A complete guide to how fees work on every online payment you take through Bookiphy — what Bookiphy charges, what Stripe charges, and how to work out your real cost per transaction.
In short
Every online payment you take through Bookiphy involves two separate fees:
- Bookiphy's platform fee: a flat 2.1% of the transaction.
- Stripe's processing fee: variable, set by Stripe, and dependent on how the parent pays.
There are no setup fees, no monthly platform fees, and no per-member charges. You only ever pay the flat 2.1% platform fee plus the relevant Stripe processing fee on each payment you take.
This article explains both fees, walks through a real example, and shows you how to use our free fee calculator to see your exact costs before you take a single booking.
Your Bookiphy Subscription Fees and your platform fees are separate
Before we dig into the detail, it's worth being clear that there are two completely different kinds of cost, and they're independent of each other:
- Your Bookiphy Subscription Fees the recurring fee for your Bookiphy plan, whether you pay monthly or annually.
- Your platform fees for payment processing the 2.1% platform fee plus the Stripe fee on each online payment you take (the subject of this article).
Your recurring Bookiphy Subscription Fees (your "Subscription Fees"), whether paid monthly or annually, are separate from the platform fees charged for payment processing. Subscription Fees are billed separately and are independent from your platform fees, one does not affect the other. Your Subscription Fees are what you pay for access to the Bookiphy platform; your platform fees are charged per transaction as parents pay you.
Everything that follows in this article, including any mention of "no setup fees" or "no monthly fees" relates only to your payment processing fees. Your Bookiphy Subscription Fees are separate from these.
Why there are two fees
Bookiphy handles the bookings, subscriptions, registers, communications and automation that keep your club running. To take a card payment, though, money has to move securely from a parent's bank to yours and that's the job of a payment processor.
Bookiphy uses Stripe, one of the world's most trusted payment processors. When a parent pays, Stripe securely processes the card, handles the security and fraud checks, and pays the money directly into your own Stripe account on a fast payout schedule. You stay in full control of your funds at all times; Bookiphy never holds your money.
Because two different services are involved, there are two fees:
- Stripe charges its own processing fee for moving and securing the money.
- Bookiphy charges a flat 2.1% platform fee for everything around it, the booking engine, recurring billing, failed-payment recovery, registers, parent portal, automations and support.
We keep these clearly separated so you can always see exactly what you're paying and who you're paying it to.
Fee 1: The Bookiphy platform fee (2.1%)
This is simple and predictable. Bookiphy charges a flat 2.1% of each online transaction, whatever the booking type, whatever the amount.
- It's the same 2.1% on a one-off camp booking, a weekly class, an ad hoc session or a recurring monthly subscription.
- It doesn't increase as your club grows or as you add more members.
- It only ever applies to payments processed online through Bookiphy.
That flat, transparent rate is deliberately lower than many comparable platforms, so more of every payment stays with your club.
Fee 2: The Stripe processing fee (variable)
Stripe's fee is the part that varies and that's because it depends on how the parent chooses to pay. A payment from a standard UK debit card costs less to process than one from an international credit card, so Stripe prices each accordingly.
Stripe sets and updates these rates, not Bookiphy. The single source of truth for current pricing is always Stripe's own page: stripe.com/pricing
Indicative Stripe UK rates
To give you a feel for it, here are some of the common Stripe rates for UK businesses. These are examples only and may change, always check Stripe's pricing page for the definitive figures.
| Payment method | Typical Stripe fee |
|---|---|
| Standard UK cards | 1.5% + 20p |
| Premium UK cards (some rewards/commercial cards) | 1.9% + 20p |
| European Economic Area (EEA) cards | 2.5% + 20p |
| International cards | 3.25% + 20p (plus 2% if currency conversion is needed) |
Most parents pay with a standard UK card, so that top row is the rate you'll see most often. Stripe supports a wide range of other payment methods too, each with its own rate, you'll find the full list on Stripe's pricing page.
A worked example
Let's take a parent paying a £50 monthly subscription with a standard UK card.
