Costs & usage
Know what you pay. Know what you use.
This guide explains Ovenward’s platform fees, separate payment-processing costs, SMS usage, refunds, Stars, tips, and plan limits in one place.
The short version
Plan costs at a glance
Spark and Fire have no monthly Ovenward subscription. Blaze adds a $50 monthly price for its expanded business tools. Inferno is set up with the Ovenward team.
| Plan | Monthly | Platform fee | Messaging | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spark | $0 | 2% + $0.55 | 1,000 SMS segments | 1 |
| Fire | $0 | 5% + $0.55 | Unlimited for active businesses* | No plan limit |
| Blaze | $50 | 5% + $0.55 | Expanded | No plan limit |
| Inferno | Contact us | Custom | Custom | Custom |
*Fire Unlimited messaging is for active businesses and is subject to fair use. Protected service messages continue even if optional campaign sending is paused.
Successful orders
How the Ovenward fee is calculated
The percentage applies to the merchandise subtotal only. It does not apply to tips, tax, or shipping. The fixed $0.55 is added once per successful order.
| Merchandise subtotal | Spark fee | Fire or Blaze fee |
|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | $0.75 | $1.05 |
| $25.00 | $1.05 | $1.80 |
| $50.00 | $1.55 | $3.05 |
Absorb it or show it at checkout
The business owner chooses whether to absorb the Ovenward fee or pass it through as a separate customer-facing line item. The calculation is the same either way; only who sees and pays that line changes.
Separate provider cost
Stripe payment processing
Stripe processing is separate from the Ovenward platform fee. Stripe publicly lists 2.9% + $0.30 for a successful domestic online card transaction on standard pricing, but your actual rate can vary by payment method, card origin, currency conversion, or a custom Stripe agreement.
When an order changes
Refunds return the percentage, not the fixed fee
Ovenward returns the proportional percentage fee based on the merchandise amount refunded. The original $0.55 transaction fee is not returned. Stripe’s own processing and refund rules remain governed by the connected business’s Stripe pricing and agreement.
A $25 Spark order has a $1.05 Ovenward fee. A full merchandise refund returns the $0.50 percentage portion. The $0.55 transaction portion remains non-refundable.
Messages and reminders
SMS is counted in segments, not bubbles
Carriers bill long or specially encoded texts as more than one segment, even when a phone displays one message. Ovenward estimates segments using the message that was accepted by the provider, then records delivery updates separately.
Includes 1,000 billable SMS segments per calendar month. The portal shows the current period in Plan & Usage, Analytics, and Customer Messages. At the limit, optional campaigns and drop reminders pause until the next period or an upgrade.
Includes Unlimited messaging for active businesses, subject to fair use. If a high-volume account has not produced at least five paid orders in the previous six months, Ovenward may pause optional campaigns while protected order and pickup messages continue.
Customer experience
Stars and tips stay merchant-specific
Stars belong to one business, not the whole Ovenward network. The initial rule is 100 Stars for $5 off, one redemption per order, with no expiry. Customers earn on net merchandise, excluding tips.
A vendor can set up to three whole-dollar presets and optionally preselect one. Checkout always includes a custom option starting at $0. Tips are excluded from the Ovenward percentage fee and Stars earning.
Places to sell
Location limits grow with the plan
Spark includes one pickup location. Fire and higher plans do not have a product-level location count limit. Blaze adds Bread Shed-style locations with scheduled restocks, Restocked and Out of Stock states, and location-specific customer notifications.
What you will not see itemized
Standard plans include normal platform infrastructure
Ovenward runs on Firebase and Google Cloud. Standard-plan vendors are not billed a separate line for each database read, image request, function call, or hosted page. Those operating costs are covered by the plan price and platform fee unless a custom Inferno agreement says otherwise.
Ovenward monitors usage to keep the platform reliable and may contact a business whose traffic is abusive, automated, or far outside the intended food-commerce use case. We do not turn ordinary growth into a surprise infrastructure invoice.
Common questions
A few details worth knowing
When does Spark SMS usage reset?
At the beginning of each calendar month. The active usage period is visible in the portal.
Do failed orders pay an Ovenward fee?
The Ovenward order fee applies to a successful order, not a declined payment.
Can I change plans later?
Yes. Spark and Fire are self-service choices. Blaze requests and Inferno access are reviewed with Ovenward so sender, domain, and operational needs are set up correctly.
Why can the SMS meter differ from my message count?
One visible text can contain multiple carrier-billed segments. Longer messages, links, and some characters can increase the segment count.
Ready when you are