Understanding billing

This page explains the concepts behind Bonfire monetization so you can price and operate with confidence. For step-by-step setup, see Set up paid memberships.

Two sides of billing

There are two separate money flows, and it helps to keep them distinct:

You pay Bonfire for your plan. Your Starter / Growth / Business / Enterprise (or Patron) subscription to Bonfire is billed through Freemius, managed in Admin → Billing (/admin/billing).
Members pay you for paid tiers. When members subscribe to your paid memberships, they check out through Stripe, using the Stripe account you connect in Admin → Payment Setup (/admin/payments). That money goes directly to your Stripe account.

These are independent: your Bonfire plan bill (Freemius) and your member revenue (Stripe) never touch each other.

Your Bonfire plan (Freemius)

Your own subscription to Bonfire runs through Freemius, the merchant of record for your plan. From Admin → Billing you can compare plans, upgrade, and open the Freemius portal to manage your payment method and invoices. Freemius handles the checkout, renewals, taxes, and receipts for your plan only.

Member payments (Stripe)

Bonfire owns the community side: tiers, coupons, perks, and which spaces each tier unlocks. Stripe owns the money side of member payments: checkout, cards, subscriptions, receipts, taxes, and payouts to you. When a member subscribes, Stripe records the transaction and tells Bonfire to grant access.

Bonfire charges a 0% platform fee on memberships — it isn't the payment processor for your members, your connected Stripe account is. You keep your revenue minus only Stripe's standard processing and payment fees.

Subscription cycles

A member subscription runs on a billing cycle — monthly or yearly — chosen by the member at checkout. At the end of each cycle, Stripe automatically renews and charges the saved payment method. Access stays active as long as renewals succeed.

Monthly: charged every month, easy entry point, higher churn.
Yearly: charged once a year, more upfront revenue and better retention. Many owners discount yearly to nudge longer commitments.

Renewals, failures, and cancellations

Successful renewal: nothing changes; the member keeps access.
Failed payment: Stripe retries (dunning). If it keeps failing, the subscription lapses and Bonfire revokes paid access.
Cancellation: the member keeps access until the end of the paid period, then drops to free.

Proration and plan changes

When a member upgrades mid-cycle, Stripe prorates the difference so they only pay for what's left. Downgrades typically take effect at the next renewal. Coupons can apply to the first payment only or recur, depending on how you configured them.

Reading the numbers

In Admin → Analytics you track:

MRR — monthly recurring revenue, the health metric for a subscription community.
Churn — the rate members cancel; the silent killer of recurring revenue.
New vs. lost subscriptions — net growth over time.

Rule of thumb: a small drop in churn beats a big push on new sign-ups. Patron perks and gamification exist to keep members subscribed.

Payments and billing
Set up paid memberships
Manage membership tiers

FAQ

Why doesn't Bonfire take a cut of memberships? Members pay through your own connected Stripe account; Bonfire only manages access, so there's no Bonfire platform fee. Stripe's standard processing fees still apply.

How is this different from my Bonfire plan bill? Your Bonfire plan is billed separately through Freemius in Admin → Billing. Member payments are entirely separate and run on Stripe via Admin → Payment Setup.

When exactly does a member's access get revoked after cancellation? At the end of the already-paid period — not immediately — so members get what they paid for.

Does a failed payment cut off access instantly? No. Stripe retries first; access is revoked only after retries are exhausted.

Is yearly better than monthly? Yearly improves cash flow and retention; monthly lowers the entry barrier. Offering both, with a yearly discount, is common.