💡 In simple words: A subscription means paying a small amount every month to support and use the platform. It gives steady help to the community and access to services for you. This page also explains how that money is shared out.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): WikiDeal is exploring a dual subscription model: a platform-level subscription (10 CHF/year) and User-Group-specific subscriptions (around 1€/month), both low-cost, transparent and constrained by market equilibrium rather than central pricing mandates. Retroactive billing at contract signing and an arrears rule aim at accountability without blocking free access. Subscription revenue would be distributed across four equal lots (Early Supporters, Ynternet.org Foundation, Association, Operations), with progressive democratization of their governance and solidarity mechanisms for those who cannot pay.

On this page:

Key rules: optional but required to sign
Two levels of subscription
Platform subscription
User Group subscription
The arrears rule
Annual incentives
Equilibrium logic
How subscription revenue is distributed
Progressive democratization
The Citizenship model
Funding through solidarity
Annual value growth and break-even
See also

Subscriptions

WikiDeal intends to operate two parallel subscription systems: the platform subscription (covering base access for all users) and User Group subscriptions (covering access to specific service verticals). Both are designed to be low-cost, transparent, and governed by market equilibrium rather than central pricing mandates.

Platform: 10 CHF/year (or 1 CHF/month + 2 CHF mgmt fee) · User Group: ~1€/month or 10€/year · Annual always cheaper

Key rules: subscriptions are optional but required to sign

Free access: Anyone can browse WikiDeal, read wiki pages, and explore contracts without subscribing.
Signing a contract requires being up to date: Both parties must have an active (or retroactively settled) subscription at the moment of signing.
Retroactive billing at signing: If months are overdue, ALL unpaid subscription fees are collected retroactively at the time of the next contract signing, billed in addition to the transaction commission, not deducted from it.
Double commission + subscription: The transaction carries a double commission (one part for the User Group operating the service, one for the WikiDeal platform), between 5% and 15% total (justified exceptions possible). Subscription fees are charged on top of this commission.
Micro-payments: For frequent small transactions, overdue subscription fees may be split into micro-installments. For larger contracts, the full overdue amount is settled at once.

Two levels of subscription

Level	What it covers	Annual price	Monthly price	Set by
Platform	Base platform access, contracts, AI, governance	10 CHF	1 CHF + 2 CHF fee = 12 CHF/yr	Ynternet.org Foundation
User Group	Access to specific service (babysitting, etc.)	~10€	~1€ + fee	Each User Group

These are independent subscriptions. A user can have the platform subscription without any User Group subscription (access WikiDeal but not service-specific features). A user participating in three User Groups pays three separate group subscriptions plus the platform subscription.

Platform subscription

In summary:

10 CHF/year if paid annually (best value)
1 CHF/month + 2 CHF management fee if paid monthly (= 12 CHF/year total)
20% surcharge for monthly payment reflects real admin overhead
Billed at Transaction time (deferred model for inactive users)

User Group subscription

User Group subscriptions are set independently by each User Group. They are typically very low, around 1€/month or 10€/year, but vary based on the services offered and the costs the group must cover.

Like the platform subscription, User Group subscriptions offer an annual discount to incentivise up-front commitment:

User Group subscription (example): Annual: 10€/year Monthly: 1€/month + management fee Annual saving: 10 to 20% (set by each UG)

If a User Group sets subscriptions too high, members will fork and create a competing group at a lower price. This equilibrium pressure keeps subscriptions honest.

The arrears rule

WikiDeal intends to enforce a strict arrears rule for User Group subscriptions to prevent free-riding:

Rule: If a member stops paying their User Group subscription (e.g. misses February and March), and then resumes in April, they must pay all missed months (February + March) at the time of resumption, before accessing the service again.

This rule applies to User Group subscriptions specifically (not the platform subscription, which uses the deferred billing model). It ensures:

Members cannot selectively pay only during months when they need the service
User Groups have predictable revenue even during seasonal lulls
The group's cost base remains stable regardless of individual member activity patterns

Example:

January: pays ✅
February: does NOT pay ❌
March: does NOT pay ❌
April: wants to resume → must pay Feb + Mar + Apr to continue ✅

Annual incentives

Both subscription levels incentivise annual payment:

Payment type	Platform sub	UG sub (example)
Annual (once)	10 CHF → 10 CHF/yr	10€ → 10€/yr
Monthly (12 payments)	12 CHF (20% more)	12€ (20% more)

The management fee on monthly payments is not arbitrary: it reflects the real cost of processing 12 individual payments, tracking 12 separate billing events, and managing 12 potential arrears situations versus one annual payment.

