How to Calculate Your Real Revenue After Hotmart and Kiwify Fees
"I hit R$ 100,000 this month!" — a common phrase in infopreneur groups. But when asked "how much actually hit your account?", the silence is telling. The difference between gross revenue and real net revenue in the digital products market can range from 25% to 45%, depending on the platform, commissions, and refunds.
If you make investment, hiring, or lifestyle decisions based on gross revenue, you are operating with a number that doesn't reflect reality. In this article, we will calculate exactly how much is left — penny by penny.
The Anatomy of Gross Revenue
When Hotmart or Kiwify shows "R$ 50,000 in sales," that is the amount the customer paid. But between the customer's payment and the money in your account, there are several layers of deductions:
- Platform fees (Hotmart or Kiwify)
- Affiliate commissions (if applicable)
- Refunds
- Chargebacks
- Taxes (depending on your tax regime)
- Anticipation fees (if you accelerate your payouts)
Each of these layers takes a slice of your gross revenue. Let’s break it down.
Hotmart Fees: What It Really Costs
Hotmart has different plans with varying rates. The most common ones are:
Hotmart — Typical Fees
- Transaction fee: 9.9% of the value + R$ 1.00 per transaction (most used plan)
- Withdrawal: Free to bank accounts (within the release period)
- Anticipation: Additional fee if you want to receive funds before the standard deadline
For a R$ 97 sale:
- Hotmart Fee: R$ 97 × 9.9% + R$ 1 = R$ 10.60
- You receive: R$ 86.40
- Percentage you keep: 89.1%
For a R$ 497 sale:
- Hotmart Fee: R$ 497 × 9.9% + R$ 1 = R$ 50.20
- You receive: R$ 446.80
- Percentage you keep: 89.9%
The fixed R$ 1 fee per transaction means that lower-priced products have a proportionally higher effective rate.
Kiwify Fees: The Comparison
Kiwify has a different fee structure:
Kiwify — Typical Fees
- Transaction fee: 8.99% + R$ 2.49 per transaction
For a R$ 97 sale:
- Kiwify Fee: R$ 97 × 8.99% + R$ 2.49 = R$ 11.21
- You receive: R$ 85.79
- Percentage you keep: 88.4%
For a R$ 497 sale:
- Kiwify Fee: R$ 497 × 8.99% + R$ 2.49 = R$ 47.17
- You receive: R$ 449.83
- Percentage you keep: 90.5%
The difference between Hotmart and Kiwify is small for high-ticket items, but it can be significant in volume for low-ticket products.
The Real Impact: A Full Simulation
Let’s calculate the real revenue of a typical infopreneur with R$ 50,000 in monthly gross revenue on Hotmart:
Scenario: Community + Course on Hotmart
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross Revenue | R$ 50,000 |
| Hotmart Fee (9.9% + R$ 1/trans., ~300 trans.) | -R$ 5,250 |
| Affiliate Commission (30% on R$ 15,000 in affiliate sales) | -R$ 4,500 |
| Refunds (3% of gross revenue) | -R$ 1,500 |
| Chargebacks (0.5%) | -R$ 250 |
| Net Revenue Before Taxes | R$ 38,500 |
From R$ 50,000, R$ 38,500 is left — a 23% reduction.
But we're not done. Depending on the tax regime:
| Regime | Approx. Rate | Tax | Final Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEI (up to R$ 81k/year) | ~5% fixed | R$ 70.60 fixed | R$ 38,429 |
| Simples Nacional | 6-15% | R$ 3,850 | R$ 34,650 |
| Lucro Presumido | 11-17% | R$ 5,775 | R$ 32,725 |
If the infopreneur is under the Simples Nacional regime, the real revenue is R$ 34,650 — 30.7% less than the gross revenue.
Fees Many Forget to Calculate
Payout Anticipation
If you accelerate your payouts on Hotmart or Kiwify to get the money sooner, you pay an additional fee. On Hotmart, this fee varies but can reach 2-4% of the anticipated amount. On R$ 38,500 anticipated, that’s R$ 770 to R$ 1,540 less.
