Quick Answer: Payhip’s Free Forever plan costs $0 per month and adds a 5% Payhip transaction fee. The Plus plan costs $29 per month plus 2%, while Pro costs $99 per month with no Payhip transaction fee. On pure Payhip platform cost, Plus becomes cheaper than Free at about $967 in monthly sales, and Pro becomes cheaper than Plus at $3,500 in monthly sales. Stripe, PayPal, or other payment-processing charges are separate, so they do not disappear when you upgrade.
Payhip’s free plan is unusually capable because the company does not reserve its main selling features for paid tiers. That makes the pricing decision less about unlocking software and more about choosing the cheapest way to pay Payhip as revenue grows. For a new creator, that distinction matters: the free plan can be rational at low volume even though its percentage fee looks high, while a paid plan can quietly become the cheaper option once monthly sales cross a predictable threshold.
Payhip’s three-plan pricing model
Payhip currently lists three plans: Free Forever at $0 per month plus 5% per transaction, Plus at $29 per month plus 2%, and Pro at $99 per month with no Payhip transaction fee. All three include unlimited products and unlimited revenue, and Payhip says the plans include the same features. Payment processors still charge their own fees.
| Plan | Monthly fee | Payhip fee | Best fit by pure platform cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | $0 | 5% | Below about $967/month |
| Plus | $29 | 2% | About $967-$3,500/month |
| Pro | $99 | 0% | Above $3,500/month |
These thresholds are not recommendations to upgrade automatically. They are break-even points based only on Payhip’s own subscription and transaction fees. Your tax position, refunds, processor pricing, currency conversion, and other business costs can change the broader economics.
The Free-to-Plus break-even point
The calculation is straightforward. On Free, Payhip’s cost is 5% of sales. On Plus, the cost is $29 plus 2% of sales. Set those equal:
0.05 × revenue = $29 + 0.02 × revenue
The difference is 3% of revenue, so $29 divided by 0.03 equals about $966.67. Below that level, the Free plan costs less. Above it, Plus costs less, assuming the published rates remain unchanged.
At $500 in monthly sales, Free costs $25 and Plus costs $39. At $1,000, Free costs $50 while Plus costs $49. At $2,000, Free costs $100 while Plus costs $69. The savings become more meaningful as revenue rises.
The Plus-to-Pro break-even point
Plus charges $29 plus 2%; Pro charges $99 and 0%. The extra $70 in fixed monthly cost removes the 2% Payhip fee. Divide $70 by 0.02 and the crossover is $3,500 in monthly sales.
At exactly $3,500, both plans cost $99 in Payhip charges. At $5,000, Plus costs $129 while Pro remains $99. At $10,000, Plus reaches $229 while Pro is still $99.
Why the 5% fee can still make sense
A percentage fee is not automatically bad. For a seller with uncertain or seasonal revenue, the free plan converts a fixed software bill into a variable cost. If you sell nothing in a month, the Payhip platform cost is $0. That can be valuable during product development, audience building, or a low-volume launch.
This is also why comparing plans only by their headline percentage can be misleading. A creator doing $200 in sales would pay $10 to Payhip on Free. Moving to Plus would raise the Payhip cost to $33 for that month. The lower percentage does not compensate for the subscription yet.
When the free plan starts becoming expensive
Once revenue is consistently around four figures per month, the 5% fee becomes a recurring operating expense rather than a low-risk entry cost. At $3,000 in monthly sales, Free would cost $150, Plus $89, and Pro $99. At that point Plus saves $61 versus Free.
The important word is consistently. If one launch produces $2,000 but the next two months produce $100 each, a permanent upgrade may not create the same savings as the single strong month suggests. Use a rolling three- or six-month sales average if your revenue is volatile.
Payment processing is a separate layer
Payhip explicitly notes that payment providers such as Stripe and PayPal still charge their standard processing fees. Upgrading from Free to Pro removes Payhip’s transaction fee, not every cost attached to accepting a payment. This distinction is critical when estimating net margin.
For example, if your payment processor charges a percentage plus a fixed amount, low-priced products can still carry a meaningful effective fee even on Payhip Pro. The correct comparison is therefore Payhip plan cost plus processor cost, not the Payhip percentage alone.
Revenue is not the same as profit
The break-even formulas use gross sales because Payhip’s percentage fee is tied to transactions. But your business decision should also consider product margin, refunds, affiliate commissions, ad spend, taxes, and support costs. A $3,500 store with high acquisition costs may have less room for fixed subscriptions than a $1,500 store with strong margins.
If you want a broader platform-cost view, see our ecommerce platform fees comparison. For the full product-level assessment, our Payhip review covers features, limitations, and pricing context. You can also open the Payhip company profile for the brand overview and user-review hub.
A practical upgrade framework
- Calculate trailing monthly sales. Use several months if revenue is uneven.
- Calculate the Payhip-only cost under all three plans. Free = 5% of sales; Plus = $29 + 2%; Pro = $99.
- Keep processor fees separate. They generally apply regardless of Payhip tier.
- Check whether your next month is representative. A one-off launch can distort the decision.
- Upgrade when the savings are durable. A few dollars of theoretical savings may not justify changing plans immediately; repeated savings usually do.
Example scenarios
| Monthly sales | Free | Plus | Pro | Lowest Payhip cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250 | $12.50 | $34 | $99 | Free |
| $1,000 | $50 | $49 | $99 | Plus |
| $2,000 | $100 | $69 | $99 | Plus |
| $3,500 | $175 | $99 | $99 | Plus / Pro tie |
| $5,000 | $250 | $129 | $99 | Pro |
| $10,000 | $500 | $229 | $99 | Pro |
FAQ
Does Payhip Free have fewer features?
Payhip’s current pricing page says all plans include all features, unlimited products, and unlimited revenue. The primary pricing difference is how you pay Payhip: a higher transaction percentage with no monthly fee, a lower percentage plus a subscription, or a fixed subscription with no Payhip transaction fee.
At what revenue should I leave Payhip Free?
On pure Payhip fees, Plus becomes cheaper at roughly $967 in monthly sales. Use your own recent revenue pattern before treating that as an automatic upgrade trigger.
When does Payhip Pro become cheaper than Plus?
At $3,500 in monthly sales, Plus and Pro both cost $99 under the current published pricing. Above that level, Pro is cheaper on Payhip fees alone.
Does Pro eliminate Stripe or PayPal fees?
No. Payhip states that payment processor fees still apply.
Final takeaway
Payhip Free is economically sensible when sales are low or unpredictable because there is no fixed monthly platform bill. The 5% fee stops being the cheapest Payhip option at roughly $967 in monthly sales. From there, Plus is the lowest-cost tier until about $3,500, after which Pro wins on Payhip platform fees. The best decision is not about whether 5% sounds high; it is about matching the fee structure to your actual, repeatable sales volume.
Pricing checked against Payhip’s published pricing information on September 19, 2026. Platform pricing can change, so verify current rates before upgrading.
Featured photo: Gorilla ROI Data Connector / Unsplash.
Jo Carter is an editor and ecommerce researcher at Ecom Reality, where she covers ecommerce platforms, digital selling tools, online business software, pricing models, and emerging industry trends. She focuses on turning complex platform features and costs into clear, practical information for entrepreneurs and digital sellers. Her work combines detailed research with a balanced editorial approach, helping readers compare services, understand potential limitations, and choose tools that fit their business goals.
Comments
Related Articles
Leave a Reply