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Commission vs directory subscription: which costs a wedding vendor less?
Fixed monthly fees or a share of each booking? Here are the sums at five booking values and four kinds of business, using only published prices with the date we checked them.
A directory subscription is a fixed cost: you pay it every month whether or not it brings you a booking. Commission is a share of each booking, taken from each payment you receive through Nodus, so you pay nothing until a couple pays you. Commission costs less in a quiet year and more in a very busy one. The tables below show where the line falls, using published prices only.
The models
The three ways platforms charge
- Subscription. A monthly or yearly fee for a listing and search placement. Bridebook works this way12.
- Pay per lead. You buy credits and spend them to contact customers. Bark works this way, with no commission4.
- Commission. A share of each booking. Nodus charges founding vendors 3% for their first 24 months, then 8%, and the standard rate is 8%. Either way it is taken from each payment you receive through Nodus. ShaadiSouk also charges commission: 15% on each successful booking, with no subscription5.
Worked example 1
Commission on a single booking
What each commission rate costs on one booking. A subscription does not change with the booking, so it is shown in the next table.
| Booking value | Nodus founding (3%) | Nodus standard (8%) | ShaadiSouk (15%) [5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| £500 | £15 | £40 | £75 |
| £1,500 | £45 | £120 | £225 |
| £3,000 | £90 | £240 | £450 |
| £6,000 | £180 | £480 | £900 |
| £12,000 | £360 | £960 | £1,800 |
Worked example 2
A year of bookings for a supplier
Three illustrative suppliers. Each row assumes every booking in the year came through that one platform. The Bridebook columns show the SupplierPro plans that applied, when we checked, to categories including photographers, caterers, hair and beauty and decor hire, paid yearly1.
| Illustrative business | Bookings a year | Nodus founding (3%) | Nodus standard (8%) | Bridebook Basic (£240 + VAT a year) [1] | Bridebook Classic (£1,033.50 + VAT a year) [1] | ShaadiSouk (15%) [5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makeup artist | 20 × £500 = £10,000 | £300 | £800 | £240 | £1,033.50 | £1,500 |
| Photographer | 12 × £1,500 = £18,000 | £540 | £1,440 | £240 | £1,033.50 | £2,700 |
| Caterer | 10 × £6,000 = £60,000 | £1,800 | £4,800 | £240 | £1,033.50 | Not calculated |
We have not worked out a ShaadiSouk figure for the caterer, because we could not confirm from ShaadiSouk's own pages which categories it covers. The subscription column stays the same even in a year with no bookings. The commission columns fall to £0.
Worked example 3
A year of bookings for a venue
An illustrative venue taking 25 bookings a year at £8,000 each, £200,000 in total. Bridebook's venue plans are shown at their yearly prices2.
| Nodus founding (3%) | Nodus standard (8%) | Bridebook Essentials | Bridebook Classic | Bridebook Expert | Bridebook Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost for the year | £6,000 | £16,000 | £1,188 + VAT | £4,788 + VAT | £5,988 + VAT | £9,920 + VAT |
For a busy venue taking all its bookings through one platform, a subscription costs less than 8% commission. Commission makes more sense when a platform brings you part of your diary, not all of it, because you pay only on those bookings.
Break-even
Where commission and subscription cost the same
Each figure is the value of payments received through Nodus in a year at which commission equals that plan's yearly price. Below it, commission costs less.
Bark
What about pay-per-lead sites?
Bark charges per lead, not per booking, and takes no commission4. Its help centre gave the standard price as £1.80 per credit, with the number of credits per lead set by the service and the size of the job3. Because the credits per lead vary, we can't put a fair yearly figure in these tables. The Nodus vs Bark page sets out how to compare your own cost per booking.
Limits
What the tables leave out
A subscription and a commission do not buy the same thing. A directory sells visibility. Nodus handles the booking: enquiry, quote, written confirmation and Stripe payments straight to your own account. The tables compare cost only, not how many couples each platform reaches or how many enquiries turn into bookings. Nodus is new, so we make no claims about booking volumes. Run your own numbers in the earnings calculator.
To see what the commission pays for, read how Nodus works for vendors. Founding vendors pay 3% for their first 24 months: see the founding vendor programme, or compare one directory in detail in Nodus vs Bridebook.
Questions
It depends on how much work the platform brings you. A subscription costs the same in a quiet year as a busy one. Commission costs nothing until a couple pays you, then grows with your bookings. Busy vendors with high-value bookings can pay less on a subscription. Newer or seasonal vendors often pay less on commission.
Nodus takes commission from each payment a vendor receives through it: 3% for founding vendors for their first 24 months, then 8%, or 8% standard. There is no subscription, no listing charge and no cost to apply.
It varies by directory and category. When we checked on 30 September 2026, Bridebook charged suppliers £20 or £99 a month plus VAT, and venues £99 to £995 a month plus VAT. Always check the directory's own pricing page, because prices change.
Bridebook's Classic supplier plan costs £1,033.50 plus VAT a year when paid yearly. 8% of about £12,900 is the same amount. If you take less than that in bookings through Nodus in a year, commission costs less.
No. Nodus is free for couples, forever. Couples pay the vendor's quoted price and nothing else.
Checked on each company's own pages
Sources
- Bridebook Business, "Pricing for Caterers" and the matching pricing pages for photographers, videographers, hair and beauty, decor hire and entertainment, partners.bridebook.com/uk/pricing/suppliers/, checked 30 September 2026. SupplierPro Basic £20 a month + VAT (£240 + VAT billed yearly); Classic £99 a month + VAT, or £1,033.50 + VAT billed yearly.
- Bridebook Business, "Pricing for Venues", partners.bridebook.com/uk/pricing/venues, checked 30 September 2026. Billed yearly: Essentials £1,188, Classic £4,788, Expert £5,988, Platinum £9,920, each + VAT.
- Bark Help Centre, "What is a credit and how much does it cost?", help.bark.com/hc/en-gb/articles/13346288068892, updated 30 September 2026, checked 30 September 2026.
- Bark, seller pricing page, bark.com/en/gb/sellers/pricing, checked 30 September 2026.
- ShaadiSouk, FAQs (For Vendors), shaadisouk.com/faqs, checked 30 September 2026: "A 15% commission applies to each successful booking made through the platform."
Nodus facts come from Nodus's own published pricing. Nodus acts as booking agent for vendors on this platform.
Keep going
Where next
- Free toolWedding vendor earnings calculatorEnter a booking value and see what you keep after commission and Stripe card fees. Compare 3% and 8% with 15% commission and directory subscriptions.
- For vendorsHow Nodus works for wedding vendorsApply, have a 20-minute call, then take enquiries, quotes, written bookings and Stripe payments in one place. What's live and coming.
- ComparisonNodus vs Bridebook for South Asian wedding vendorsBridebook sells monthly plans from £20 + VAT. Nodus charges 3% founding or 8% standard commission on each payment you receive. Sourced and dated.
Also useful: Nodus vs Bark for wedding vendors · Honest pricing. No surprises. · How to price your wedding packages · Compare Nodus