Two fees. Only one of them is ours.
2.9% + 30¢
Paid straight into your own Stripe account
Processing isn't ours to charge. Your money goes into your account, never ours.
What this means for you
300 bookings a month at $15 is $4,500 taken. Session’s fee: $22.50.
The cap kicks in at $30,000 of bookings a month. Everything you take above that is free - so as you grow, our share of your revenue keeps falling.
There’s no premium tier on the booking system. Every venue gets sessions, memberships, vouchers, reports, multiple locations and check-in, whatever size you are - and every email Session sends for you is free and uncapped, from booking confirmations to reminders and review requests.
The one thing that costs extra is marketing newsletters to your whole list, because every one of those costs us to send.
Email marketing add-on
Newsletters to your whole list, sent from Session. Pay only if you use it.
From $13 a month for 5,000 emails. Booking emails are always free.
FAQs
Is Session really free?
Yes. There's no subscription, no setup fee and no card required to start. Session takes 0.5% of each paid booking, capped monthly in your own currency - £100 in the UK, US$150 in the US. If you take no bookings, you pay nothing. Card processing is Stripe's separate fee, taken in your own Stripe account.
What's the catch?
There isn't one. Session only earns when you get paid, which keeps our incentives aligned with yours. There's no premium tier, no feature held back and no per-seat pricing. Every venue gets every feature from day one, whatever size you are.
Who holds my money?
You do. Payments go straight into your own Stripe account - Session never holds your funds. You control refunds and payouts. Stripe's processing fee comes out of that transaction and is paid to Stripe, not to us.
What are the card processing fees?
Stripe sets them, and they depend on where your Stripe account is registered and the card used - for example about 1.5% + 20p on standard UK cards for a UK account, or 2.9% + 30¢ on US cards for a US account. International and commercial cards cost more. The fee applies on any booking platform and is paid directly to Stripe from your own account. It isn't ours to charge or to change.
What if I have a quiet month?
You pay nothing. The 0.5% only applies to paid bookings, so a quiet month costs you nothing at all. This is the main reason a capped percentage usually beats a fixed monthly subscription for seasonal venues.
What happens when I hit the monthly cap?
Nothing changes except the fee stops. The cap is a fixed amount each month in your own currency - £100 in the UK, US$150 in the US, €90 in Europe, A$150 in Australia, C$140 in Canada and NZ$170 in New Zealand. Everything you take above it is free, so as you grow, Session's share of your revenue keeps falling.
Do you charge my customers anything?
No. Session never adds a fee to your customer's checkout - they pay the price you set. Some platforms fund a "free" plan by adding a percentage to the customer's booking. We don't, because it's your price and your relationship.
Is email marketing included?
The automatic ones are, always. Booking confirmations, reminders, cancellations, review requests and waiting-list alerts all send free, with no cap, on every account. Newsletters to your whole mailing list are a paid add-on, because we pay per email sent and won't pretend otherwise. Plans start at 5,000 emails a month for £10 in the UK or US$13 in the US, and go up to 50,000. You can turn one on the day you need it and off again after.
Is there a contract?
No contract, no minimum term and no setup fee. You can start taking bookings without entering a card. If Session stops working for you, export your data and go - it's your data, and one-click CSV export is built in.
Do community saunas pay less?
Yes. Non-profit and community-run saunas get a partnership deal through the Community Sauna Network, below the standard 0.5%. Session was built by a sauna operator and supporting community saunas is core to the model. Get in touch before you launch.