specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Payhip
providerId: payhip
created: '2026-07-05'
modified: '2026-07-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
- E-commerce
- Digital Products
- Memberships
- Creators
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Payhip spend. Payhip is billed as a platform subscription plus a
  percentage transaction fee on sales, not as a metered API. Cost is driven by two
  levers: the chosen plan's monthly fee (Free $0, Plus $29, Pro $99) and the
  per-sale Payhip fee (5%, 2%, or 0% respectively), layered on top of the payment
  processor's own fees (Stripe/PayPal). The public API and webhooks add no
  incremental usage charge - they are a feature of the account. There is no
  per-request API meter to optimize; cost optimization is about matching plan tier
  to monthly sales volume so the blended (subscription + transaction) cost is
  minimized.
notes: >-
  Payhip fees verified from payhip.com/pricing. Payment processor fees are set by
  Stripe/PayPal and are outside Payhip's invoice. Break-even between tiers depends
  on monthly revenue (Free is cheapest at low volume; Plus and Pro win as volume
  grows).
sources:
- https://payhip.com/pricing
- https://help.payhip.com/article/102-billing-and-upgrading
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Payhip
serviceCategory: E-commerce Platform
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription plus Transaction Fee
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Purchase
  - Usage
meters:
- name: platform_subscription
  description: Fixed monthly platform fee for the chosen plan (Free/Plus/Pro).
  unit: months
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - plan
- name: transaction_fee
  description: Payhip's percentage fee applied per sale (5% Free, 2% Plus, 0% Pro).
  unit: percent
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - product
- name: processor_fee
  description: Payment processor fees (Stripe/PayPal) charged per transaction; outside Payhip's invoice.
  unit: percent
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - processor
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track monthly sales volume and the blended cost of subscription plus Payhip transaction fee plus processor fee.
- name: Allocation
  description: Attribute transaction fees per product/storefront to see which offerings carry the most fee load.
- name: Optimization
  description: Match plan tier to monthly revenue - Free at low volume, Plus mid-volume, Pro at high volume - so the combined subscription and transaction fee is minimized.
- name: Accountability
  description: Review plan choice against actual monthly sales periodically; upgrade or downgrade as revenue crosses the tier break-even points.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com