Why the marketplace commission cost calculator matters
Marketplaces are rented demand, and the rent compounds — the same commission rate costs far more once volume triples, while your own store's fixed costs barely move. This page turns that decision into a handful of inputs you can defend in a budget review: volume, unit cost, rate of adoption, and time. The output is a planning baseline, not a promise — it tells you whether the idea deserves a vendor quote, a pilot, or a pass.
- • Biggest swing factor: commission per order, which tracks average order value
- • Second-order factor: order volume
- • Often ignored: the seller plan, which is trivial at scale but real for small sellers
What actually changes the answer
commission per order, which tracks average order value moves this number first, then order volume. Run a conservative case and an upside case before you commit. If the maths only works in the upside case, treat it as a time-boxed test with a kill date rather than a line in next year's plan.
What to do with the result
Compare annual commission against the cost of acquiring the same revenue direct. Once commission passes your blended CAC, funding your own channel is the cheaper growth.
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Read the guideFAQ
What does the marketplace commission cost calculator work out?
It applies Monthly cost = (orders × cost per order) + fixed platform fee to the values you enter for marketplace orders per month, commission per order, seller plan / subscription per month, monthly order growth. Marketplaces are rented demand, and the rent compounds — the same commission rate costs far more once volume triples, while your own store's fixed costs barely move.
How accurate is this marketplace commission cost calculator?
Models referral and subscription only. Fulfilment, storage and advertising fees are separate — use the dedicated calculators for those. Replace the defaults with your own invoice, usage export, payroll data, statement, or vendor quote before making a commitment — the maths is exact, so the answer is only as good as the inputs you feed it.
Which input should I stress-test first?
commission per order, which tracks average order value. Re-run with a pessimistic value for it; if the decision flips, that assumption is the thing you need real data on before signing anything. After that, check order volume and the seller plan, which is trivial at scale but real for small sellers.
Which scenario should I start from?
Start with the preset closest to your situation — lean case, expected case, scaled case — then edit the sliders. Presets are realistic starting points, not benchmarks to match, and every change updates the result instantly.
What should I do after running the numbers?
Compare annual commission against the cost of acquiring the same revenue direct. Once commission passes your blended CAC, funding your own channel is the cheaper growth. A useful planning benchmark to compare against: Referral rates cluster at 8–17% depending on category.
Can I share or save this calculation?
Yes. Your inputs are written into the page URL, so copying the link shares the exact scenario you are looking at — the person who opens it sees the same numbers. You can also export the inputs and results to CSV or PDF from the result card and keep it with the rest of your workings.
How this calculator is built
Independently maintained
Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
Sourced from primary data
Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
Last editorial review
Reviewed on a rolling quarterly cycle. Dated reviews are published on the methodology record for each calculator.
Editorial standards
See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.