Commission or subscription: which to choose

To sell online, you'll pay your platform one way or another — the real question is how. Paying a commission or a subscription: this choice of model directly affects your margin, especially when starting out. This guide is for you if you're comparing e-commerce platforms and want to decide based on numbers rather than promises. We'll lay out both logics, look at what each one really costs based on your sales volume, and give you a simple method to run the calculation on your own case — because the right answer depends on you, not on the platform.

Table of contents

• Two models for paying for your e-commerce platform
• The real cost of the subscription model
• The real cost of the commission model
• The calculation based on your sales volume
• Questions to ask yourself before choosing
• Switching models without getting it wrong

Two models for paying for your e-commerce platform

Almost every e-commerce platform falls into one of two models.

Subscription: you pay a fixed amount every month to access the platform. This is the historic model of the big hosted platforms. The price is predictable, but it's due even in months with no sales.

Commission: the platform takes a percentage of each sale. No sale, no fee. This is Naaora's model: you start at €0, the commission ranges from 0.4% to 1% depending on the plan, and your first 10 sales are free.

Neither is "better" in absolute terms. They're two different ways of splitting risk: with a subscription, the risk sits with you; with a commission, the platform only earns when you do.

The real cost of the subscription model

The advertised price of a subscription is only a starting point. To know the real cost, add up over a full year:

• The subscription itself, including slow months and the months of preparation before opening.
• Paid apps and modules that complete the base features.
• The theme, if the decent designs are paid.
• Transaction fees that some platforms add on top of the subscription.

This annual total, divided by your actual sales, gives the real percentage the platform costs you. At low volume, it's often much higher than people imagine: a fixed cost weighs more heavily the smaller the revenue.

The real cost of the commission model

The commission model reads more simply: your cost is proportional to your sales. An example with Naaora's actual numbers: at the maximum rate of 1%, a month with €500 in sales costs you €5 — and a month with €0 in sales costs you €0.

Its strengths when starting out:

• No cash-flow risk: no fixed costs to cover before you have revenue.
• A crystal-clear read: you know exactly what you pay, sale by sale.
• Aligned interests: the platform is only paid if you sell.

Its limit, symmetrically: commission grows with your revenue. At high volume, the annual commission amount can exceed what a subscription would have cost — that's simple math, and it needs to be anticipated honestly.

The calculation based on your sales volume

Your sales profile almost always points to the right model:

The three-line method: estimate your annual sales realistically, calculate what each model would cost you at that volume (all-inclusive), and compare. The break-even point is yours: it depends on your average order value, your seasonality and your trajectory.

This reasoning about costs fits into a broader comparison of platforms: our comparison of Shopify alternatives applies the same framework, and the head-to-head Naaora vs Shopify walks through it on a concrete case.

Questions to ask yourself before choosing

Is your volume predictable or uncertain?

If you can't predict your sales for the next six months — which is true of almost every launch — the variable model protects your cash flow. The predictability of a subscription only has value if your revenue is predictable too.

Can your margin support a fixed cost?

A fixed cost is paid even in bad months, out of your cash flow. A variable cost is deducted from sales you've already collected. If your margin is tight or your activity is seasonal, the second option is structurally safer.

What do you plan to do in a year?

If you're aiming for a high, steady volume in the medium term, choose a platform that lets you evolve — change plans, renegotiate the model — without having to migrate. Migration has a real cost in time and SEO that no comparison table shows.

Switching models without getting it wrong

Your first choice isn't final, and that's good news: the ideal model at 10 sales a month isn't necessarily the one for 500.

The right reflex is to redo the calculation at every milestone: when your volume becomes regular, when your seasonality is confirmed, when you expand your catalog. At Naaora, the commission ranges from 0.4% to 1% depending on the plan — moving up a plan lowers the rate as your volume grows, without switching platforms. Plan details are on the pricing page.

And if you're considering a full migration, prepare for it: catalog, customers and redirects all need to follow, as with any platform change.

"A fixed cost is endured, a variable cost is absorbed. The difference doesn't show up in the good months — it shows up in the others."

— Principle of fixed and variable costs

Conclusion

Commission or subscription, the answer lies in your volume: at launch or with irregular activity, the commission model protects your cash flow and aligns your interests with the platform's; at high, stable volume, a subscription can become diluted and competitive again. Do the all-inclusive calculation, over twelve months, on your own numbers — not an ad's. The next step? Estimate your realistic annual volume and lay out the comparison on paper.

FAQ

Commission or subscription: which model is cheaper?

It depends on your volume. At low volume or with irregular activity, commission is almost always cheaper, because you pay nothing in months with no sales. At high, stable volume, a fixed subscription can become diluted and competitive. The calculation is based on your annual numbers.

How do you calculate the real cost of an e-commerce platform?

Add up everything you'd pay over twelve months: subscription, modules, theme, transaction fees or commission. Divide that total by your estimated annual sales: you get the real percentage the platform costs you. Compare that percentage between offers, at equal scope.

What is Naaora's model?

Naaora works without a subscription: you create your store for €0 and pay a commission of 0.4% to 1% depending on the plan, only when you sell. Your first 10 sales are free. Moving up a plan lowers the commission rate as your volume grows.

Is a subscription more predictable than a commission?

The subscription amount is predictable, but your revenue isn't: in slow months, that fixed cost weighs on your cash flow with nothing in return. Commission is less "neat" but always proportional to sales you've already collected, which makes it safer when margins are tight.

Can you switch models along the way?

Yes, and you should: redo the calculation at every growth milestone. Depending on the platform, this means changing plans — at Naaora, commission drops as you move up a plan — or a full migration, which needs preparing: catalog, customers and redirects all have to follow.