Every creator has to make one boring but critical decision: which platform to sell on. Most comparisons stop at the surface — "this one has a nicer editor". The number that actually matters is unit economics.
The two pricing models
Platforms usually charge one of two ways:
- Monthly subscription: a fixed cost (say, $99/month) whether you sell or not.
- Transaction fee: a small percentage per sale (say, 10% + $0.20).
The math
Imagine you sell a $50 product. On a 10% + $0.20 model, each sale costs you $5.20. To match a $99/month subscription, you would need roughly 19 sales per month before the subscription becomes cheaper. Sell less and the subscription is a pure loss. Sell more and the transaction fee is expensive.
Why this matters more for beginners
The first 90 days of a digital product are almost always unpredictable. You will have weeks with zero sales, and weeks with a small burst. A fixed monthly cost during that window burns cash you don't have. A transaction fee only fires when money comes in — which is exactly when you can afford it.
When to consider switching
Once you have sustained monthly revenue where a transaction fee is materially higher than the equivalent subscription, moving to a flat-fee provider (or negotiating custom pricing) can make sense. Until then, the "cheap subscription" is almost always more expensive than the "expensive transaction fee".
What we do at ZYVONS
ZYVONS charges 10% + $0.20 (USD equivalent) per approved sale — no monthly fee, no setup, no per-seat pricing. Our incentives are aligned: we only make money when creators do. That's not a marketing line; it's the entire business model.