Your Own Link vs the Marketplace — How to Keep Fees Lowest on Tenbin
· Norimitsu Shida · Kiruck Inc.
TL;DR
Tenbin pairs your own low-fee booking link with marketplace discovery. Bookings you bring carry no marketplace fee; the base fee is 10% on Free and 5% on Pro (US$9.80/mo). Here's how to choose — with the exact Pro break-even math.
Short answer first: Tenbin gives you two ways to get booked. One is your own booking link that you share. The other is marketplace discovery, where buyers find you. Bookings you bring through your own link carry no marketplace fee. The base fee on guest checkouts is 10% on Free and 5% on Pro (US$9.80/month). So the smartest setup is simple: lead with your own low-fee link, and use the marketplace to be discovered by new buyers.
This guide breaks down the two channels, the real fee structure, which one to lead with by profession, and the exact point where upgrading from Free to Pro pays for itself.
The 30-second version: your own link means no marketplace fee, so you sell at the lowest cost. Marketplace discovery means buyers find you with no effort from you, in exchange for the cost of discovery. The base fee is 10% on Free and 5% on Pro, and guests never pay Tenbin — on paid links they only pay your session price. As for the Pro break-even, once your monthly paid bookings pass about US$196, the drop to a 5% fee alone covers the $9.80 subscription.
What actually differs between the two channels
Tenbin combines a booking-link tool and an expert marketplace in one product. Most tools only do one. Calendly is a link tool; a typical skills marketplace is listing-only. Tenbin gives you both — and treats their fees differently.
1. Your own booking link (self-sourced)
This is the link you put in your social bio, email signature, business-card QR code, or proposals. Bookings that arrive through this channel carry no marketplace fee. Clients you already earned through your own reputation or outreach aren't taxed for being “found.”
2. Marketplace listing (discovery)
Your sessions appear in Tenbin's Explore — searchable by category, skill, or name — so buyers can find and book you without you ever sharing a link. It works like a salesperson on duty 24/7: new touchpoints in exchange for the cost of being discovered.
The two aren't mutually exclusive. The default play is to lead with your own link and keep the listing on as insurance for new demand.
The real fee structure (Free vs Pro)
Tenbin's base fee applies to the guest checkout amount. Guests (buyers) never pay Tenbin. On a paid link, the buyer pays only the session price you set; the fee is carried on the seller side.
| Item | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 | US$9.80 / mo |
| Paid booking links | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Complimentary (free) links | Not available | Available |
| Connected Google accounts | Up to 3 | Up to 10 |
| Fee on guest checkouts | 10% | 5% |
| “Powered by Tenbin” on guest pages | Always on | Can be hidden |
| Analytics | Totals only (bookings & revenue) | Charts & deeper insights |
HUB, Google Meet, reminders, and cancellation policy are included on both Free and Pro.
Principle to remember: the fee only triggers on a guest checkout. Sharing a link is free. Being discovered is free. You're charged only when money actually moves — a pure pay-on-results model.
Why self-sourced bookings are low-fee
The logic is straightforward. If a booking came from your own reputation, work, and outreach, Tenbin didn't find that client for you — so it doesn't charge a marketplace fee on it.
That's the “best of both” between the two worlds. A typical skills marketplace drives traffic, but charges a high flat fee even on clients you brought yourself. A typical booking-link tool (e.g., Calendly) is low- or no-fee, but gives you no way to be discovered. By separating “self-sourced = low fee” from “discovered = the cost of discovery,” Tenbin keeps the math in the seller's favor.
Which channel to lead with (by profession)
Already have an audience → lead with your own link, listing as backup
If you have followers, existing clients, or a steady referral flow (advisors, freelance consultants, licensed professionals, popular coaches), lead with your own link and sell at the low fee. Keep the listing switched on as insurance so missed demand can still reach you.
Still building visibility → use the marketplace actively
If you have the skills but little name recognition (just went independent, entering a new field, chasing overseas clients), this is the use-the-listing-to-build-touchpoints phase. Let buyers find you, gather early reviews, and convert that into momentum for your own link.
Targeting international clients → listing × multilingual guest UI
Stripe covers 42+ countries, the guest UI is available in five languages, and prices show in the buyer's currency. With the language and currency barriers lowered, marketplace discovery converts more readily across borders. If you sell cross-border, the listing is especially valuable.
Free-to-Pro break-even (the actual math)
Pro is US$9.80/month, and your fee drops from 10% to 5%. So Pro wins the moment the 5% you save exceeds $9.80/month. The formula is simple: fee saved = monthly paid bookings × (10% − 5%) = monthly paid bookings × 5%, and the break-even is where this exceeds $9.80, i.e. monthly paid bookings > $9.80 ÷ 0.05 = $196.
In other words, once your monthly guest checkouts pass roughly US$196, the fee savings alone repay the Pro subscription. Beyond that, the more you sell, the more Pro favors you.
Money isn't the only trigger, though. Any of these justify Pro even under $196/month: you want to connect 4 or more Google accounts (Free allows 3; Pro allows 10); you want to use complimentary (free) links (not available on Free); you want to hide “Powered by Tenbin” for brand consistency or embedding on your own site; or you want to see which channels convert (Pro adds charts and deeper analytics).
Cost comparison with alternatives
The more companies and Google Workspaces you straddle, the bigger Tenbin's cost advantage. Calendly Pro is $16/month per seat — run three Workspaces separately and that's $48/month. Tenbin Pro unifies up to 10 accounts into one for under $10/month, with booking pages, HUB profile, and a 5-language guest UI included.
For the “merge multiple sides and multiple companies into one link” need, Tenbin charges by account consolidation, not per seat — so it gets cheaper relative to alternatives as you scale.
Takeaway: the setup that keeps the most in your pocket
Tenbin's playbook comes down to one line: sell the bookings you bring through your own low-fee link, and let the marketplace handle the ones who find you. Start on Free with your own link as the core, then move to Pro when monthly guest checkouts pass ~$196 or you need 4+ Google accounts. That's the lowest-friction path to keeping the most of what you earn.
FAQ
- Do guests (buyers) pay a fee?
- No. Guests never pay Tenbin. On a paid link, the buyer pays only the session price you set. The fee is carried on the seller side.
- Do bookings from my own link incur a marketplace fee?
- No. Self-sourced bookings carry no marketplace fee. Only the base guest-checkout fee applies (10% on Free, 5% on Pro).
- Can I take paid bookings while staying on Free?
- Yes. Free includes unlimited paid booking links. The fee is 10%, and you can connect up to 3 Google accounts.
- What does Pro cost and what changes?
- US$9.80/month (billed in USD). Your fee drops to 5%, you can connect up to 10 Google accounts, use complimentary (free) links, hide “Powered by Tenbin,” and access deeper analytics.
- When should I switch to Pro?
- Once monthly guest checkouts exceed about US$196, the fee difference alone repays the subscription. Pro also makes sense if you need 4+ Google accounts, complimentary links, or to remove Tenbin branding.
- Does it prevent double-booking?
- Yes. Tenbin merges up to 10 Google calendars and publishes only slots that are truly free across all of them. Server-side locking eliminates double-bookings structurally.
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