How we check fees
Every fee on Creator Cost Lab comes from the platform’s own pricing or help pages. We do not copy numbers from other review sites. This page explains where the numbers come from, how we turn them into “what you keep” figures, and how often we re-check them.
Where the numbers come from
| Platform | Official source we check |
|---|---|
| Payhip | payhip.com/pricing |
| Gumroad | Gumroad Help: fees |
| Lemon Squeezy | Lemon Squeezy docs: fees |
| Sellfy | sellfy.com/pricing |
| Kajabi | kajabi.com/pricing |
| Shopify | shopify.com/pricing |
| Etsy | Etsy fees and payments policy |
| Adobe | Adobe plans (US) |
| Fiverr, Upwork | Each platform’s help center articles on service fees |
How we calculate “what you keep”
- Buyer: a US buyer paying by card, unless a table says otherwise.
- Card processing: 2.9% + $0.30 where the platform charges Stripe or PayPal processing separately (Payhip, Gumroad, Sellfy). Where processing is included in the platform fee (Lemon Squeezy), we do not add it again.
- Not included: sales tax or VAT paid by the buyer, currency conversion, and payout fees, unless the table says so.
- Rounding: each fee is calculated to the cent, and the total is rounded to the nearest cent.
- Monthly plans: shown separately from per-sale fees, because they do not depend on a single sale.
How often we re-check
We re-check every platform on the first of each month and whenever a platform announces a change. Each page shows the date its fees were last checked. When a fee changes, we update the tables and the calculators on the same day.
What we are not
Our comparisons are cost analyses based on published pricing, not hands-on reviews unless a page says so. Some pages contain affiliate links (see our affiliate disclosure); they never change the numbers.
Found a wrong number?
Email hello@creatorcostlab.com with the page and the official source. We correct confirmed errors and note the fix on the page.