Pricing & Billing

How pricing works for publishers and advertisers

1. Platform Pricing

SpotEngine is free to use until you make your first sale. After that, a simple monthly fee unlocks everything.

Free

$0/month

Unlimited ad spots
Unlimited workspaces
Analytics dashboard
Accept payments

Pro

$99/month

Everything in Free
Accept ad payments
Stripe Connect integration
Priority support

No platform cut: You keep 100% of your ad revenue. The $99/month is a flat fee—we don't take a percentage of your sales.

2. Setting Your Ad Prices

You control what advertisers pay for your ad spots. Set prices that reflect your traffic and audience value.

Pricing options

One-time payment

Advertisers pay once. The ad runs for your chosen duration (monthly, quarterly, or yearly), then expires.

Recurring (subscription)

Advertisers are billed monthly. The ad keeps running until they cancel or you remove it.

Tip: Recurring pricing creates predictable monthly revenue. One-time works well for seasonal campaigns.

3. How Payments Work

When an advertiser purchases an ad spot, here's what happens:

Advertiser pays upfront

Payment is collected immediately via Stripe when they submit their ad.
Payment is held

The funds are held while you review and approve the ad.
You approve or reject

Approve: payment is finalized and the ad goes live. Reject: advertiser is automatically refunded.
Funds arrive in your Stripe account

Stripe deposits the payment to your bank on their standard payout schedule.

You're protected: You never see an ad on your site that you haven't approved. Full control, always.

4. Stripe Payouts

Your ad revenue goes directly to your connected Stripe account. Here's how payouts work:

Payout schedule

Standard: 2 business days

Most countries receive payouts within 2 business days after the payment is finalized.

Automatic bank deposits

Stripe automatically transfers funds to your linked bank account.

Payout timing varies by country. Check your Stripe Dashboard for your specific schedule.

Stripe fees

Standard Stripe processing fees apply to each transaction:

2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge (US)
International cards may have additional fees
No fees on refunded transactions

These are Stripe's fees, not SpotEngine's. We don't add any additional transaction fees.

5. Managing Your Subscription

Access your billing settings from the Billing page in your account.

What you can do

Update payment method

Change your card or add a new payment method via the Stripe portal.

View invoices

Download invoices for your records or accounting.

Cancel subscription

Cancel anytime. You'll retain access until the end of your billing period.

If you cancel or downgrade, existing ads continue running but you won't be able to approve new paid ads.

6. Common Questions

Quick answers to billing questions:

When do I start paying $99/month?

After your first ad is approved and goes live. You can set up everything—workspaces, ad spots, Stripe—for free. The subscription only starts when you make your first sale.

Do you take a cut of my ad revenue?

No. You keep 100% of what advertisers pay (minus Stripe's processing fees). Our only charge is the flat $99/month subscription.

What happens if an advertiser's payment fails?

For recurring ads, we'll automatically retry failed payments. If payment continues to fail, the ad is paused and the advertiser is notified. You'll also receive an alert.

Can I offer refunds to advertisers?

Rejected ads are automatically refunded. For approved ads, refunds can be processed through your Stripe Dashboard if needed.

Is there an annual billing option?

Not currently. We offer monthly billing only, which gives you flexibility to cancel anytime.