VGen Fees vs Artistree vs Commissions.gg

VGen takes a 5% service fee from the artist, plus payment processing. Through VGen Payments (their Stripe setup) a US artist pays 2.9% + $0.30 on top of that, so a $150 commission costs you $12.15 and you keep $137.85. Artistree charges you nothing and bills the client 6.5% instead (plus $2.60 on anything under $100). Commissions.gg takes 0% and you only pay Stripe or PayPal.

That's the short version. The rest of this post is the math: every fee line from each platform's own help pages, what you actually net on a $50, $150, and $500 commission, and the one case where the "0% for artists" platform ends up costing your client more than VGen does.

I ran a craft commission business for four years, and the fee question I got asked most wasn't "which site is cheapest." It was "why did I get paid $4 less than I quoted?" So every number below is per commission, in dollars, not just percentages.

If you want the feature comparison (discovery, queues, review systems) instead of the money, that's already covered in the VGen alternatives breakdown and the Artistree alternatives guide. This one is only about fees.

Fee structures side by side

All figures checked on each platform's official pages in October 2026. Processing rates are the US domestic card rates.

The column that matters most is "who pays." VGen, Ko-fi, and Commissions.gg take their cut out of your payout. Artistree adds it to the client's checkout. Those aren't the same thing, and comparing 5% to 6.5% directly is how people end up with the wrong answer.

What you net on a $50, $150, and $500 commission

Assumptions: you're a US artist, your client is in the US, they pay by card, and you use the Stripe path on every platform. The "client pays" column is what lands on their card before tax.

How the VGen line works on $150: 5% service fee is $7.50, Stripe's 2.9% is $4.35, plus the flat $0.30. Total $12.15, or 8.1%. On a $50 commission the flat 30 cents pushes the effective rate up to 8.5%. On $500 it drops to just under 8%.

Ko-fi Standard lands on exactly the same numbers as VGen, because it's the same 5% plus the same Stripe rate. Ko-fi Gold removes the 5% for a flat $12 a month, which only pays off once your Ko-fi income passes $240 a month (5% of $240 is $12).

VGen fees, line by line

VGen's help center article "What are VGen's fees?" is short and clear. The parts people miss:

• No monthly fee and no listing fee. You only pay when a commission is paid. There's no paid artist tier. "Artist+" on VGen is an invite-code access level, not a subscription.
• The 5% is charged to the artist, not the client. All fees are deducted from what the client paid. The client only covers their own currency conversion.
• VGen Payments (Stripe), US artists: 5% + 2.9% + $0.30, with $0 withdrawal fee and $0 refund processing fee.
• VGen Payments, non-US artists: the same, plus a Stripe international payout fee of 1.5% to 2.5% depending on your country. On a $150 commission that's roughly another $2.25 to $3.75, so you'd net around $134 to $136. VGen doesn't say exactly which amount the payout percentage is applied to, so treat that as an estimate.
• PayPal path: 5% to VGen, then whatever your own PayPal account charges. VGen says it can't show you the exact breakdown in the proposal when you use PayPal. PayPal's published US business rate for goods and services is 3.49% plus a $0.49 fixed fee, which would make a $150 VGen commission cost you about $13.23 instead of $12.15. Your PayPal account may be on a different rate, so check yours.
• Negative balance rule: if your VGen balance stays negative for more than 14 days (after a refund, for example), VGen bills you for it plus 2.9% + $0.30.

How to price on VGen so you net what you want

This is what the "VGen fee calculator" searches are really after. On the Stripe path as a US artist, divide what you want to keep (plus 30 cents) by 0.921:

Price = (what you want to net + $0.30) ÷ 0.921

To net $50, list at $54.61. To net $150, list at $163.19. To net $500, list at $543.21. Round up to whatever looks clean on your price sheet. If you're outside the US, swap 0.921 for something between 0.896 and 0.906 depending on your payout fee.

VGen also shows you the exact fee breakdown when you create a proposal on the Stripe path, so you can sanity-check the number before you send it.

Artistree fees: you keep 100%, your client pays 6.5%

From Artistree's own FAQ: the client pays a 6.5% platform fee at checkout, and if the commission is under $100 an extra $2.60 USD is added. Artistree says much of that fee covers card processing, so the artist is paid the full listed price. Their own example is a $100 commission where the client pays $106.50 before tax.

