> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.zen.land/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Fee Structure

> Simple, transparent pricing with a $50 maximum cap.

## How Fees Work

Zenland charges a simple **1% protocol fee** on every escrow created.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="1% Fee" icon="percent">
    One percent of the escrow amount
  </Card>

  <Card title="$0.50 Minimum" icon="arrow-down">
    Never pay less than 50 cents
  </Card>

  <Card title="$50 Maximum" icon="arrow-up">
    Never pay more than \$50
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Fee Calculation Examples

| Escrow Amount | 1% Would Be | Min/Max Applied | **You Pay** |
| ------------- | ----------- | --------------- | ----------- |
| \$25          | \$0.25      | Below minimum   | **\$0.50**  |
| \$100         | \$1.00      | Within range    | **\$1.00**  |
| \$500         | \$5.00      | Within range    | **\$5.00**  |
| \$2,500       | \$25.00     | Within range    | **\$25.00** |
| \$10,000      | \$100.00    | Above maximum   | **\$50.00** |
| \$1,000,000   | \$10,000.00 | Above maximum   | **\$50.00** |

<Note>
  The \$50 cap makes Zenland extremely cost-effective for high-value transactions!
</Note>

***

## Who Pays the Fee?

The **buyer** pays the protocol fee when creating the escrow.

```
Escrow Amount: $1,000
Protocol Fee: $10 (1%)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Total Paid by Buyer: $1,010

Seller Receives (on release): $1,000
```

<Tip>
  The fee is charged **on top** of the escrow amount. Sellers always receive the full agreed amount (minus any agent fees in disputes).
</Tip>

***

## When is the Fee Charged?

The fee is charged **once**, at escrow creation:

* ✅ Charged when escrow is created and funded
* ❌ NOT charged on release, refund, or split
* ❌ NOT charged on dispute resolution

<Info>
  This is intentionally different from platforms that charge on both ends. You know your total cost upfront.
</Info>

***

## Locked Escrows

Locked escrows (no agent) pay the **same fee** as standard escrows.

Why? Even without an agent, you're using:

* Zenland's audited smart contracts
* Deterministic addresses for PDF verification
* Event indexing and UI infrastructure
* Gas-optimized minimal proxies

***

## Fee Breakdown by Token

Fees are calculated per-token to handle different decimal places:

| Token | Fee %        | Min Fee                       | Max Fee           |
| ----- | ------------ | ----------------------------- | ----------------- |
| USDC  | 1% (100 bps) | 500,000 (6 decimals) = \$0.50 | 50,000,000 = \$50 |
| USDT  | 1% (100 bps) | 500,000 (6 decimals) = \$0.50 | 50,000,000 = \$50 |

<Note>
  Additional tokens may be added through DAO governance with their own fee configurations.
</Note>

***

## Where Do Fees Go?

All protocol fees are sent directly to the **DAO Treasury**:

```
Buyer creates escrow
↓
Fee transferred to Treasury (in same transaction)
↓
DAO governs treasury spending
```

The treasury funds:

* Protocol development
* Security audits
* Community initiatives
* Agent incentives

***

## Fee Changes

Fees are controlled by the DAO:

* **Current fees** are locked in when you create an escrow
* **Future changes** only affect new escrows
* **Your escrow** is never affected by fee updates after creation

<Card title="DAO Governance" icon="users" href="/governance/zenland-dao">
  Learn how fees are governed →
</Card>