A vendor with no sales history yet has nothing to base a tier decision on except a guess, which makes the decision feel harder than it actually is. The math behind AUANI's two tiers resolves the guess into a specific number: $6,000 in monthly marketplace sales.
Working Out the Math Manually
Free costs $0 a month with a 10% marketplace fee. Monthly costs $300 a month with a 5% marketplace fee. Setting 10% of monthly sales equal to $300 plus 5% of the same sales solves to exactly $6,000: below that volume, Free's total cost is lower; above it, Monthly's is lower.
| Monthly Sales | Free Tier Cost | Monthly Tier Cost | Cheaper Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $200 | $400 | Free |
| $4,000 | $400 | $500 | Free |
| $6,000 | $600 | $600 | Equal |
| $8,000 | $800 | $700 | Monthly |
| $10,000 | $1,000 | $800 | Monthly |
How Other Platforms Approach This
Many competing platforms either have no free tier at all, or price their entry tier without a matching commission-based option, leaving a brand-new vendor without a clean way to compare cost at low volume against cost at higher volume.
That gap forces a new vendor to make an educated guess before ever placing a single order, often based on whatever a sales representative recommends rather than a transparent formula the vendor could work out independently. A published, fixed breakeven point removes that guesswork entirely.
How AUANI Solves This
Because both tiers are published with clear, fixed terms, a vendor can run this exact math at any point, watch its own monthly sales approach $6,000, and switch tiers at the point that actually makes financial sense rather than guessing.
Getting Started
A brand-new vendor with no sales history should start on Free, since it has no monthly cost, and revisit this math once monthly sales start approaching the $6,000 mark.
A simple monthly check, comparing the prior month's actual marketplace sales against the $6,000 figure, keeps the decision current without requiring constant attention. Most vendors only need to run this comparison once things start feeling close, rather than every single month from day one.
A vendor genuinely uncertain whether it's approaching the threshold can simply check its own recent sales total against $6,000 directly, which takes less time than the decision itself might otherwise feel like it deserves.
Why the Decision Isn't Purely About Fees
The $6,000 breakeven point is the honest fee math, but it isn't the whole picture. Monthly also includes a fully hosted website, the 0% direct ordering widget, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics, none of which are available on Free at all. A vendor sitting just under $6,000 in marketplace sales might still find Monthly worth it earlier than the fee math alone suggests, if a hosted website or Google visibility tools would meaningfully help it grow toward higher volume faster.
The honest way to weigh this is asking whether those specific tools would actually accelerate growth for this particular vendor, rather than assuming every added feature is automatically worth its cost regardless of whether it gets used.
A vendor in a highly competitive local market, for instance, might find the Google visibility suite pays for itself well before $6,000 in sales, while one relying mostly on word of mouth in a smaller area might reasonably stay on Free longer before the added tools start to matter.
There's no wrong answer here as long as the decision gets revisited periodically, since the right tier for a vendor's specific situation can shift as the business itself grows and its priorities change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should every brand-new vendor start on Free?
In most cases yes, since Free has no monthly cost while sales volume is still building toward the point where Monthly's math starts to win.
Does the $6,000 breakeven point change with add-ons like extra locations?
Adding a location changes the whole account's fee to 3% and adds $100 a month, which shifts the specific breakeven math for a multi-location account.
Could Monthly make sense even below the $6,000 breakeven point?
Yes, if the hosted website, direct ordering widget, or Google visibility tools would meaningfully help a vendor grow faster, those features carry value the fee math alone doesn't capture.
Can a vendor switch tiers at any time?
Yes, a vendor isn't locked into a tier and can move to Monthly once the math favors it.
Does the Monthly tier only pay off through fee savings?
No, Monthly also adds a hosted website, a 0% direct widget, the full Google visibility suite, and menu analytics, which carry value beyond the fee math alone.
What is the wider guide this fits into?
The First $6K Fast Track guide covers this alongside first repeat orders and Google visibility.
For the full series, start with the First $6K Fast Track guide.