Other fee lines from the same FAQ:

• Currency conversion: on Stripe, if you charge in a currency different from your bank account's, Stripe takes a 1% conversion fee. Charge in your own currency and it's 0%. PayPal pays out in the currency you charged with no conversion fee unless you convert later.
• Chargeback fee: the FAQ lists $15 on Stripe and $20 on PayPal. It doesn't spell out who pays it in every case, only that artists who delivered work with documented client approvals are protected. I couldn't confirm the rest from an official page, so I'm not going to guess.
• Payout timing: Stripe pays to your bank in 5 to 10 business days. PayPal is instant to your PayPal balance.
• The $2.60 in other currencies is fixed per currency (for example €2.40 or £2.50).

The catch: Artistree can cost the client more than VGen

"Artists keep 100%" is true, but your client is the one paying for it. The fair comparison isn't "VGen takes 8% and Artistree takes 0%." It's "what does the client pay for me to take home the same amount?"

Under $100, that flat $2.60 makes Artistree the more expensive checkout for your client than VGen. Above $100 it flips, and Artistree is cheaper for them by about $3 on a $150 piece and $11 on a $500 one. If most of your menu is $30 icons and $60 busts, the "0% for artists" platform is quietly the priciest one for your buyers. Commissions.gg comes out lowest at every size, because Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 is the only cost in the chain.

Commissions.gg fees: 0% plus processing

Commissions.gg's help article on deducted fees says it straight: creators keep everything, no platform cut, and the only fees come from Stripe or PayPal. It quotes Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30 on domestic cards, charged to the creator. For PayPal it says 2.9% plus a fixed currency fee, which is lower than the 3.49% + $0.49 on PayPal's own US fee page, so go by your PayPal account, not either quote.

Other things worth knowing:

• Minimums: Stripe withdrawals need at least $50 in your available balance and take 2 to 5 days to reach your bank. PayPal payouts run on a schedule you pick, with a $5 minimum. That $50 Stripe floor matters if you mostly sell $15 emotes.
• How it's funded: an optional Star Creator monthly membership that unlocks extra tools like promotions. I couldn't find the price on any public page, so I can't put it in the table. You don't need it to take commissions.
• Future fees: their about page says if they ever add a fee, it'll be on the client side, announced in advance, and creator fees stay at 0%.
• Beta status: as of October 2026 the site still runs a closed-beta banner, and creators are reviewed by hand before they can list.

On $500, Commissions.gg leaves you $485.20 versus $460.20 on VGen. That $25 is real money on every commission. The trade-off is audience size, which is a feature question, not a fee question.

Ko-fi Commissions, for comparison

Ko-fi's pricing page lists a 5% service fee on commissions for the free Standard plan, or 0% on Gold at $12 a month. Normal payment processor fees apply on top. Ko-fi says there are no buyer fees and no payout fees, and money lands directly in your own PayPal or Stripe account.

One thing I noticed while checking: Artistree's own comparison table still shows Ko-fi Gold at $6 to $8 a month. Ko-fi's current price is $12. Always check the platform's own page, not a competitor's chart. The full Ko-fi picture, including where it stops being useful for commissions, is in Ko-fi for commissions: the limits.

Which one costs you least

• Lowest total cost at any price: Commissions.gg. Same take-home for you, smallest checkout for your client, as long as you can get accepted and find buyers there.
• VGen vs Artistree under $100: VGen is cheaper overall, even after you raise your price to cover its fee. Artistree's $2.60 surcharge is what does it.
• VGen vs Artistree over $100: Artistree is cheaper overall, and you don't have to touch your price sheet. Your client just sees the 6.5% at checkout.
• Outside the US: VGen's extra 1.5% to 2.5% payout fee makes it the most expensive of the three. On Artistree, charge in your own currency to skip the 1% conversion.
• Already selling $240+ a month on Ko-fi: Gold's flat $12 beats 5%.

Fees are rarely what sinks a commission, though. On a $500 piece the gap between the cheapest and most expensive option is $40. A single forgotten material order or an extra revision round costs more. If you haven't worked out your true cost per commission, do that before switching platforms over 5%.

Track what you actually got paid

The habit that fixed my "why was I paid $4 less" problem was logging the net amount next to the quoted price on every commission. The free commission tracker has price, deposit, and paid-date columns and exports to CSV, so you can see your real effective fee rate across a year instead of guessing. If you're still setting prices, the commission calculator lets you add platform and processing fees on top of materials and hours.

Neither one touches your money or replaces a marketplace. You still get paid through VGen, Artistree, Commissions.gg, or Ko-fi.