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription payment | — | £50.00 |
| Bookiphy platform fee | 2.1% of £50.00 | −£1.05 |
| Stripe processing fee | 1.5% of £50.00 + 20p | −£0.95 |
| You receive | £48.00 |
So on a £50 payment, your total fees come to £2.00, and £48.00 lands in your account.
Here's the same maths on a couple of other amounts (standard UK card):
| Payment amount | Bookiphy 2.1% | Stripe 1.5% + 20p | Total fees | You receive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £30.00 | £0.63 | £0.65 | £1.28 | £28.72 |
| £50.00 | £1.05 | £0.95 | £2.00 | £48.00 |
| £100.00 | £2.10 | £1.70 | £3.80 | £96.20 |
| £250.00 | £5.25 | £3.95 | £9.20 | £240.80 |
(Stripe figures based on the standard UK card rate shown above; your exact Stripe fee depends on the payment method used and Stripe's current pricing.)
See your exact fees with Bookiphy's free calculator
Because the Stripe portion varies, we've built a free fee calculator so you never have to do the maths by hand. Just enter a payment amount and it shows you:
- the Bookiphy 2.1% platform fee,
- the Stripe processing fee,
- the total fee, and
- exactly how much you'll receive.
It's a quick, no-strings way to understand your costs across different booking types and amounts before you commit. Sign in to your Bookiphy account to try the calculator.
Refunds and fees
If you refund a booking, it's worth knowing how Stripe treats the original fees. Under Stripe's standard pricing, there's normally no charge for issuing a refund itself, but the original processing fee from the first transaction is not returned by Stripe. The latest detail on this is always on Stripe's pricing page.
Any processing fee paid is non-refundable. If you have a question about how a specific refund affects your fees, our team is happy to help — just get in touch.
No hidden fees
To be completely clear about what you will and won't pay:
- No setup fees to get started on Bookiphy.
- No monthly platform fee: the 2.1% only applies to the payments you take.
- No per-member charges as your club grows.
- No Stripe setup or monthly fees on standard pricing: Stripe is purely pay-as-you-go.
The only costs are the flat 2.1% Bookiphy platform fee and Stripe's per-transaction processing fee — both applied transparently, both shown on every payment.
Custom pricing for higher-volume clubs
The flat 2.1% platform fee works well for clubs and academies of every size. If your payment processing volume exceeds £1 million per financial year, however, you may qualify for custom platform fee rates.
Custom rates are agreed on a case-by-case basis and form part of a separate agreement. If you think you're likely to cross that threshold, speak with a member of our team and we'll talk through the options with you.
(Note: custom pricing relates to the Bookiphy platform fee only. Stripe's processing fees are always set by Stripe.)
Frequently asked questions
Does Bookiphy take a cut of my money before it reaches me? No. Bookiphy is powered by Stripe Connect, so payments flow directly into your own Stripe account on a fast payout schedule. Bookiphy never holds your funds, you stay in full control.
Is the 2.1% the same for all booking types? Yes. The flat 2.1% platform fee applies equally to camps, subscriptions, ad hoc, flexi and trial bookings.
Why can't you just tell me one all-in fee? Because the Stripe portion genuinely depends on how each parent/user pays. A flat all-in number would either over- or under-state your real cost. Showing the two parts separately keeps everything honest and our free calculator gives you the exact figure in seconds.
Where do I find Stripe's latest rates? Always on Stripe's own pricing page: stripe.com/gb/pricing. Stripe sets and updates these directly.
Do fees go up as my club grows? No. There are no tiered platform fees or per-member charges — the 2.1% stays flat however large your club becomes.
Are my Bookiphy Subscription Fees included in these processing fees? No. Your recurring Bookiphy Subscription Fees (monthly or annual) and your platform fees for payment processing are completely separate and independent of each other. Subscription Fees are billed separately. The fees described in this article are payment processing fees, charged per transaction; your Subscription Fees pay for access to the platform and are billed on their own.
Does Bookiphy offer custom pricing or discounts on the platform fee? Yes. If your payment processing volume exceeds £1 million per financial year, custom platform fee rates may be available. These are agreed case by case as part of a separate agreement, just speak with a member of our team.
Still have a question about fees? Get in touch with the Bookiphy team. We're always happy to help you understand exactly what you'll pay.
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