> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.supadir.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Why is there a platform commission?

> What the commission covers, what you actually pay, and what infrastructure you get in return.

Supadir charges a platform commission on payments your listing owners make to you: **7% on the Professional plan, 4% on the Business plan**. This is on top of the monthly platform subscription.

At first glance, that might look like a double cost. It isn't — and understanding why is important before you set your listing prices.

## What the commission actually covers

The commission covers **all Stripe transaction costs** on your behalf.

Stripe charges for every payment it processes. This includes card processing fees, invoice generation, subscription management, payout transfers, and dispute handling. These costs are real, and on a typical European card they amount to roughly 1.4% + €0.25 per transaction.

Supadir absorbs all of these costs from the commission it takes. You don't see separate Stripe fees on top — what Supadir deducts is the total cost.

## What you get for those few percent

This is where the comparison to alternatives matters.

Most directory platforms give you a website. Supadir gives you a **complete financial engine** — the same class of billing infrastructure that marketplace companies spend months and tens of thousands of euros building from scratch.

Here's what runs automatically, without any intervention from you:

**Recurring subscriptions.** Listing owners subscribe to your plan and are charged automatically every month or year. You don't send invoices, chase payments, or manually renew anything.

**Automatic invoicing.** Every payment generates a Stripe-hosted invoice, automatically sent to the listing owner. VAT, billing details, PDF download — all handled.

**Direct bank payouts.** Collected funds are automatically transferred to your connected bank account on Stripe's standard payout schedule. No withdrawal requests, no manual transfers.

**Failed payment recovery.** When a card payment fails, Stripe automatically retries it and sends reminder emails to the listing owner. You don't need to chase anyone.

**Pro-rata refunds on catalog closure.** If you ever close your catalog, Supadir can automatically calculate and process proportional refunds to listing owners with active subscriptions — based on the days remaining in their billing period. This is a legally and ethically complex calculation that happens automatically.

**Upgrade and downgrade handling.** When a listing owner changes their plan mid-cycle, Stripe handles the proration calculation and charges or credits the difference. Automatically.

## The cost of building this yourself

If you were to build the same infrastructure on a WordPress plugin or a cheaper SaaS platform that doesn't include payment automation, here's what you'd be looking at:

| Component                         | Typical cost                    |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| Stripe subscription billing setup | Developer time: 20–40h          |
| Automatic invoicing + VAT         | Plugin or developer: €50–200/mo |
| Connect Express onboarding flow   | Developer time: 10–20h          |
| Pro-rata refund logic             | Developer time: 5–15h           |
| Failed payment retry flow         | Developer time: 5–10h           |
| Ongoing maintenance               | Ongoing developer cost          |

The commission doesn't pay for a feature. It pays for the ongoing operation of infrastructure that would cost you **thousands of euros and months of development** to replicate — and ongoing maintenance to keep running.

## How to think about it when pricing your plans

Because Supadir absorbs Stripe fees, you can price your listing plans without worrying about per-transaction costs on top.

If you charge a listing owner **\$20/month** on the Professional plan:

* Supadir takes 7% = \$1.40
* Stripe transaction costs are covered within that 7%
* You receive \~\$18.60

There are no additional line items. No "plus Stripe fees". No surprises at month end.

<Tip>
  When setting your listing prices, just think about the net amount you want to receive. Price for $20 if you want ~$18.60 in the bank. No mental math required.
</Tip>

## Summary

| What you pay                                               | What it covers                                       |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| 7% (Professional) or 4% (Business) of each listing payment | All Stripe processing fees + full billing automation |

You're not paying a commission on top of a payment processor. You're paying for a fully automated marketplace billing engine that replaces weeks of development work and multiple third-party tools.