Payment estimates only. Live payments are not enabled; no real money is collected or protected.
One number for the client. Nothing added.
Actuallize takes one fee, from the professional’s side, when a delivery is approved and paid. It is 1% on a pair’s first project together and 0.5% on every project after. A client the professional brought is priced at the repeat rate from day one. That is the only number that is ours.
Payment costs are separate. They are the card, bank and payout charges set by the payment processor, passed through at what it charges and shown before money moves. On a $500 payment that comes to about 1.8% all-in by bank and about 4.3% all-in by card, of which 1% is ours. We would rather you read that here than meet it on a payout.
Both sides see the same statement — what was paid, what arrived, and every line in between.
- 1%
- New client · first project together
- 0.5%
- Repeat client · or a client you brought
- 0%
- Expenses · reimbursed in full, no Actuallize fee
Payment costs are not in these three numbers. They are on their own line, at cost, on every payment — an estimate until live processor data exists. The all-in figures by route are just below.
Bank is the cheaper route: on this amount the professional keeps about $12.30 more than by card. We show it wherever a bank transfer is available.
One number. It never changes — the fee below comes out of the professional’s side.
All-in ≈ 4.3% of the payment, of which Actuallize’s part is 1%. The rest is the processor’s, at cost.
Client pays $500.00 · payment costs ≈ $16.30 at cost · Actuallize 1% $5.00 (0.5% next time) · you receive ≈ $478.70
Worked examples
Card payment. What the professional receives after payment costs (estimate) and Actuallize’s fee.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Client pays | First projectActuallize 1% | Repeat clientActuallize 0.5% | You brought the clientActuallize 0.5% |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100.00 | $95.30 to the professional | $95.80 to the professional | $95.80 to the professional |
| $500.00 | $478.70 to the professional | $481.20 to the professional | $481.20 to the professional |
| $2,000.00 | $1,916.45 to the professional | $1,926.45 to the professional | $1,926.45 to the professional |
What it comes to, on a $500 payment.
The same payment, two routes. The client pays $500 either way. The professional receives the rest, and the difference between the routes is the processor’s, not ours — which is why we show the cheaper route wherever one exists.
Client pays by bank
- Payment costs · the processor’s rate, not ours (estimate)
- $4.00
- Actuallize 1%
- $5.00
- Professional receives (≈)
- $491.00
Bank debit about 0.8%, capped at $5.00 per payment.
Client pays by card
- Payment costs · the processor’s rate, not ours (estimate)
- $16.30
- Actuallize 1%
- $5.00
- Professional receives (≈)
- $478.70
Card 2.9% + $0.30, plus the payout 0.25% + $0.25.
Rates are the processor’s published card and bank-debit rates, as configured today; they are an estimate until real processor statements exist, and international cards and currency conversion can cost more. The processor’s exact line appears on every payment before anyone clicks Pay.
One number. Nothing added.
The brief says $500. Your card statement says $500. Not $500 plus a service fee, a payment fee, an initiation fee, or a Connects bill. The professional pays Actuallize’s fee, and it never touches your number.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Charge | Elsewhere | Actuallize |
|---|---|---|
| Contract-initiation fee | Upwork: $0.99–$14.99 per contract, charged to the clientas published on their site on 2026-09-05, verify there | None |
| Buyer service fee | Fiverr: 5.5% of the order plus a small fixed fee on orders under $200as published on their site on 2026-09-05, verify there | None |
| Per-contract client charge | Contra: $19 flat per contractas published on their site on 2026-09-05, verify there | None |
Why payment costs are their own line.
Card networks and payout rails cost money — roughly 2.9% + $0.30 on a card charge and 0.25% + $0.25 on the payout; a bank debit is about 0.8%, capped at $5.00. Payment costs are never ours. We pass them through at what the processor charges, we show the cheaper route where one exists, and we will add bank transfer wherever it is available so a card is never your only option. Keeping them on their own line means the number next to “Actuallize” is only ever ours. Until real processor statements exist, the line is an estimate and says so.
The industry range.
Many online marketplaces charge somewhere in the range of 15–20%, sometimes layered with extra service or withdrawal fees — and their payment costs come on top of that too. That’s an industry range, not a specific competitor’s rate — Actuallize’s fee is what you actually pay, visible on every payment card.
Illustrative industry range, not sourced from a specific platform’s published fee schedule.
What the fee covers.
Protected payments, the 14-day clock, a person ruling disputes, the record of every project, and the platform itself. One fee, once, from the professional’s side.
- No fee to post a brief, list a gig, or browse professionals.
- No subscription or monthly minimum.
- No withdrawal fee on your payout.
- Reimbursed expenses move in full — no fee on top.
Six lines we can keep.
No platform is built to make less on each payment than this one. These are the rules that make that true, and each is checkable on a payment card.
- 1.
Our fee is the only number that is ours.
1% on a new client, 0.5% on a repeat one, 0% on expenses. It is on every payment card, on its own line, before money moves.
- 2.
Payment costs pass through at cost. Never marked up.
Card, bank and payout charges are the processor's, quoted at the processor's rate, on their own line. We do not add to them and we do not hide a margin in a currency rate.
- 3.
You see the cheaper route before you pay.
Where a bank transfer is available it is offered next to the card, with what each one costs. A card is never the only option we can help.
- 4.
Your money is held by a licensed payment institution, not by us.
A client's payment sits in the payment processor's balance until the client approves the work or the 14-day clock does. Nobody, including Actuallize, can spend it before then.
- 5.
One statement, both sides.
The client and the professional see the same lines — what was paid, the payment costs, Actuallize's fee, what arrived. Nothing is hidden from either of you.
- 6.
No withdrawal fee, no subscription, no Pro tier.
If any of this ever changes, the changelog says so the day it happens — and the schedule you joined under stays yours.
The fee schedule you join under — 1% on a new client, 0.5% on a repeat client — stays yours for as long as your account exists. This applies to every account created before 31 December 2026.
Five questions.
Who pays the fee?
The professional, once, when a delivery is approved. The client pays the number on the brief.
The fee says 1%. Why did I receive less than 1% off?
Because the payment processor's costs come out of the same payment, and we show them on their own line rather than hiding them in ours. On a $500 card payment that is about $16.30 to the processor and $5.00 to Actuallize; by bank it is about $4.00 to the processor. The all-in figure for each route is on this page, and the exact line is on every payment card before money moves — nobody meets it first on a payout.
Why not roll payment costs into one number?
Because then a bank payment would subsidise a card payment, and the number next to our name would stop being ours. Kept separate, a client who pays by bank costs the professional less, and our fee stays checkable.
Is there a Pro plan?
No.
What about expenses?
A reimbursed expense is paid to the professional in full — no Actuallize fee on it. Payment costs apply to it the way they apply to any payment, on their own line.
Competitor figures on this page were read from each platform’s own site on 2026-09-05.
Two doors. One chat.
The lowest fee on our compare page — and we put the competition’s numbers on it.
One number, nothing added. Proof, not pitches.
Under a minute to sign up. One account does both.