What Commission Rate Should Your Platform Charge?
Set your commission rate too low, and you'll attract sellers but may not cover your operating costs. Set it too high, and you'll protect your margin while losing sellers to cheaper competitors. Finding the right rate means balancing your monthly operating cost, your target margin, and the transaction volume (GMV) you expect to process. This calculator adds your target profit to your operating cost, then divides by expected GMV to find the break-even commission rate โ the minimum you need to charge to cover costs and hit your margin goal. It also compares that rate against a competitor's average so you can gauge your pricing competitiveness at a glance.
How It's Calculated
| Step | Item | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Target profit | GMV ร target margin |
| 2 | Required commission revenue | Operating cost + target profit |
| 3 | Optimal commission rate | Required revenue รท GMV |
| 4 | Competitor comparison | Optimal rate โ competitor average |
Real-world pricing also depends on payment processing fees, promotions, and seller churn risk, so treat this result as a starting point for pricing rather than a final answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's your monthly operating cost plus your target profit (based on your margin goal), divided by your expected monthly GMV. Charging this rate covers your costs and hits your margin target.
Consider cutting operating costs, growing your GMV, or adjusting your target margin. Pushing the rate down artificially without changing those inputs means missing your margin goal.
Yes, if most of your operating cost is fixed. As GMV rises, the fixed cost is spread across more transaction volume, so the required commission rate falls. It's worth recalculating regularly as you scale.
โป Actual figures may vary by individual circumstances. This is a reference estimate only.