When you compare e-commerce platforms, the first number you see is usually the monthly price. It is also the least useful number on its own. What matters is how much the platform costs you once you add every fee that comes with each sale, every app you need to install, and every tool you pay for separately.
This article explains the main pricing models, the hidden costs to look for, and a simple way to calculate the true monthly cost for your store.
The three common pricing models
1. Percentage of each sale. The platform takes a share of every order. There may be no monthly fee at all, which makes it attractive when you start. The cost grows in direct proportion to your sales.
2. Flat subscription. You pay a fixed amount per month, whatever your sales. The cost per order falls as you sell more.
3. Mixed. A monthly fee plus a smaller percentage of each sale, often reduced on higher plans or waived only if you use the platform's own payment service.
None of these is wrong. They simply put the cost in different places, and the right one depends on your sales volume and how fast you expect to grow.
Platform fees and payment fees are not the same thing
This is the point where many comparisons go wrong. Two different fees can apply to the same order:
- Platform transaction fee. What the e-commerce platform takes from the sale.
- Payment provider fee. What the bank, card network or payment service charges to process the payment.
Payment provider fees exist on almost every platform if you accept online payments. A platform with "no transaction fees" can still leave you paying the payment provider. When you compare, make sure you put these two lines side by side and do not count one as the other.
The hidden costs to add
A platform price page rarely shows everything you will pay. Before you decide, list the extras you would need:
- Paid apps or add-ons for features like loyalty programmes, reviews, multiple warehouses, staff accounts or analytics.
- Separate tools such as a CRM, an inventory spreadsheet service or a discount tool.
- Theme costs if the free designs do not fit your brand.
- Higher plans needed just to unlock one feature you rely on.
- Your own time spent moving data between disconnected tools.
A cheap platform that needs five paid apps can cost more than an all-in-one platform with a higher base price.
The true cost formula
Here is a simple way to bring everything to one number per month:
True monthly cost = subscription + (monthly sales × platform fee %) + (monthly sales × payment provider fee %) + fixed fees per order × number of orders + monthly cost of apps and separate tools
And to compare platforms fairly at different sizes:
Cost per order = true monthly cost ÷ number of orders
Example with made-up round numbers
The figures below are an example, not real prices of any platform. Replace them with the quotes you get.
Your store (example): 300 orders a month, average order 40, so monthly sales of 12,000. Assume a payment provider fee of 3% on both platforms (example).
Platform A (percentage model, example): no subscription, 5% of each sale, needs two apps at 20 each.
- Platform fee: 12,000 × 5% = 600
- Payment provider: 12,000 × 3% = 360
- Apps: 40
- True monthly cost: 1,000, or about 3.33 per order
Platform B (flat model, example): 50 per month subscription, no platform fee on sales, features included.
- Subscription: 50
- Payment provider: 12,000 × 3% = 360
- True monthly cost: 410, or about 1.37 per order
Now look at the same two platforms at 30 orders a month (sales of 1,200):
- Platform A: 60 + 36 + 40 = 136
- Platform B: 50 + 36 = 86
In this example the flat model wins at both sizes because of the app costs, but the gap is much wider at higher volume. Without the apps, Platform A would cost 96 at 30 orders and would be closer. That is why you should always run the formula at your current volume and the volume you expect in a year.
The break-even point
If you want a single number to remember, calculate the break-even sales level:
Break-even monthly sales = (subscription of flat platform − fixed monthly costs of percentage platform) ÷ platform fee % of percentage platform
Example: (50 − 40) ÷ 5% = 200 in monthly sales. Above that level, the flat model in this example costs less.
Questions to ask any platform
- Do you take a percentage of my sales? On every plan?
- Is the fee waived only if I use a specific payment service?
- Which features need a paid app or a higher plan?
- Are staff accounts, multiple warehouses and discounts included?
- What happens to my price as my product count grows?
- Can I export my products, orders and customers if I leave?
Write the answers next to each platform and fill in the formula. The cheapest option on the pricing page is not always the cheapest in your bank account.
How RedCart handles this
RedCart uses the flat model. RedCart does not take a commission on sales; payment provider fees are separate and not included. As your store grows, the platform part of your cost stays the same.
The features that often come as paid add-ons elsewhere are part of the same platform: a storefront with catalog, cart and orders, customer cards with notes and tags, stock per warehouse with transfers and a movement log, personal discounts and promo codes, staff accounts with roles, store and product reviews, returns, prices in several currencies, and analytics pixels connected by ID. They all run on one ERP core, so there is nothing to wire together and no data to copy between tools.
Summary
- Separate platform fees from payment provider fees.
- Add every app and tool you would need.
- Calculate the true monthly cost and the cost per order.
- Run the numbers at today's volume and next year's.
A flat price makes this calculation short and predictable. If that suits your plans, create a RedCart account when you are ready.