How the fee works and what you keep

The 5% + $0.50 formula means 5% of the item subtotal plus one $0.50 fixed amount per order. Quantities and seller discounts are applied first. Delivery and customer tax are not part of the service-fee base.

As the seller, you owe the service fee. You can pass it through as one clearly labeled buyer charge at checkout, or absorb it from your earnings.

You are the merchant of record for your own sales, so you pay Stripe’s standard payment-processing fee out of your proceeds — the same as sellers on every other platform in this category. VibeKitchen does not absorb it.

In the default setup, your buyer covers the 5% + $0.50 service fee. Your earnings start with item and delivery revenue, then subtract any absorbed service fee, tax on VibeKitchen’s fee where applicable, Stripe’s actual processing fee, refunds, and lost disputes. Customer tax is shown separately and is not earnings.

VibeKitchen does not promise an exact processing rate, and this Help Center will not quote one as a guarantee. Stripe sets it and shows the exact amount taken on each order — check your payout records in Payouts & Reports for the real figures.

VibeKitchen used to say you keep 100% of your listed price. That is no longer how it works, and we would rather say so plainly than go quiet about it. You now pay Stripe’s processing fee out of your proceeds, like sellers on every comparable platform. The service-fee formula also changes, and you are the merchant of record with your own name on the customer’s card statement.

You decide whether your buyer pays the 5% + $0.50 service fee on top of your price, or you absorb it. It is one choice for your whole shop, not a per-item setting, and the default is that your buyer pays it.

When your buyer pays it, checkout shows a single service fee line on top of your price. When you absorb it, no service-fee line appears at checkout and the fee comes out of your proceeds instead. Delivery and customer tax are still added when they apply.

The Buyer payment section is addition math: items, delivery when applicable, a buyer-paid service fee when selected, customer tax, and the buyer total. Buyer-paid charges use a plus sign.

The Seller earnings section is payout math. An absorbed service fee uses a minus sign there. Stripe processing, seller-service tax, seller refund impact, and dispute outcomes are also kept separate from customer tax and net earnings.

For example, a $15.00 taxable pickup with a $1.25 buyer-paid service fee and $1.24 customer tax has a $17.49 buyer total. If Stripe processing is $0.81, net earnings are $14.19 because customer tax is not earnings and the buyer-paid service fee does not reduce the seller’s $15.00 item revenue.

For very small carts where you absorb the service fee, checkout must still keep Stripe's application fee below the buyer's charge. If the fee would equal or exceed the charge, VibeKitchen blocks payment and asks for a larger cart or buyer-paid service fees instead of sending an invalid payment to Stripe.

On a $1.00 item order, the service fee is $0.55 and the buyer pays $1.55 before delivery and tax.

On a $5.00 item order, the service fee is $0.75 and the buyer pays $5.75 before delivery and tax.

On a $10.00 item order, the service fee is $1.00 and the buyer pays $11.00 before delivery and tax.

On a $25.00 item order, the service fee is $1.75 and the buyer pays $26.75 before delivery and tax.

Say you list an item at $50.00. The 5% + $0.50 service fee on it is $3.00.

If your buyer pays the fee (the default): the buyer’s total is $53.00, and you receive $50.00 minus Stripe’s processing fee.

If you absorb the fee: the buyer’s total is $50.00 before delivery and customer tax, and you receive $47.00 minus Stripe’s processing fee.