Kelviq vs Creem Fees in the Closest MoR Matchup

Creem's flat 3.9% + 40¢ vs Kelviq's 3.5% + 40¢ plus surcharges. The tightest MoR fee matchup we track. Where your customers live decides the winner.

This is the tightest fee matchup among the merchant-of-record platforms we track. Creem, an EU-based MoR, charges a flat 3.9% + 40¢ with no surcharges of any kind, so international cards and subscriptions cost the same as a domestic one-time sale. Kelviq charges 3.5% + 40¢ plus 1.5% for international cards and 0.5% for recurring billing. The fixed fees are identical, so every comparison reduces to percentages, and the deciding variable is where your customers live.

Several of the scenarios below go to Creem, and all of them are shown in full. Kelviq wins domestic one-time sales at every price ($3.90 vs $4.30 on $100) and everything domestic during its sub-$5,000 introductory rate. Creem wins international one-time sales ($4.30 vs $5.40), international subscriptions ($2.31 vs $3.10 at $49), and even edges domestic subscriptions by a nickel at $49 ($2.31 vs $2.36). The calculator below settles it for your actual mix.

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Kelviq breakdown

  • Base fee (2.9% + 40¢) $3.30
Total fee$3.30
Effective rate3.30%
You keep$96.70

Creem breakdown

  • Base fee (3.9% + 40¢) $4.30
Total fee$4.30
Effective rate4.30%
You keep$95.70
PlatformFeeEffective rateYou keep
KelviqMoR
First $5K lifetime volume
$3.303.30%$96.70
CreemMoR
$4.304.30%$95.70

The ranking counts per-transaction cost only. Monthly plan fees, payout fees, and dispute fees are listed separately on each platform page. Rates are verified against official pricing pages, and the sources list the dates.

Every Kelviq vs Creem fee side by side

KelviqCreem
Base transaction fee
First $5K lifetime volume 2.9% + 40¢
After $5K lifetime volume 3.5% + 40¢
3.9% + 40¢
International cards+1.5%No surcharge
Currency conversionNo surchargeNo surcharge
Subscription billing+0.5%Included
PayPalNot offeredNot offered
Monthly feeNoneNone
Payout feesStandard payouts included (T+7, or T+3 on enterprise)EU/SEPA free, elsewhere $7 or 1% per payout, whichever is higher (Payouts on the 1st and 15th)
Dispute / chargeback feeNot publishedNot published
Sales tax / VAT handlingMoR Kelviq handles global sales tax and VAT as the legal sellerMoR Creem handles global sales tax and VAT as the legal seller
SourceOfficial pricing, last verified 2026-07-10Official pricing, last verified 2026-07-10
Fees at different price points (one-time, domestic card)
Platform$10 sale$50 sale$500 sale
Kelviq$0.69$1.85$14.90
Creem$0.79$2.35$19.90

Same fixed fee, opposite philosophies

Both platforms charge 40¢ per transaction, so the entire comparison lives in the percentage. Creem publishes a single 3.9%, applied worldwide, one-time or recurring. Kelviq publishes a lower 3.5% base and two surcharges, 1.5% international and 0.5% recurring, which stack to 5.5%. Creem’s flat rate is a bet that your customers are everywhere, while Kelviq’s structure rewards sellers whose buyers are mostly in the US.

The four scenarios

  • $100 domestic one-time. Kelviq $3.90, Creem $4.30. Kelviq wins by 40¢, and holds a 0.4-point edge at every price.
  • $49 domestic subscription. Creem $2.31, Kelviq $2.36. Creem by a nickel (4% vs 3.9%), the narrowest margin in any comparison on this site.
  • $100 international one-time. Creem $4.30, Kelviq $5.40. Creem by $1.10, since only Kelviq surcharges the card’s origin.
  • $49 international subscription. Creem $2.31, Kelviq $3.10. Creem by 79¢, which works out to 25% less per renewal.

The 27% rule

For one-time sales, Kelviq’s blended rate is 3.5% plus 1.5% times your international share. Set that equal to Creem’s 3.9% and the crossover lands at 26.7% international revenue. A US indie developer at 15% international pays less on Kelviq. A global AI tool at 50% international pays less on Creem. Subscriptions have no crossover. Kelviq’s 0.5% recurring surcharge puts its domestic floor at 4%, a tenth of a point above Creem, so Creem wins subscriptions at any geography and the gap only widens with international mix.

The first $5,000

Kelviq’s introductory rate (2.9% + 40¢ until $5,000 lifetime volume) changes early-stage math. During it, Kelviq beats Creem on domestic one-time (2.9% vs 3.9%) and domestic subscriptions (3.4% vs 3.9%), while Creem still wins international one-time sales (3.9% vs 4.4%). The discount is capped at $30 versus the standard rate, so treat it as a launch-phase tiebreaker rather than a reason to choose a platform.

Payouts, disputes, and what isn’t published

Creem is an EU company, so SEPA payouts to EU accounts are free, but payouts elsewhere cost $7 or 1%, which on $10,000 a month to a US bank can reach $100. Kelviq publishes no payout fees, on a T+7 schedule (T+3 enterprise). Creem’s dispute fee is not published, a gap worth resolving by asking directly if chargebacks are a live risk for your product. Both are young platforms relative to the Paddle generation of MoRs, so operational track record deserves the same scrutiny as rate on either side. Both handle global sales tax and VAT as the seller of record, so compliance is a wash.

Verdict

Choose Kelviq for a US-heavy, one-time-sale business, where 3.5% beats 3.9% at every price and the introductory 2.9% + 40¢ rate widens the gap for your first $5,000. Choose Creem when international customers or subscriptions dominate. With no surcharges, it charges $2.31 on a $49 subscription whether the card is from Ohio or Austria, against Kelviq’s $2.36 domestic and $3.10 international. The working rule is that above roughly 27% international revenue on one-time sales, Creem is cheaper overall, and on subscriptions Creem is cheaper at any mix (by 0.1 points domestic, by 1.6 points international). Two diligence items cut the other way. Creem’s dispute fee is unpublished, and non-EU payouts cost $7 or 1%, which a US founder should price against Kelviq’s no-published-fee T+7 payouts. This is the pairing where geography, not headline rate, makes the decision.

Frequently asked questions

For international customers, always. Creem charges no international surcharge, so a $100 international sale costs $4.30 against Kelviq’s $5.40. For domestic one-time sales Kelviq is cheaper at every price (3.5% vs 3.9%), and domestic subscriptions go to Creem by only 0.1 points, at $2.31 vs $2.36 on a $49 plan.

Creem’s 3.9% + 40¢ is flat worldwide, while Kelviq adds 1.5% for international cards. That pushes Kelviq to 5% + 40¢ on international one-time sales and 5.5% + 40¢ on international subscriptions, both above Creem’s unchanging rate.

For one-time sales, at roughly 27% international revenue, the point where Kelviq’s blended rate (3.5% plus 1.5% times the international share) crosses Creem’s flat 3.9%. For subscriptions there is no crossover. Creem is cheaper at any mix, since Kelviq’s effective domestic rate is 4%.

Creem pays out free via SEPA to EU accounts but charges $7 or 1% per payout elsewhere, which affects US-based sellers. Kelviq publishes no payout fees and pays out on a T+7 schedule, T+3 for enterprise.

Creem does not publish a dispute fee, so ask before committing a product with meaningful chargeback exposure. For context, Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar all charge $15 per dispute.

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