Sharetribe is the most popular no-code marketplace builder for a reason — it lets you launch a two-sided marketplace with user profiles, listings, search, payments, reviews, and messaging without writing a single line of code. For early-stage founders who want to validate a marketplace idea before investing in custom development, it’s one of the fastest paths to a working product.
But how much does it actually cost? Sharetribe’s pricing has evolved over the years, and the answer depends on which plan you choose, how quickly you grow, and what you need beyond the core platform.
Here’s a clear breakdown.
Sharetribe’s Pricing Structure
Sharetribe offers multiple tiers designed to match different stages of marketplace development. The pricing follows a standard SaaS model — monthly subscription fees that increase as your needs grow.
The Free / Trial Tier
Sharetribe offers a way to get started and explore the platform without committing financially. This lets you build out your marketplace, configure listings, set up your transaction flow, and see how the platform works before spending anything.
This is genuinely useful. You can build a nearly-complete marketplace and test the user experience before you start paying. Many founders use this phase to create a demo they can show to potential early users or investors.
Build Plan (From $39/month)
The Build plan is Sharetribe’s entry-level paid tier, designed for founders who are still building and testing their marketplace before going live.
What you get:
- Full access to the no-code marketplace builder
- Customizable transaction flows
- User profiles, listings, and search
- Review and messaging systems
- Admin dashboard
- Test environment for payments
What you don’t get:
- Live payment processing (you can build everything, but can’t process real transactions)
- This is a building and testing environment, not a production marketplace
The Build plan is essentially a development sandbox. It’s priced for founders who want to invest time in getting their marketplace right before flipping the switch to live.
Live Plans (From $99/month)
Once you’re ready to start processing real transactions, you move to a Live plan. This is where Sharetribe’s real pricing begins for operational marketplaces.
What you get (on top of everything in Build):
- Live payment processing via Stripe Connect
- Real transactions between buyers and sellers
- Production environment
- Marketplace analytics (basic)
How pricing scales:
Sharetribe’s Live plans scale based on your marketplace’s transaction volume and feature needs. As your GMV grows, you’ll move into higher tiers with correspondingly higher monthly fees. The exact tiers and thresholds have been updated over time, so check Sharetribe’s current pricing page for the latest breakpoints.
The Costs Beyond the Subscription
The monthly subscription is just one part of the total cost of running a marketplace on Sharetribe. Here’s what else to factor in:
Payment Processing Fees
Sharetribe uses Stripe Connect for payment processing. This means you pay Stripe’s standard processing fees on every transaction — typically 2.9% + $0.30 in the US or 1.5% + €0.25 in Europe for European cards.
These fees come out of the transaction before your commission (or your seller’s payout) — they don’t show up on your Sharetribe invoice, but they’re a real cost of operating your marketplace. For a deeper breakdown of what Stripe Connect actually costs, see our Stripe Connect pricing guide.
Transaction Fees from Sharetribe
Depending on your plan tier, Sharetribe may charge a percentage fee on transactions processed through the platform. This is separate from Stripe’s processing fees and is Sharetribe’s additional revenue share on your marketplace’s transactions.
On higher-tier plans, these transaction fees are typically lower or eliminated — so as your volume grows, upgrading your plan may actually save money compared to staying on a lower tier with higher per-transaction fees.
Custom Domain and Branding
Running your marketplace on your own domain is included in paid plans, but more advanced branding customizations may require the Flex (API) plan or developer work. Basic customization — colors, logos, copy — is available on all plans.
The Flex / Developer Platform
If you outgrow Sharetribe’s no-code builder — you need custom UI components, unique transaction flows, integrations with external services, or a fully branded experience — you’ll need to move to Sharetribe’s developer platform (previously called Sharetribe Flex).
This gives you API access to Sharetribe’s backend (users, listings, transactions, reviews) while letting you build a custom frontend. It’s powerful, but it requires developer resources — either in-house or contracted.
The cost here isn’t just the higher subscription tier. It’s the engineering time to build and maintain a custom frontend. Budget for ongoing development, not just initial setup.
Is Sharetribe Worth It? Evaluating the Total Cost
The value proposition of Sharetribe comes down to time-to-market and risk reduction. Building a marketplace from scratch — with user management, listings, search, payments, reviews, messaging, and an admin dashboard — takes months of development time and tens of thousands of dollars. Sharetribe gives you all of that for a monthly fee that’s a fraction of one developer’s salary.
Sharetribe makes strong economic sense when:
- You’re validating a marketplace idea and don’t know if it will work yet. Spending $99/month is far better than spending $50,000 on custom development for an unproven concept.
- Your marketplace fits the standard two-sided model. If you need profiles, listings, search, bookings, and payments, Sharetribe’s template handles it well.
- You want to focus on growth, not infrastructure. Every hour you spend building payment integrations is an hour you’re not spending on acquiring users.
Sharetribe becomes more expensive (relative to alternatives) when:
- Your transaction volume is high enough that per-transaction fees add up significantly. At scale, the combination of Sharetribe’s subscription, transaction fees, and Stripe processing fees can be a meaningful percentage of revenue.
- You need heavy customization. If you end up on the Flex plan with a dedicated developer, you’re paying both a platform subscription and engineering costs — at which point building custom becomes a more competitive option.
- Your marketplace model doesn’t fit Sharetribe’s transaction template. Unusual transaction flows, complex pricing models, or multi-step service delivery can be difficult to implement within Sharetribe’s framework.
How Sharetribe Compares to Alternatives
| Feature | Sharetribe | Yo!Kart | Kreezalid | Custom Build |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0 | One-time license (custom) | From €79/mo | $20,000-100,000+ |
| Time to launch | Days | Weeks | Days | Months |
| Code ownership | No (SaaS) | Yes | No (SaaS) | Yes |
| Payment integration | Stripe Connect built-in | Multiple options | Mangopay, Stripe | Your choice |
| Customization | Limited (no-code) to full (Flex) | Full (source code) | Limited to moderate | Unlimited |
| Ongoing costs | Monthly subscription + transaction fees | Hosting + maintenance | Monthly subscription | Hosting + engineering |
For a broader comparison of marketplace building tools, explore our marketplace tools directory.
What Sharetribe Doesn’t Do (And What to Add)
Sharetribe gives you the infrastructure to run a marketplace. But there are gaps you’ll need to fill with other tools:
Advanced analytics. Sharetribe provides basic transaction data and admin views, but it doesn’t give you the marketplace-specific metrics you need to make strategic decisions — liquidity measurement, cohort analysis, supply-demand balance, retention tracking, or unit economics.
SEO tools. Sharetribe provides basic SEO settings, but a comprehensive marketplace SEO strategy requires additional tooling for programmatic pages, schema markup, and content optimization.
Advanced moderation. While Sharetribe includes basic admin controls, scaling your marketplace moderation may require dedicated trust and safety tools.
How Twosided Complements Sharetribe
Twosided plugs directly into your Sharetribe marketplace to fill the analytics gap. Where Sharetribe gives you the infrastructure to run transactions, Twosided gives you the intelligence to understand them.
Connect your Sharetribe data in five minutes and get instant access to 150+ marketplace metrics — GMV, take rate, buyer-seller ratio, cohort retention, supplier performance, and more. Ask questions about your marketplace data in plain language through the AI-powered assistant.
Sharetribe builds your marketplace. Twosided helps you grow it. Start for free.