Equilibrium logic

WikiDeal's subscription model is intended to be self-regulating through market equilibrium:

If a platform subscription is too expensive → users leave or don't join → Ynternet.org Foundation lowers price
If a User Group subscription is too expensive → members fork and create a competing group → prices naturally decrease
If User Group subscription too low to cover costs → group may merge, raise rates with community approval, or dissolve

The threat of forking is a feature, not a bug. It prevents any single group from imposing unsustainable rates on its members.

How subscription revenue is distributed

⚠️ No guarantee: the financial projections and scenarios presented below are for educational purposes only and represent no guarantee of future performance. They illustrate how WikiDeal's subscription model could sustainably fund operations under various growth assumptions. Actual results may differ significantly. These projections are part of WikiDeal's transparency commitment and are included in full in the subscription agreement.

WikiDeal's financial model starts from a simple principle: subscribers fund the infrastructure that makes fair agreements possible. Every subscription payment would be distributed across four beneficiaries, each with a distinct role in sustaining the ecosystem.

The four-lot distribution model

When you pay CHF 10 per year (or CHF 1 per month), your subscription is divided into four equal parts:

Lot	Beneficiary	Percentage	Purpose	Control
Lot 1	Early Supporters & Founders	25%	Recognition of those who supported WikiDeal's development from the beginning (the initial CHF 50M contribution)	Private (the WikiDeal founder)
Lot 2	Ynternet.org Foundation	25%	Core infrastructure: governance, voting systems, annual events, coordination	Foundation
Lot 3	Association, Special Projects & Reserves	25%	Community impact, special initiatives, financial resilience	Democratically governed
Lot 4	Platform Operations	25%	Technology, infrastructure maintenance, operational costs	Operational

Progressive democratization

Today, only Lot 3 is fully governed democratically. As WikiDeal grows, the other lots progressively become subject to democratic oversight. This reflects the belief that commons governance emerges from participation and scale.

Timeline:

Years 1-3: Lot 3 is democratic; Lots 1, 2, 4 follow established rules
Years 3-5: Lot 2 (Foundation) begins democratization of certain decisions
Years 5+: All lots move toward community governance as early supporters' role diminishes

The Citizenship model

WikiDeal's subscription model explores a principle called the Citizenship Tax:

Those who engage contribute less. Those who participate in governance, voting, and community building pay the standard rate (CHF 10/year).

Those who don't engage pay more. If you benefit from the system but don't contribute to its governance, you pay a higher rate to compensate for the civic infrastructure others are maintaining.

This creates positive incentives: the more you participate, the more affordable your subscription becomes. The system is self-balancing.

Funding through solidarity

Not everyone can afford a subscription. WikiDeal's model includes multiple paths to access:

Third-party sponsorship: Organizations and individuals can pay for subscriptions on behalf of others (e.g., CHF 30/year to sponsor a single parent who pays nothing)
Fee waivers: Users can request free commission on their transactions if they demonstrate need
Cross-group support: Within User Groups or marketplaces, members can support each other
Sliding scale: Based on income, engagement, and community contribution

This creates a system of mutual aid where those with means voluntarily subsidize those without, because the subscription cost (CHF 10-100/year) is negligible for many but meaningful for others.

Annual value growth and break-even

A possible annual percentage increase is under study through a draft Open Call (not yet launched); no percentage is decided.

The path to break-even: CHF 500M in subscriptions. To fully repay the initial CHF 100M contribution (via the 25% allocated to Lot 1), WikiDeal would need to generate CHF 400M in cumulative subscription revenue (25% of CHF 500M paid subscriptions × CHF 10/user/year). Under conservative user growth assumptions, this happens in approximately 5 years.

See the interactive simulator on the Growth Scenarios page to explore how different adoption rates affect the timeline to sustainability.