Payhip Free vs Plus vs Pro: When Should You Upgrade?
Compare Payhip plan costs at $500 to $5,000 in monthly sales. Work out upgrade thresholds, separate payment processing, and avoid the Free-to-Pro trap.
The short answer depends on monthly sales
Using the Payhip prices checked on October 2, 2026, Free and Plus have the same simplified platform cost at about $966.67 in monthly sales; Plus and Pro tie at $3,500. Below the first threshold Free is cheaper, between the thresholds Plus is cheaper, and above the second Pro is cheaper under the assumptions below.
This is a comparison of platform charges, not a promise of greater profit or a rule for every account. Payment processing remains separate. We assume no refunds, the same payment processor and currency on each plan, and a full monthly plan charge. Rounding per transaction can shift the exact boundary.
Start with the official prices and separate the processor
Payhip’s official pricing page, checked October 2, 2026, lists Free at $0 per month plus 5%, Plus at $29 per month plus 2%, and Pro at $99 per month with no Payhip transaction percentage. The page also says payment processor charges apply separately and all plans include the same features.
For the reproducible examples, we use a US domestic-card processing assumption of 2.9% plus $0.30, matching the Stripe standard pricing page reviewed on the same date. This is not a quote for other countries, gateways or negotiated accounts. Pro’s zero platform percentage does not mean payment processing is free.
The article links pin these dated fee assumptions using custom fees. For a new purchasing decision, compare the current fee sources and your account terms; the main planner’s maintained presets may be newer than this worked example.
Calculate all three alternatives
Let S be monthly sales after discounts but before fees, excluding tax. With no refunds and before per-order rounding:
- Free platform cost = 0.05 × S.
- Plus platform cost = $29 + 0.02 × S.
- Pro platform cost = $99.
The Free-to-Plus equality is 0.05S = 29 + 0.02S, so S = 29 ÷ 0.03, approximately $966.67. Plus-to-Pro is 29 + 0.02S = 99, so S = $3,500. Identical processing costs cancel when comparing the plans, though they still reduce the money you keep.
Free and Pro also tie at $1,980 because $99 ÷ 5% = $1,980. That is a misleading upgrade trigger if you ignore Plus: at that sales level, Plus costs only $68.60 before processing. Compare all three options instead of choosing a paid plan from a single pairwise crossover.
See what a quiet month and a stronger month cost
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to compare all three plans.
| Monthly sales | Free | Plus | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $25 | $39 | $99 |
| $1,000 | $50 | $49 | $99 |
| $2,000 | $100 | $69 | $99 |
| $3,500 | $175 | $99 | $99 |
| $5,000 | $250 | $129 | $99 |
Each row uses $20 products with no refunds or discounts. At $1,000 in sales, there are 50 orders. The illustrative processor charge is $0.88 per order, or $44 in total. Adding processing gives total plan-and-transaction costs of $94 on Free, $93 on Plus and $143 on Pro.
Thus Plus saves just $1 over Free in that month. With no other expenses entered, the planner shows $906, $907 and $857 remaining respectively. These are fee-only scenarios, not a complete business budget; add acquisition, support, overhead and creation costs before treating the result as your operating profit.
Use sales after discounts, and treat refunds separately
If a $20 list price is routinely discounted by 25%, the relevant initial payment is $15. Do not multiply orders by the undiscounted price when evaluating the fee threshold. Transaction components also round to cents per order, so a continuous revenue threshold is a guide rather than a precise settlement calculation.
Refunds require another assumption: which charges return and which remain? Do not automatically apply the no-refund threshold to revenue after refunds. The planner uses a single fee-retention percentage across the modeled transaction components. Different platform and processor refund rules may need separate reconciliation outside this model.
The examples exclude tax, currency conversion, partial refunds, mixed baskets, account-specific pricing and any change-of-plan proration. Check current billing terms before switching during a month. If several products share a plan, compare the plan against the combined eligible sales; do not charge the same monthly plan fee to every product.
Upgrade when the saving is meaningful under a cautious scenario
Compare a normal month and a quieter month. At $500 in sales, the platform cost is $25 on Free, $39 on Plus and $99 on Pro. A single strong launch does not establish that a recurring monthly charge will stay economical.
In the planner, open Free, Plus and Pro as separate scenarios and save them if useful. Each link customizes only the selected plan to the dated example. Other rows in the comparison table use the maintained presets, so compare the saved selected-plan results when reproducing this article.
Add your real operating costs and test fewer orders before committing. The total platform cost guide explains what fee savings leave out; the refund guide explains how to avoid counting refunded revenue twice.