> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.silopay.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.silopay.io/fees/fee-structure.md).
# Fee Structure
Silo charges a single per-transaction fee called the privacy fee. This is Silo's only source of revenue. The rate depends on the user's account tier:
Personal (Tier 1): 30 bps per transaction. Minimum fee $0.30, maximum fee $5.00 per transaction.\
\
Plus (Tier 2): 25 bps per transaction. Minimum fee $0.25, maximum fee $50.00 per transaction.
Business (Tier 3): 20 bps per transaction. Minimum fee $0.20, maximum fee $250.00 per transaction.
The privacy fee covers the cost of privacy routing, compliance screening, encrypted record storage, and platform infrastructure. It is an all-in fee — there is no separate line item for privacy, compliance, or platform access.
***
#### **What's Included in the Privacy Fee**
The privacy fee is the only fee Silo charges. It covers: transaction routing, ZK commitment and proof generation, Payment Instruction encryption and storage, sanctions screening and KYT checks, and redacted receipt generation. There are no subscription fees, no account fees, no withdrawal fees, and no monthly minimums.
***
#### **Pass-Through Costs**
In addition to the Silo privacy fee, some transactions incur pass-through costs that Silo does not mark up or profit from.
Network fees (gas): the cost of executing transactions on-chain. These vary by chain and network conditions. Silo passes these through at cost.
Swap fees: if a payment requires an asset conversion (e.g., the sender pays in ETH but the receiver wants USDC), the swap is routed through available DEX liquidity (Curve, Uniswap, DeepBook, Jupiter, depending on the chain). Swap fees and slippage are passed through at cost with no Silo markup. The party whose asset choice triggered the swap bears the cost.
Bridge fees (CCTP): cross-chain transfers routed through Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol carry a $0 Silo fee. CCTP is the primary bridge used for cross-chain USDC delivery.
***
#### **The Lowest-Cost Path**
The cheapest possible transaction on Silo is a USDC-to-USDC payment on the same chain. In this scenario, the user pays only the Silo privacy fee (20-30 bps depending on tier) and the network gas cost. There is no swap fee and no bridge fee. As the transaction involves more complexity (asset conversion, cross-chain routing), pass-through costs increase accordingly, but the Silo privacy fee remains the same regardless of routing complexity.
***
#### **Fee Responsibility**
Who pays the Silo fee depends on the payment context, not on a choice the sender has to make.
For peer-to-peer payments (Personal and Plus accounts), the receiver absorbs the fee by default. The fee is deducted from the amount received, not added on top of what the sender sends. The sender sees a transparency line beneath the amount field showing what the receiver will actually receive (e.g., "Jack will receive $99.76"). An optional "Cover fee" toggle allows the sender to top up the payment so the receiver gets the full amount. The toggle is off by default.
For commerce payments (customer paying a merchant), the merchant always absorbs the fee. The customer pays exactly the amount they type. There is no gross-up toggle, fee direction is locked to the merchant. This mirrors how every major payment processor works.
For payroll payments (employer paying an employee), the employer always pays the fee. The employee receives their full agreed amount with no deductions. The employer sees a confirmation screen before submission showing the salary, the Silo fee, and the total debit. This mirrors traditional payroll processing.
***
#### **Swap fees**
If a payment requires an asset conversion, the party whose asset choice triggered the swap bears the cost. If a sender holds ETH but the receiver wants USDC, the sender bears the ETH-to-USDC swap. If a sender sends USDC but the receiver's preference is set to ETH, the receiver bears the USDC-to-ETH swap out of the received amount. If both sides use USDC, there is no swap and no swap fee. USDC-to-USDC is the lowest-cost path.
The gross-up toggle covers the Silo platform fee only. It does not cover swap fees. Swap costs always follow the "your choice, your cost" rule regardless of whether the sender enables gross-up.
Note: Fee rates are illustrative and subject to change pending legal review.
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