And how Bottle360 can save wineries thousands every year without sacrificing features.
If you’ve ever looked at your DTC software invoice and wondered, “Why is this number so high?” You’re not alone.
Many winery e-commerce and POS platforms market themselves as “affordable” or “commission-free,” but the reality shows up where it hurts most: your monthly statement. Between unclear fees, inflated processing rates, required add-ons, and multi-tiered pricing tied to revenue, wineries often end up paying far more than they expected when they signed up.
The Illusion of Low Monthly Fees and Flat Rates
Some DTC platforms market a flat fee. Sounds reasonable, right? But is that all you pay? Others highlight low monthly rates, but in the smaller print, they actually charge other fees.
Digging a little deeper:
- Platforms that say they charge a flat rate have other fees that are based on your annual revenue.
- All DTC software platforms charge some kind of additional fees beyond their published monthly rate, which is where the dollars really add up. These fees may be listed on invoices as “Commissions”, “Transaction Fees”, “Volume Override”, or “Sales Override”. Some platforms charge extra fees for add-on features or fees to use integrations with other platforms. Depending on the platform, add-ons could be features like clubs, subscriptions, loyalty programs, and advanced analytics. And you may need to hire external developers.
- All DTC platforms must use a credit card processing company. The DTC platform typically shares in the revenue of that service. In the examples below, you’ll see that some DTC platforms use higher margins on payment processing to make up for lower subscription costs, making it appear they are less expensive overall. Don’t be fooled by that.
So what looks like a low flat rate of $150 a month or a flat percentage of sales can quickly turn into tens of thousands of dollars a year.
At Bottle360, we believe in winery-friendly pricing that keeps more profit in your pocket. And the math proves it!
Let’s Do the Math (Because It Really Does Add Up)
Here are the published rates for some of the most widely used DTC software platforms. But this is not all you will pay!
Annual DTC Software Cost to Wineries
The following illustrates what your winery would pay in a year if you had $3 million in annual revenue. The table includes the annual software subscription cost, plus the payment processing margin the platforms charge for having your payments run through the system, and the commissions or other fees the platforms charge.
By choosing Bottle360, you could save thousands of dollars a year!
Why Bottle360 Costs Less Without Cutting Corners
We built Bottle360 with a simple belief: “Wineries shouldn’t have to choose between great software and great margins.”
Here’s how we do it:
1) Winery-Friendly Pricing
No revenue-based tiers means fair pricing, no matter your size.
2) Industry-Low Processing Rates
This is where many platforms quietly make more money. Our payment processing rates are the lowest in the industry, helping wineries retain an average of 33% more profit.
3) Everything You Need Is Included
No extra fees for:
- Wine clubs
- Subscriptions
- Loyalty programs
- Ecommerce
- Emails
- POS
- Inventory
- Reporting
- Wholesale Management
- And in-house developed integrations you actually need (for shipping, compliance, marketing and more.)
4) 24/7/365 Live, U.S.-Based Support
When wineries need help, we answer the phone.
Is Pricing Really Transparent If It Is Hard to Understand?
Wineries deserve pricing that’s fair and software that works as hard as they do. Don’t be caught up in marketing materials that say their pricing is “transparent” if they show a percentage for additional fees in small print, or you have to read through what add-on functionality will add to your monthly invoice.
Bottle360 keeps things simple:
- One platform
- All features and in-house developed integrations included
- Lowest processing rates in the industry
- Real humans ready to help anytime
The sooner you switch, the more you save, year after year.
Ready to See How Much You Could Save?
Most wineries are surprised (and relieved) when they see the difference Bottle360 makes.
No matter your size, we champion your growth, not your fees.
Contact us to request a free savings analysis.
* Estimates based on real customer-provided costs and published pricing using an assumed $3 million in annual sales, and an assumed $150 per shipped order.
** These margins vary across the platforms, but none of the platforms receive 100% of this amount.
*** These fees may be listed on invoices as Commissions, Transaction Fees, Volume Override, Sales Override fee, etc. These fees also include add-on features with additional costs or fees to use 3rd party integrations to other platforms.
**** Assuming $50/month for their reservations feature. This platform also charges $0.25 per transaction for more than 3600 transactions annually. With annual revenue at $3 million and an average transaction of $150, that’s 20k transactions minus 3600. This equals 16,400 transactions times 25 cents.
† This platform charges 1.85% of a winery’s monthly sales. This estimate is based on 1.85% of $3 million in annual sales.
†† This platform charges $0.75 per transaction. This number assumes an average of $150 per shipped order and annual sales of $3 million, which comes to 20k transactions at $0.75 each.