Why Lumo Charges 10% (And Why That Actually Matters)

The Platform Tax Everyone Pretends Is Normal

If you're a delivery driver on DoorDash, you're giving up 25-30% of each order. TaskRabbit? 15-30% depending on your service category. Uber Eats? Around 25-30% for restaurants, plus additional fees. These percentages have become so normalized that most people accept them as the cost of doing business online.

At Lumo, we charge 10%. Flat. Whether you're delivering groceries, fixing a sink, selling furniture, or listing a rental property.

Let's talk about what that difference actually means.

The Math That Matters

Say you're a handyman completing $5,000 worth of jobs per month:

On a 25% platform: You pocket $3,750 On Lumo's 10%: You keep $4,500

That's $750 more in your pocket every single month. Over a year? An extra $9,000. That's not a rounding error—that's rent money, car payments, or the ability to undercut competitors while still earning more.

For customers, lower platform fees mean lower prices. When providers aren't hemorrhaging 25-30% per transaction, they can afford to charge less and still make a living. Everyone wins except the platform—which is exactly the point.

What We're Trading Off (And Why It's Worth It)

Here's where we'll be honest: charging 10% means we're running leaner than our competitors.

TaskRabbit has massive marketing budgets and Super Bowl ads. We don't. DoorDash spends millions on driver incentives and promotions. We can't compete on that level. These platforms can afford to burn cash because they're extracting more from every transaction.

We're making a different bet: that service providers and customers are smart enough to recognize value. That word-of-mouth from someone who made an extra $9,000 last year matters more than a billboard. That customers will choose a platform where they're not subsidizing a bloated corporate structure.

Does this mean slower growth? Probably. Does it mean we can't throw money at customer acquisition? Definitely. But it also means we're building something sustainable—a platform that doesn't need to squeeze users harder every quarter to satisfy investors.

Why Other Platforms Charge More

To be fair, there are real costs to running a marketplace:

Payment processing (around 3%)
Customer support
Platform maintenance and development
Trust and safety measures
Marketing and user acquisition

But here's the thing: these costs don't justify a 25-30% take rate. Most platforms charge what they do because they can, not because they must. They've raised hundreds of millions in venture capital, and investors expect exponential returns. That money comes from somewhere—and that somewhere is service providers' earnings and customers' wallets.

Lumo operates differently. We're profitable at 10% because we're not trying to become a billion-dollar unicorn by next quarter. We're building a sustainable marketplace where the people doing the work keep most of what they earn.

What This Means for You

If you're a service provider: More earnings per transaction means you can build a business, not just a side hustle. You can price more competitively. You can actually save money. You're not working just to pay the platform.

If you're a customer: Lower platform fees mean lower prices. When a delivery driver or handyman isn't losing 25% to fees, they can charge you less and still make more. You get better value, they earn better money.

If you're both: You're participating in a marketplace that's designed for users, not for venture capital returns.

The Bottom Line

We're not saying 10% makes us heroes. We're saying it makes us honest. Running a marketplace has real costs, and 10% covers those costs while letting us build something sustainable.

The extra 15-20% that other platforms charge? That's not going to better service or technology. It's going to television ads, inflated corporate salaries, and investor returns.

We'd rather that money stay with you.

Whether you're booking a service, offering one, or just tired of platforms that take too much while delivering too little, Lumo's built for a different kind of marketplace—one where the people doing the actual work get to keep most of the actual money.

Ready to keep more of what you earn? Check out Lumo's provider signup and see what 10% actually feels like.