# Understanding CrowdWork Fees
### Our Goal: Keep CrowdWork Free for Theatres
CrowdWork is **completely free** for theatres to use. No monthly fees, no contracts, no hidden costs. Whether you're using our standard features, or even our premium tools, CrowdWork can remain completely free for theatres. Here's how it works:
#### Standard Transaction Fees
* **$1 flat fee** per ticket/registration
* **Plus standard credit card processing** (2.9% + $0.30 via Square)
* **Example**: On a $10 ticket, total fees are $1.64
#### Who Pays These Fees?
**By default: Your customers pay the fees** - so you receive the full ticket price.
For that $10 ticket example:
* Customer pays: $11.64
* You receive: $10.00
**Alternatively: You can absorb fees** if you prefer customers to pay face value.
For that same $10 ticket:
* Customer pays: $10.00
* You receive: $8.36
{% hint style="success" %}
**Completely Free Events** Free tickets and cash transactions have **zero fees** - they're 100% free to use!
{% endhint %}
#### How to Change Your Fee Setting
You can change how fees are handled at any time from your [Theatre Settings](https://crowdwork.com/dashboard/theatres/0/edit) page, under the **Service Fees** section. The four options are:
* **Pass Along to Customer** *(default)* — All fees are added to the patron's total; you receive the full ticket amount
* **Absorb All** — Patrons pay face value; fees are deducted from ticket revenue
* **Absorb Shows** — Fees are absorbed for shows only; class fees are still passed to patrons
* **Absorb Classes** — Fees are absorbed for classes only; show fees are still passed to patrons
For full details on this and other theatre-wide settings, see [Customizing Your Theatre Settings](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/customizing-your-theatre-settings).
***
### ✨ Special Features
**Special Features** are powerful tools to grow your revenue and deepen patron loyalty with features like **Memberships** and **Gift Cards**. These features are completely optional. When enabled, each one adds a 1% fee to all transactions. If your theatre passes fees on to customers (the default setting), they cost you nothing to use.
Since Special Features take more time to develop and support, this fee allows us to maintain them and continue building more. They're designed so that even these costs can be covered by a few extra cents per ticket — keeping us toward our mission of providing free tools for theatres and low-cost fees for your patrons.
#### Pricing
* **Additional 1% fee** per active feature, applied to all transactions
* Example: 5¢ on a $5 ticket, 10¢ on a $10 ticket, 15¢ on a $15 ticket
#### Your Controls
* **Activate/deactivate anytime** — only active when you're using them
* **Mix and match** — activate only the features that make sense for your venue
* **Built from your feedback** — developed based on requests from theatres like yours
***
### Other Fee-Related Settings
#### Surcharges
Your theatre can also apply a surcharge to ticket and registration amounts. Surcharges are added before donations or service fees and do not apply to free events. You can configure surcharges (as a percentage or flat dollar amount, separately for shows and classes) in the **Surcharges** section of your [Theatre Settings](https://crowdwork.com/dashboard/theatres/0/edit) page. For full details, see [Customizing Your Theatre Settings](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/customizing-your-theatre-settings).
#### Membership Transactions
Membership fees work differently from standard ticket fees. Regardless of your theatre's fee settings, fees on membership transactions are **always absorbed by the theatre** and never passed to the patron. This keeps membership pricing clean and predictable for subscribers. When setting membership prices, build processing costs into your tier pricing to account for this. For complete details, see [Understanding Membership Fees & Pricing](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/setting-up-memberships#understanding-membership-fees-and-pricing).
#### Payment Plan Transactions
Payment plan fees work differently from standard ticket fees in the opposite direction. Regardless of your theatre's fee settings, fees on payment plan transactions are **always passed on to the patron** and never absorbed by the theatre. Each installment is processed as a separate credit card transaction through Square, and each incurs its own processing fees. Patrons see a complete breakdown of every installment amount — including fees — before they commit to a plan at checkout.
If your theatre absorbs fees for standard ticket sales, payment plans are the one exception to that setting. For complete details on how payment plans work, see [Setting Up Payment Plans](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/setting-up-payment-plans).
