Bobby vs percentage-commission apps: what the fee difference means
The cleanest way to size up a services app is to look at how it charges. This guide sets a flat per-booking fee, the model Bobby is built around, against percentage-commission apps that usually keep 15 to 30 percent of the provider price. It sticks to generic percentages instead of naming companies, since published commission rates differ by app and category.
Last updated July 19, 2026 · Pre-launch informational guide
Two ways to charge
A services app has to pay for itself one way or another. The two usual routes are a percentage commission carved out of the provider price and a flat fee tacked on top of it.
Bobby takes the flat-fee route: a planned $1 per booking on most services, with the provider keeping 100 percent of their price. Percentage-commission apps instead take a share of every job, commonly landing in the 15 to 30 percent range depending on the app and the service.
| Fee model | What the provider keeps | What the customer pays | Transparency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby, flat booking fee | 100% of their listed price | Provider price + a flat $1 booking fee + card processing at cost | Full total shown before you confirm |
| Typical percentage-commission app | Their price minus the commission (roughly 15 to 30%) | A total that can bundle the commission and added service fees | The provider's cut is often hidden from the customer |
Those rows use a generic 15 to 30 percent band rather than any named company, because published commission rates differ by app and category.
What a percentage means at scale
What defines a percentage commission is that it grows with the price of the work. If an app keeps 25 percent, a provider hands over $25 on a $100 job and $250 on a $1,000 job. The pricier the job, the more the percentage takes.
A flat fee goes the other way and simply holds. A flat $1 is $1 on a $100 job and $1 on a $1,000 job. As provider prices climb, the gap between the two models keeps widening. For a provider booking a few larger jobs a week, that gap piles up fast over a month.
Running a single booking, whether that is payment processing, matching, or support, does not usually get more expensive in step with the price of the job. A flat fee is meant to hug that cost more closely than a percentage ever could.
A worked comparison
The examples below line up a flat $1 fee against a 20 percent commission, used here only as a mid-range stand-in for the typical 15 to 30 percent band. None of it is tied to a named company.
- On a $80 job, a flat $1 fee leaves the provider with $80. A 20 percent commission would take $16, leaving $64.
- On a $200 job, a flat $1 fee leaves the provider with $200. A 20 percent commission would take $40, leaving $160.
- On a $500 job, a flat $1 fee leaves the provider with $500. A 20 percent commission would take $100, leaving $400.
In every row the flat fee is $1. The commission swells from $16 to $100 as the job price grows, even though the platform did the same work of connecting the two sides.
Who the difference affects
For providers, a flat fee guards earnings on larger jobs, since the platform never takes a bigger bite as the price rises. For customers, it keeps the total simple: the provider price plus a fixed amount, shown before you confirm.
Here is how the flat $1 booking fee is meant to work from end to end:
- The provider sets their price. They keep 100 percent of it, with no commission skimmed off the top.
- Bobby adds a flat $1 booking fee on top of that price. It stays $1 whether the job is $40 or $400.
- Card processing is passed through at cost. You pay the payment network's fee directly, with no markup layered on by Bobby.
- You see the full total before you confirm. Provider price, the $1 fee, and processing are laid out up front, with nothing sprung on you afterward.
Food delivery is the one planned exception to the single flat dollar: there, the plan is a flat $2 model, framed as $1 to the restaurant and $1 to the driver. Still no percentage layer.
A percentage grows with the job; a flat fee holds still. Bobby is planned so the platform charges a flat $1 per booking (a flat $2 on food delivery, split $1 to the restaurant and $1 to the driver), the provider keeps their full price, and card processing is passed through at cost. Bobby is pre-launch, so this describes how it plans to charge, not a service you can book today.
Where Bobby stands today
Bobby is pre-launch and gathering a waitlist across the five boroughs of New York City. No services are on offer or bookable yet. The flat-fee model spelled out here is how Bobby plans to charge once it launches, and the comparison above is meant to explain the general difference between fee structures, not to make claims about any specific competitor.