Pricing
No monthly feeTransparent platform and payment-processing fees.
Every module is included. No monthly fee, no setup fee, no per-seat license — you pay only on paid orders. Checkout shows the Apiary platform fee and estimated payment-processing fee separately.
Fee schedule
What Apiary charges, by item type.
The fee applies to paid orders only and includes card processing. Percentages apply to the item price before the fee is added.
Paid badges
3% + $0.50
Estimated payment processing is added separately. Free and comp badges carry no fee.
Workshop signups
$1.00 flat
Per paid seat.
Sponsorships
$1.00 flat
Per paid sponsorship.
Exhibitor / vendor booth packages
$1.00 flat
Per booth package order.
Merchandise
5% + $0.50
Per transaction, online or at the registration desk.
Onsite point of sale
5% + $0.50
Card-present sales through Stripe Terminal.
Vendor marketplace sales
10% commission
On vendor-to-attendee product sales routed through Apiary.
| Item | Apiary fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paid badges | 3% + $0.50 | Estimated payment processing is added separately. Free and comp badges carry no fee. |
| Workshop signups | $1.00 flat | Per paid seat. |
| Sponsorships | $1.00 flat | Per paid sponsorship. |
| Exhibitor / vendor booth packages | $1.00 flat | Per booth package order. |
| Merchandise | 5% + $0.50 | Per transaction, online or at the registration desk. |
| Onsite point of sale | 5% + $0.50 | Card-present sales through Stripe Terminal. |
| Vendor marketplace sales | 10% commission | On vendor-to-attendee product sales routed through Apiary. |
Fees shown before taxes, discounts, and any foreign-card surcharges. Cash sales at the registration desk carry no Apiary fee.
A worked example
What the badge fee looks like in practice.
Badge platform fees are 3% + $0.50 per paid badge, plus estimated payment processing. Here is the combined fee at three common badge prices.
$23.00 badge
$2.22
Combined checkout fees
$65.00 badge
$4.77
Combined checkout fees
$110.00 badge
$7.51
Combined checkout fees
Included at no extra cost
Every module ships with the platform.
There is no premium tier to unlock the core convention loop. The transaction fee funds the whole platform.
Registration & commerce
- Badge types, carts, holder assignments, and promo codes
- QR check-in, printed badges, and attendee exports
- Merch, workshops, sponsors, vendor packages, and settlement exports
Programming & operations
- GM/host submissions, review, rooms, tables, seats, and waitlists
- Volunteers, shifts, and coverage tracking
- Event Command: issues, incidents, decisions, and an operations journal
Community & growth
- Persistent player profiles, connections, and cross-year history
- Partner, sponsor, vendor, and creator relationship workflows
- Templates, cloning, theming, the attendee PWA, and finance reporting
Questions
Common pricing questions.
- Who pays the service fee?
- Checkout separates the fee into “Apiary platform fee” and “Estimated payment-processing fee.” Organizers can absorb the combined fee into their prices or pass it to attendees. Either way, the organizer receives the full item price.
- Is card processing extra?
- For paid badges, the estimated payment-processing fee is added to the 3% + $0.50 Apiary platform fee. The estimate uses Stripe’s standard domestic online-card rate; the actual Stripe fee can vary by payment method or card.
- Are there monthly or setup fees?
- No. There is no monthly fee, no setup fee, and no per-seat license. You only pay the per-transaction fee on paid orders. Free and comp badges are free.
- What happens on a refund?
- The item price is refunded; the Apiary service fee is non-refundable. This is standard for ticketing and keeps refund economics workable, since card networks do not return processing costs on refunds either.
- Do I need my own payment account?
- Yes. Payments run through your own Stripe account via Stripe Connect, so funds settle directly to you. Live payments activate per convention after a short onboarding and rehearsal.
- What about multi-event organizations?
- If you run several conventions or year-round programs and want organization-level tooling — shared CRM, cross-year analytics, white-label, and API access — get in touch and we’ll scope it with you.
Start free. Pay only when you sell.
Create an organizer workspace, build your convention with the preset that fits, and turn on paid checkout when you are ready.