Pricing

Preimage uses 4-tier dynamic pricing optimized for micropayments. We're 50-95% cheaper than traditional payment processors.

Minimum Payment: $0.005 (0.5 cents) - below this, gas costs exceed revenue

Pricing Tiers

Tier 0: Ultra-Micropayments ($0.005 - $0.009)

Fee Structure: 10% only (no flat fee)

Examples:

• $0.005 payment → $0.0005 fee (10%) - Provider keeps $0.0045
• $0.007 payment → $0.0007 fee (10%) - Provider keeps $0.0063
• $0.009 payment → $0.0009 fee (10%) - Provider keeps $0.0081

Use Cases:

• Streaming video by the second ($0.005/sec = $18/hour @ 4K)
• Real-time data feeds ($0.007/update)
• Per-character text generation ($0.005/100 chars)
• Micro-betting/gaming ($0.009/action)

Tier 1: Micropayments ($0.01 - $0.99)

Fee Structure: 5% only (no flat fee)

Examples:

• $0.01 payment → $0.0005 fee (5%)
• $0.10 payment → $0.005 fee (5%)
• $0.50 payment → $0.025 fee (5%)

Use Cases:

• AI text completions ($0.02/request)
• Content unlocks ($0.05/article)
• Thumbnail generation ($0.10/image)
• Data queries ($0.01-0.50/query)

vs Stripe: Can't process payments this small. You'd pay 63% fee ($0.315) on a $0.50 payment!

Tier 2: Standard Payments ($1.00 - $9.99)

Fee Structure: 3% + $0.05

Examples:

• $1.00 payment → $0.08 fee (8%)
• $5.00 payment → $0.20 fee (4%)
• $9.99 payment → $0.35 fee (3.5%)

Use Cases:

• AI image generation ($2-5/image)
• API endpoint calls ($1-10/call)
• Premium content ($3-10/article)
• Data processing ($5-10/operation)

vs Stripe (2.9% + $0.30):

• $1.00: Stripe $0.329 (33%) vs Preimage $0.08 (8%) = 76% cheaper
• $5.00: Stripe $0.445 (9%) vs Preimage $0.20 (4%) = 55% cheaper

Tier 3: Large Payments ($10.00+)

Fee Structure: 2.5% + $0.05

Examples:

• $10.00 payment → $0.30 fee (3%)
• $50.00 payment → $1.30 fee (2.6%)
• $100.00 payment → $2.55 fee (2.55%)

Use Cases:

• High-compute AI operations ($10-100)
• Bulk data processing ($50-500)
• Enterprise API access ($100+)

vs Stripe:

• $10: Stripe $0.590 (6%) vs Preimage $0.30 (3%) = 49% cheaper
• $50: Stripe $1.745 (3.5%) vs Preimage $1.30 (2.6%) = 26% cheaper

Competitive Comparison

vs Stripe (2.9% + $0.30)

vs PayPal (3.49% + $0.49)

How Fees Are Calculated

Preimage automatically selects the correct tier based on the payment amount:

// Your API pricing configuration
pricing: {
  usdcPerUnit: 0.10,  // You set YOUR price
  unitKind: 'operation'
}
 
// Preimage automatically adds platform fee based on tier
// $0.10 falls in Tier 1 → 5% fee
// Total charged to buyer: $0.105 ($0.10 to you + $0.005 to platform)

You always receive the full amount you specified. Preimage's fee is added on top using a dual-invoice pattern.

Dual Invoice Architecture

Every payment is split automatically in one atomic transaction:

┌──────────────┐         ┌──────────────┐
│   Buyer      │ ─USDC──→│   Provider   │  (90-97%)
│   Wallet     │         │   Wallet     │
└──────────────┘    ↓    └──────────────┘
                    │
                    └────→ Preimage (3-10%)

Both payments happen simultaneously. You never handle the platform fee - it's automatically routed.

