Fee on top vs fee deducted: how platforms charge

When people ask how much affiliate platforms take, they are asking one question: does the fee come out of the athlete's commission, or does the brand pay it on top? That single difference decides who absorbs the platform's cost, and it changes what reaches the person who drove the sale.

Harmonia uses one model: the 20% platform fee is billed to the brand on top of the commission, never deducted from the athlete. The athlete keeps 100% of the commission the brand sets. This post walks the two models, the math for one sale, where the fee lands on the brand's monthly invoice, and why fee-on-top puts the platform on the same side as the athlete.

The two models, side by side

A platform fee can come from one of two places. The headline rate can look identical and still mean different take-home pay.

In a deducted model, a "$50 commission" is not $50 to the athlete. The platform's cut comes out first, so the athlete sees the remainder. In an on-top model, the $50 is the athlete's, and the fee sits on the brand's side of the bill.

Same percentage, different payer, different paycheck. The rest of this post is the math behind it.

Harmonia's model: the fee is on top

You, the brand, set the commission per program. It is a flat dollar amount or a flat percentage, your choice, decided when you launch the program. The athlete receives that commission in full. We add a 20% platform fee on top, billed to you.

• You set the commission. A flat $ amount or a flat % per program. Say $50 per sale.
• The athlete keeps 100% of it. Set $50 and the athlete receives the full $50.
• The 20% fee is on top. On a $50 commission, that is a separate $10 you pay.
• Your total cost is commission plus 20%. A $50 commission costs you $60.
• Charged only on real sales. The fee applies only when an athlete drives a real attributed sale.

Worked example: one sale at $50

Here is every line for a single attributed sale where the brand set a $50 commission.

$50commission set by the brand $50athlete keeps, in full $60brand's total cost for the sale

The fee is 20% of the commission, added to the brand's cost. It is never a slice of the athlete's $50. The same math holds for a percentage commission: set 10% of a $200 order and the commission is $20, the fee is $4 billed to the brand, and the brand's total cost is $24. The athlete receives the full $20.

Compare that to a deducted model at the same headline rate. A "20% platform fee" taken out of a $50 commission would leave the athlete $40 and cost the brand $50. Same numbers on the surface, $10 less in the athlete's pocket.

How it shows up on the brand's invoice

The brand sees the fee in plain numbers every month. We invoice you through Stripe Billing, net-30, on the 1st of the following month. Each invoice has two parts:

• Commission pool. The total commission your athletes earned from attributed sales that month. This becomes their payouts.
• 20% platform fee. Twenty percent of that commission pool, added on top.

So a month with $5,000 in earned commission produces an invoice of $6,000: the $5,000 commission pool plus a $1,000 fee. There is no subscription, no setup fee, and no commission bond. A month with no sales has no fee.

Athletes are paid only after your invoice clears. Once it does, payouts run automatically through Stripe Connect, daily, with a $25 minimum; balances under that roll forward. On December 15 we pay out any remaining balance regardless of the minimum, and we issue each athlete's 1099-NEC automatically at year-end.

For the full billing flow and how to keep your payment details current, see invoicing and billing and how commission works.

Why fee-on-top aligns the platform with athlete earnings

In a deducted model, the platform and the athlete are quietly competing for the same dollars. Every point the platform takes is a point off the athlete's payout. The incentive runs the wrong way: the platform can grow its cut by shrinking what reaches the people doing the work.

Fee-on-top removes that conflict. The platform earns only when an athlete drives a real sale, and it earns from the brand, not from the athlete's commission. So the platform's interest and the athlete's interest point the same direction: more attributed sales, larger commissions, both sides up together.

It also keeps the numbers honest end to end. The amount the athlete is paid and the commission the brand set are the same number, every time. There is no headline rate that quietly becomes a smaller real rate after a deduction. The brand sees a clear cost per sale, the athlete keeps the full commission, and the shopper pays full price with no discount code to enter.

Quick reference

For the full athlete-side view, see how athletes get paid, and the locked definitions at platform fee and net commission.

FAQ

Does Harmonia take a cut of my affiliate commission?

No. The 20% platform fee is billed to the brand on top of the commission, never deducted from the athlete. You earn the commission the brand sets, in full. If the brand sets $50 per sale, you receive $50. The fee is a separate line the brand pays, not a slice taken out of what reaches you. The amount you are paid always equals the commission the brand set.

How much does the 20% platform fee add to a brand's bill?

It adds 20% of the commission your athletes earned. We invoice you monthly through Stripe Billing, net-30, on the 1st of the following month: the commission pool plus the 20% fee on top. A $50 commission costs you $60. A month with $5,000 in earned commission produces a $6,000 invoice. There is no subscription, no setup fee, and no commission bond, and the fee is charged only when an athlete drives a real attributed sale.

Why is a fee-on-top model better for athletes?

Because the platform earns from the brand, not from the athlete's commission, so the two interests point the same way. In a deducted model, every point the platform takes is a point off the athlete's payout. With fee-on-top, the athlete keeps 100% of the commission the brand set, and the headline rate is the real rate, with nothing subtracted after the fact.