Take Rate

The percentage of transaction value a marketplace keeps as revenue, the platform's cut of GMV.

Take rate = platform revenue / GMV

Why it matters

Take rate turns marketplace volume into actual revenue, and it is a constant tension: too high and you push participants away, too low and the business does not work. It is central to any marketplace model.

For example

A marketplace keeps 15 rupees of every 100 rupees transacted through it, a 15 percent take rate.

Worth your time

A Rake Too Far: Optimal Platform Pricing Strategy Above the Crowd · article Gurley on the tension every marketplace lives with: a take rate high enough to build a business, low enough that participants do not route around you. Open abovethecrowd.com →

Related terms

Go deeper

See how founders actually handle this on Money, pricing and metrics, part of the Starting Up hub.

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