribe to a creator's tier, Audibase takes a 10% platform fee. The remaining 90% goes directly to the creator via Stripe Connect. This is separate from marketplace commissions on individual sales.
Who pays the card fee?
The seller, out of each sale. Stripe, who process the payment, charge their own card fee on every sale: 1.5% + 20p for most UK cards, more for cards from abroad. It comes off the sale before you are paid. Audibase takes its platform fee and nothing else: no listing fees and no withdrawal fees. Your sales history shows both fees on every sale.
Where are my files stored?
All media files are stored on Cloudflare R2, which provides S3-compatible object storage with zero egress fees. This means there's no extra cost when your fans stream or download your content.
How fast do I get paid?
As soon as the buyer's payment goes through, Audibase works out your share and sends it to your connected Stripe account. From there, Stripe pays out to your bank on your configured schedule (typically 2-3 business days for standard payouts).
Is there a minimum payout threshold?
No. You get paid from your very first sale. There is no minimum balance to reach first.
What happens if I downgrade my plan?
Your commission rate adjusts to your new plan tier. Sales made before the downgrade keep their original rate. You'll never be retroactively charged a higher commission on past sales.
Will your costs go up as you grow?
Yes, and we want to be upfront about that. Most of our infrastructure costs scale with users, storage, and transactions. As we grow, our costs will grow too. We are committed to keeping artists informed if we ever need to adjust rates, and any changes will be announced well in advance.
Still have questions?
We're happy to answer anything about how Audibase works. Transparency means being available, too.
Contact Us