{% hint style="info" %}
**Memberships and Payment Plans — opposite fee behavior at a glance:** Membership fees are always absorbed by the theatre. Payment plan fees are always passed to the patron. Both exceptions exist regardless of your theatre's fee settings and are noted on their respective setup pages.
{% endhint %}
***
### Fee Examples in Action
Regardless if fees are paid by your patrons ("Pass Through" - the default setting) or by you ("Absorb Fees" setting), the fee structure is the same.
{% columns %}
{% column %}
**CrowdWork with standard features**
**On a $15 Show Ticket:**
* Customer pays: $16.64 (includes $1 + processing)
* **Theatre receives: $15.00**
* CrowdWork cost to theatre: $0
{% endcolumn %}
{% column %}
**CrowdWork with Special Features Active**
**On a $15 Show Ticket (with Gift Cards enabled):**
* Customer pays: $16.79 (includes $1 + 1% + processing)
* **Theatre receives: $15.00**
* Additional feature fee: 15¢
{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**Notice:** With default fee settings (pass-through), your theatre receives the full **$15.00** ticket price in both examples. Special Features add just a few extra cents to what your patron pays at checkout.
{% endhint %}
***
### Quick FAQ
Is CrowdWork really free?
Yes! Standard ticketing has zero cost to theatres. All fees are passed to patrons by default, so your theatre receives the full ticket price. Even our premium Special Features can be completely free when fees are passed to patrons (the default setting).
Where do I change who pays the fees?
Go to your [Theatre Settings](https://crowdwork.com/dashboard/theatres/0/edit) page and find the **Service Fees** section. You can choose to pass fees to patrons (the default), absorb all fees, or absorb fees for shows or classes only. See [Customizing Your Theatre Settings](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/customizing-your-theatre-settings) for full details.
Are fees the same for in-person and online sales?
Yes. The fee structure is identical whether you sell tickets online or through the [POS app](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/setting-up-point-of-sale-pos): **$1 per ticket + standard credit card processing**. Free tickets and cash transactions never incur any fees.
How do fees work when a patron buys multiple tickets?
Each ticket incurs a separate $1 service fee. For example, a purchase of 4 tickets has a $4 service fee (plus standard credit card processing fees on the total).
What if I don't want Special Features?
Don't activate them! Your account remains completely free. Special Features are entirely optional.
Can I try Special Features without commitment?
Absolutely. Activate when you want to test them, deactivate anytime. If your theatre passes fees on to patrons, they cost you nothing to use. Just keep in mind that some features — like Memberships — may affect active patrons if deactivated, so it's worth checking before you flip the switch.
Do I need to choose between Special Features?
No — you can activate whichever combination works for your venue. Each active feature adds its own 1% fee.
Do memberships follow my theatre's fee settings?
No. Membership transaction fees are always absorbed by the theatre, regardless of your fee settings. This keeps membership pricing predictable for subscribers. We recommend building processing costs into your membership price — for example, pricing at $35 if you want to net $30 after fees. See [Setting Up Memberships](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/setting-up-memberships#understanding-membership-fees-and-pricing) for pricing guidance.
Do payment plans follow my theatre's fee settings?
No — but in the opposite direction from memberships. Payment plan fees are always passed to the patron, regardless of your fee settings. Each installment is a separate credit card transaction, and processing fees are included in the amounts patrons see at checkout. Even if your theatre absorbs fees for standard ticket sales, payment plan installments will include fees. See [Setting Up Payment Plans](https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/setting-up-payment-plans) for details.
***
{% hint style="success" %}
**Questions about fees?** [Contact our support team](/contacting-support.md) - we're happy to help you understand exactly how fees will work for your specific setup and goals.
{% endhint %}
**Love CrowdWork?** Know a theatre that could benefit? [Share our referral program](https://crowdwork.com/referral) and help more independent theatres discover us!
---
# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:
```
GET https://docs.crowdwork.com/for-theatres/setup-your-theatre-account/understanding-crowdwork-fees.md?ask=
```
The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.