Platform Transaction Fee vs Payment Gateway Fee: What Small Sellers Actually Pay

The platform transaction fee

This is a percentage of each order that the ecommerce platform keeps for itself, on top of the subscription. Some platforms charge it on every plan, some only on lower tiers, some waive it if you use their own payment service, and some do not charge it at all. It is a platform business decision, not a payment cost.

The payment gateway fee

This is what PayPal, Stripe or another payment provider charges to move the money: typically a percentage plus a small fixed amount per transaction, with rates that vary by country, currency and card type. It is charged by the provider regardless of which store platform you use. No store builder can remove it.

Why the confusion matters

When a platform advertises "0% transaction fee", it means the platform itself takes nothing. Your payment provider still charges its normal rate. Sellers who read "0%" as "no fees at all" under-estimate costs; sellers who assume every platform stacks a commission on top of gateway fees over-estimate them. The honest statement is always two lines: platform fee X%, gateway fee per the provider.

How to compare platforms fairly

• Write down the subscription price of the plan you would actually use.
• Write down the platform transaction fee for that plan (may be 0%).
• Write down your payment provider's rate separately; it will be roughly the same across platforms.
• Multiply by your realistic monthly order count and add the subscription.
• Compare the totals, not the headline prices.

Where Senvarico fits

Senvarico charges a 0% platform transaction fee on both its Free plan (¥0/month, 20 SKUs) and Small Seller plan (¥99/month, 100 SKUs). PayPal and Stripe still charge their own processing fees separately; Senvarico does not add anything on top.