Provider Benefits

Revenue Retention

Tier 0: Keep 90% (vs Stripe N/A - can't process)
Tier 1: Keep 95% (vs Stripe N/A - can't process)
Tier 2: Keep 92-96% (vs Stripe 67-91%)
Tier 3: Keep 97% (vs Stripe 94-96%)

What You Get

• ✅ Better margins than traditional processors
• ✅ No gas fees (Preimage covers settlement)
• ✅ Fast settlement (1-2 hours vs 2-7 days)
• ✅ No chargebacks (crypto is final)
• ✅ Global reach (USDC works everywhere)
• ✅ Micropayments enabled (true pay-per-use)

Buyer Benefits

Cost Savings

$0.10 micropayment:  50-95% cheaper
$1.00 standard:      76-85% cheaper
$5.00 API call:      55-70% cheaper

What You Get

• ✅ No subscriptions (pure pay-per-use)
• ✅ No minimums (start at $0.005)
• ✅ Transparent pricing (know exactly what you pay)
• ✅ Instant access (no waiting for payment processing)
• ✅ Crypto rails (fast, global, permissionless)

Settlement Economics

How Settlement Works

Triggers:

• Amount threshold: $10.00 accumulated
• Count threshold: 50 payments batched
• Time threshold: 1 hour elapsed
• High-value: $50.00 single payment (instant)

Gas Costs:

Actual gas cost per payment: ~$0.0002
(Amortized across 50-payment batch on Base L2)

Batch of 50 payments:
- Gas units:  ~3,000,000
- Gas price:  ~0.001 gwei (Base L2)
- ETH cost:   ~0.00003 ETH
- USD cost:   ~$0.01 per batch
- Per-payment: $0.01 ÷ 50 = $0.0002

Economics per batch:

50 payments × $0.20 avg fee = $10.00 revenue
1 batch × $0.01 gas = $0.01 cost
Profit: $9.99 per batch ✅

Platform Economics

Profitability by Tier

Tier 1 (Micropayments):

10,000 payments at $0.10:
Revenue:  10,000 × $0.005 = $50
Gas cost: 200 batches × $0.01 = $2
Profit:   $48
Margin:   96% ✅

Tier 2 (Standard):

1,000 payments at $5:
Revenue:  1,000 × $0.20 = $200
Gas cost: 20 batches × $0.01 = $0.20
Profit:   $199.80
Margin:   99.9% 🚀

Tier 3 (Large):

100 payments at $50:
Revenue:  100 × $1.30 = $130
Gas cost: 2 batches × $0.01 = $0.02
Profit:   $129.98
Margin:   99.98% 🎉

Platform is profitable at ALL tiers!

Future: Lightning Network

When Lightning is integrated, fees will drop further:

ALL PAYMENTS:
  Current: 3% + $0.05
  Future:  3% + $0.01
  
Gas cost: ~$0.0001 per payment (10x cheaper)

Benefits:
- 50-80% fee reduction
- Near-instant settlement
- Even better margins (99.9%+)
- Pass savings to users

Marketing:

"Preimage is now 50% cheaper thanks to Lightning Network!
$5 payment: was $0.20 fee, now $0.16 - savings passed to you!"

FAQ

Why percentage-only for micropayments?

Flat fees kill small payments. A $0.30 flat fee on a $0.50 payment is 60%! Our percentage-only tiers (5% and 10%) keep micropayments viable for both providers and the platform.

Why 10% for ultra-micro ($0.005-$0.009)?

Gas costs ($0.0002/payment) require higher fees for profitability below $0.01. At $0.005, a 10% fee ($0.0005) covers gas and provides margin. We're still the only platform that makes sub-cent payments work!

Can I see the fee calculation before charging?

Yes! Use our fee calculator endpoint:

const response = await fetch('https://api.preimage-research.ai/fees/calculate', {
  method: 'POST',
  body: JSON.stringify({ amount: '5.00' })
});
 
// Returns: { tier, percentageFee, flatFee, totalFee, effectiveRate }

Can I negotiate custom rates?

Enterprise customers (>$10M annual GMV) can contact us for custom pricing at sales@preimage-research.ai

Do I pay gas fees?

No! Preimage covers all gas costs. You receive 100% of your share with no deductions.

How is this different from Stripe?

1. We enable micropayments - Stripe can't process payments below ~$0.50 profitably
2. We're 50-95% cheaper - Especially for small payments
3. Non-custodial - Payments go directly to your wallet
4. No chargebacks - Blockchain payments are final
5. Faster settlement - 1-2 hours vs 2-7 days

What networks are supported?

• Base (recommended - lowest fees)
• Base Sepolia (testnet)
• Ethereum
• Ethereum Sepolia (testnet)
• Polygon
• Polygon Amoy (testnet)

Get Started

Ready to accept micropayments at the lowest rates in the industry?