Transaction fee
What is a transaction fee?
A transaction fee, in the context of course platforms, is the cut the platform takes on top of your payment processor’s fee for each sale you make. It is separate from — and stacked on top of — Stripe’s 2.9% + 30p or PayPal’s 3.49% + 49p.
The one-sentence definition: The platform’s cut of your revenue, charged per transaction, before you receive payment.
In plain English
When you sell a £200 course on a platform with a 7.5% transaction fee, two fees are deducted before you receive payment:
- Stripe processing: 2.9% + 30p = £6.10
- Platform transaction fee: 7.5% = £15.00
You receive: £200 − £6.10 − £15.00 = £178.90
On a platform with 0% transaction fees:
- Stripe processing: 2.9% + 30p = £6.10
- Platform transaction fee: 0%
You receive: £200 − £6.10 = £193.90
The difference is £15 per sale — 7.5% of revenue that scales directly with your success.
A concrete example: the break-even calculation
At £3,000/mo in course revenue:
- Teachable Starter (7.5% fee): £225/mo in platform fees + £93/mo subscription = £318/mo total platform cost
- Teachable Builder (0% fee): £0 in platform fees + £71/mo subscription = £71/mo total platform cost
- Savings by upgrading to Builder: £247/mo = £2,964/yr
The Starter plan’s 7.5% fee exceeds the Builder plan’s monthly subscription cost at £947/mo in revenue. Below £947/mo: Starter saves money. Above £947/mo: upgrading to Builder saves money every month.
Why it matters more than the monthly subscription
Most creators focus on the headline subscription price when choosing a platform. Transaction fees are the structural cost that scales with your success. A 7.5% fee looks tiny at £0 revenue. At £10,000/mo revenue, it’s £750/mo — ten times the cost of the subscription.
The correct framing for any platform choice is: what is my all-in cost at my expected month-six MRR? Not: what is the subscription price today?
Transaction fees by platform (2026)
| Platform | Entry plan fee | Paid plan fee |
|---|---|---|
| Teachable Starter | 7.5% | 0% (Builder+) |
| LearnWorlds Starter | $5 flat/sale | 0% (Pro Trainer+) |
| Podia Starter | 8% | 0% (Mover+) |
| Thinkific | 0% all plans | 0% |
| Kajabi | 0% (Kajabi Payments) | 0–0.8% (own Stripe) |
| Mighty Networks | 0–3% | depends on plan |
Related concepts
- Payment processor: Stripe, PayPal, or Kajabi Payments. This fee is separate from the platform transaction fee and is always charged.
- Break-even MRR: The monthly revenue at which upgrading to a higher paid plan (with lower or 0% transaction fees) becomes cheaper than staying on the current plan.
- Platform fee: Sometimes used interchangeably with transaction fee. Technically the same thing — the platform’s revenue share on each sale.