When someone buys from you, a few deductions apply before the money reaches your balance. You can see all of them for any sale: open Wallet, find the transaction and click the details button next to it.
What gets deducted
Platform fee — 5% of the transaction. This is Sociala's share.
Payment processing fee — 5.9% + $0.30 per transaction, where it applies. It can differ by payment method or country.
Referral fee — 25%, and this is the one worth understanding, because it depends on who the buyer is.
The referral fee works in your favour
If the buyer is your own referral — someone who joined Sociala through your referral link — the referral fee is 0%, so you keep that 25%.
For any other buyer — whether they came through someone else's link or through no link at all — 25% is deducted from your side. If someone referred that buyer, their referral commission is paid out of that fee.
In other words, the audience you bring to Sociala yourself is worth noticeably more to you than the audience that arrives another way. See How to Link Your Channel for where to find your link.
A real example
Someone who is not your referral subscribes to your channel for $3.00:
Total amount: $3.00
Payment processing fee: −$0.48
Platform fee: −$0.15
Referral fee: −$0.75
You receive: $1.62
Had that person been your own referral, there would be no third line and you'd receive $2.37.
Taking money out
Withdrawing what you've earned costs nothing on our side.
Withdrawing money you deposited yourself carries a 15% fee — deposits are meant for buying on Sociala, not for moving money through it.
Your bank or payment provider may charge its own fees on top, and those are outside our control.
When you're the one paying
Purchases come out of your Sociala balance first. If it doesn't cover the amount, the rest is charged to your card.
The fee rules are in our Terms of Use (Section 6). To check any single payment, use the details button in Wallet — see Details Available in the Transaction History.
When your balance nearly covers it
Purchases take what's on your balance first and charge the rest to your card. If that remainder comes to less than $2, the card can't be charged for it — so instead of failing quietly, you're told about it and offered two ways forward: pay the whole amount by card, or top up first and pay from your balance.
It applies to one-off purchases and to paying for a dislike. Subscriptions are the exception — renewals never show it.
Need help? Contact support at [email protected]