What is a revenue share?
A revenue share is an arrangement in which a platform keeps a percentage of the money earned through it and passes the rest to the seller, instead of charging only a fixed fee.
In a revenue share model the platform earns more when sellers earn more, which aligns incentives but gets expensive as sales grow.
How revenue share is calculated
Apply the platform’s percentage to the gross revenue for the period; the remainder is the seller’s payout:
Seller payout = gross revenue × (100% − platform share)
With a 25% platform share, $10,000 of sales pays the seller $7,500; with 10%, it pays $9,000. Check whether the share is taken before or after payment processing fees and refunds; a revenue share agreement should state both.
Typical marketplace revenue share
App stores have long charged 30%, with 15% for smaller developers or long-running subscriptions on some stores. API marketplaces vary: RapidAPI takes a flat 25% on subscriptions and overage. Micro SaaS API Marketplace takes 15% on Publisher, 10% on Studio and 5% on Marketplace, on top of the monthly plan price.
Revenue share vs flat fee
A revenue share costs little while sales are small and a lot once they grow; a flat fee is the opposite. Many platforms combine the two: a monthly fee plus a smaller share. The crossover is where the fee equals the difference in shares: $29 a month plus 15% costs less than a flat 25% from about $290 a month of revenue.
Last reviewed 2026-11-01.