Methodology
How the total cost of ownership calculator works
The calculator costs every provider on the same eleven lines, with the same formulas, for one year of web shop sales. This page sets out each formula so you can check the result or rebuild it in a spreadsheet.
Inputs
Revenue is annual web shop sales excluding sales tax and VAT. If you enter a monthly figure it is multiplied by 12. Orders are revenue divided by average order value. The market-mix inputs (cross-border share and currency conversion share) and the refund and chargeback rates start at our defaults. Replace them with your own figures; they are labelled as assumptions throughout.
The eleven cost lines
With R = annual revenue, T = orders, and each fee from the provider’s schedule:
| Line | Formula |
|---|---|
| Headline fee | R × headline % + T × fixed fee per order |
| Payment method fees | R × method % + T × method fixed fee (zero when included) |
| Cross-border card fees | R × cross-border share × surcharge % |
| Currency conversion | R × conversion share × conversion % |
| Payout fees | R × payout % + payouts per year × fee per payout |
| Chargebacks | D × dispute fee (× lost share if the fee is returned on wins) + D × lost share × average order, if the studio carries the lost sale. D = T × chargeback rate |
| Refunds | F × (average order × (headline % + method %) + fixed fees), if fees are not returned on refunds, + F × fee per refund. F = T × refund rate |
| Fraud screening | T × fee per order |
| Sales tax and VAT compliance | R × tax engine % + T × tax engine per order + annual registration and filing cost |
| Monthly platform fees | 12 × monthly fee |
| Internal team time | Annual salary cost you enter |
The effective rate is the total divided by revenue. What you keep of every $100is 100 minus the effective rate. The order-size chart recalculates the total at average orders of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 with revenue held constant.
Where a provider’s headline rate depends on volume (Tebex’s does), the calculator applies the rate for your annual revenue to all of it, not marginally tier by tier. That is how Tebex has described its tiers; its published pricing page is the final word. The store comparison multiplies revenue by the store commission you choose.
Where the pre-filled numbers come from
Each pre-filled fee carries one of these labels, shown next to the input:
- Published: on the provider’s pricing page or documentation. The label links to it and shows the date we checked.
- Included: the provider states the cost is covered by its headline fee.
- Third-party report: from a review site or analyst, not the provider. Treat with care.
- Not published: the provider does not publish this fee. The value is our assumption so the line is not silently zero.
- Our assumption: a default for a business input or an unpublished cost.
- Your figure: any value you have changed.
What the model leaves out
- Changes in conversion or spend when players move from in-app purchase to the web. The store comparison assumes the same revenue.
- The cost of bonus currency or discounts you offer on the web.
- Timing: settlement delays, rolling reserves and the cost of cash held back.
- Card network fines for exceeding dispute thresholds, which apply to whoever holds the merchant account.
- Tax on your profits, and withholding taxes on cross-border payouts.
We would rather leave a cost out and say so than put in a number we cannot source. If you think a line is wrong,tell us.