Tools and Infrastructure
These aren't platform fees, but they impact real revenue:
- Email marketing: R$ 200-500/month
- Hosting and domain: R$ 50-200/month
- Automation tools: R$ 100-500/month
- Designer/Video editor: R$ 1,000-5,000/month
Paid Traffic
The most significant cost for many. If R$ 12,000/month goes to ads:
Real Revenue = R$ 34,650 - R$ 12,000 (traffic) - R$ 1,000 (tools) = R$ 21,650
From R$ 50,000 down to R$ 21,650. Only 43.3% of the original revenue remains.
How to Calculate Your Real Net Revenue
Full Formula
Net Revenue = Gross Revenue - Platform Fees - Affiliate Commissions - Refunds - Chargebacks - Taxes
Operating Profit = Net Revenue - Paid Traffic - Tools - Team
Simplified Spreadsheet
Set up a monthly spreadsheet with these lines:
| Line | January | February | March |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Revenue | R$ 50,000 | R$ 53,000 | R$ 48,000 |
| (-) Platform Fees | R$ 5,250 | R$ 5,565 | R$ 5,040 |
| (-) Affiliate Commissions | R$ 4,500 | R$ 5,300 | R$ 3,800 |
| (-) Refunds | R$ 1,500 | R$ 1,060 | R$ 1,920 |
| (-) Chargebacks | R$ 250 | R$ 265 | R$ 240 |
| = Net Revenue | R$ 38,500 | R$ 40,810 | R$ 37,000 |
| (-) Taxes | R$ 3,850 | R$ 4,081 | R$ 3,700 |
| = Revenue After Taxes | R$ 34,650 | R$ 36,729 | R$ 33,300 |
| (-) Paid Traffic | R$ 12,000 | R$ 14,000 | R$ 11,000 |
| (-) Tools/Team | R$ 3,500 | R$ 3,500 | R$ 3,500 |
| = Operating Profit | R$ 19,150 | R$ 19,229 | R$ 18,800 |
| Margin on Gross | 38.3% | 36.3% | 39.2% |
This spreadsheet shows that while revenue fluctuated from R$ 48k to R$ 53k, the operating profit remained virtually stable at R$ 19k. The margin on gross revenue hovers around 38%.
Refund Rate: The Number Nobody Likes to Look At
Refunds are a real and significant cost. For digital products:
- Recorded Courses: 3-8% refund rate (average 5%)
- Mentorships: 1-3% refund rate
- Monthly Communities: 2-5% refund rate in the first month
- E-books: 5-12% refund rate
If your refund rate is above 5%, there is an expectation gap — what was sold in the funnel does not match what was delivered.
Every percentage point of refunds on R$ 50,000 in revenue represents R$ 500/month or R$ 6,000/year.
How Groware Shows Your Real Revenue
Calculating real net revenue requires considering fees that vary by transaction, payment method, platform plan, and affiliate commission. Doing this manually for hundreds of transactions per month is laborious and error-prone.
Groware connects with Hotmart, Kiwify, Monetizze, Asaas, and Stripe, and automatically calculates:
- Gross vs. Net Revenue with a full breakdown
- Platform fees per transaction
- Affiliate commissions separated
- Refunds and chargebacks with percentage rates
- Automated monthly P&L (Profit and Loss Statement)
If you use multiple platforms, Groware consolidates everything and shows your total real net revenue — not the combined gross revenue that masks real costs.
The Number That Matters
Stop celebrating gross revenue. The number that defines your quality of life, your investment capacity, and the sustainability of your business is net revenue after all deductions.
Calculate this number. Track it every month. Make decisions based on it. And when someone asks how much you make, know the difference between what comes in and what stays.
Gross revenue is vanity. Net revenue is sanity. Operating profit is reality.