Should You List Your Kids Program on a Marketplace?

Updated September 17, 2026

List on a marketplace when you need strangers to find you, and treat the commission as an ad you pay for only when it works. Skip it when a school flyer, a PTA newsletter or word of mouth already fills your classes. Published marketplace commissions run 15% to 30% of a booking, which is $36 to $72 on a $240 class. Your own link costs nothing extra per family.

It's a fair question with a clean answer once you know where your families come from. I run Journey to STEAM, with programs at 75+ school sites. Our families hear about us from their school. That shapes everything below.

What is a kids activity marketplace, and how does it charge?

A marketplace is a website where parents search and compare camps and classes from many businesses, then book. The marketplace brings the audience. You pay when a booking comes through it, usually as a percentage of the price, sometimes on top of a monthly plan.

Two that publish their numbers:

Sources: Sawyer's pricing page (hisawyer.com/for-business/pricing, checked September 17, 2026) and ActivityHero's pricing page (business.activityhero.com/pricing, checked September 17, 2026). Both companies publish these numbers openly, which I respect. Prices change, so read their pages before you decide. For a wider look at each, see enrops vs Sawyer and enrops vs ActivityHero.

How much does a marketplace booking cost on a $240 class?

Between $36 and $72 per child at the published rates above. 15% of $240 is $36. 20% is $48. 30% is $72. That comes out of your side, before instructor pay and materials.

Now put it in a real class. Ten kids at $240 is $2,400 in tuition.

• If 3 of the 10 book through a marketplace at 15%, you pay 3 x $36 = $108.
• If all 10 book through it at 15%, you pay $360.
• If all 10 book through it at 30%, you pay $720. That is three of your ten seats.

The number that matters is how many of those families would have found you anyway.

When is a marketplace worth the commission?

When it brings you a family you had no other way to reach, and that family comes back. Think of the commission as the cost of meeting them.

Here is the math I'd run. A new family pays $240 this term. If they register again for two more terms through your own link, that family is worth $720 in tuition. Paying $36 once to meet them is a good trade. Paying $36 every term for a family who already knows your name is a poor one.

A marketplace fits you when:

• You are new in a city and have no school partners yet.
• You run camps in your own space and need reach beyond your neighborhood for summer.
• You have empty seats in a class that is already running, so an extra child costs you almost nothing to serve.

When is your own registration link the better choice?

When you already own the channel. Programs that run inside schools are the clearest case. Your marketing is a principal who sends your flyer home with 400 students. Your families register because the school told them about you. No one in that chain was browsing.

Sending those families to a marketplace page to register adds risk and no reach. Your class may appear beside other businesses. Depending on the platform's rules, a booking you earned could count as a marketplace booking. Give school families a direct link and a QR code on the flyer, and keep the path short: flyer, phone, registered. The guide to getting your program into schools covers how to build that channel from zero.

How do families find programs that run at their school?

Through the school's own voice. The ones I count on: the flyer in the backpack, the school or PTA newsletter, the teacher who mentions it, the table at back-to-school night, and other parents at pickup.

Every one of those ends with a parent on her phone. So the job of your registration page is speed. One short form, the waiver, payment, done. If you're still taking signups on a form and payments in an app, I wrote about where Google Forms and Venmo break.

What should I ask before I list on a marketplace?

Ask these seven questions and get the answers in writing.

1. What percentage do I pay on a marketplace booking, and is listing required on my plan?
2. How do you decide whether a booking came from the marketplace or from my own link?
3. If a family finds me on the marketplace once, what do I pay when they register again?
4. What do families pay at checkout on top of my price, and is it refunded if I cancel a class?
5. Will my families see or receive promotions for other businesses?
6. Can I export my family list, with emails, at any time?
7. Can I turn the listing off for school programs and keep it on for public camps?

Question two decides most of it. A clear answer means you can use the marketplace as an ad channel and keep your school families on your own link.

Can I use both?

Yes, and many operators should. Use your own registration link for every family you already reach: school programs, returning families, your email list. Use a marketplace for public programs with seats to fill, and track which bookings it truly brought you. At the end of the season, divide what you paid in commission by the number of new families who came back. That is your real cost per family.

For the full picture of what registration tools charge, including monthly plans and family fees, read what registration software really costs.

Frequently asked questions

Does enrops have a marketplace?

No. Your enrops registration page shows your programs only, and enrops doesn't bring you new families. It gives the families you already reach a fast way to register and pay. enrops is free for businesses.

Is a 15% commission high?

It depends on what it replaces. Compare it to what you would spend on ads, mailers or events to meet one new family. Then check how many marketplace families come back through your own link.

Will a marketplace fill a program at a school?

Rarely. Most school programs are open only to students at that school, so a citywide audience doesn't help. The school's flyer and newsletter do the work.

Should a brand-new program start on a marketplace?

It can help you get your first public camp or class in front of parents. Build your own list from day one, so term two doesn't depend on it. The guide to starting a kids activity business has a section on filling your first classes.

Create your first registration. Free for businesses. Live in under 5 minutes. Or click through a sample registration first.

Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.