What Percentage Does Escrow Take?
Written by Christopher Krassnig - Founder - Kairos Exchange and ZenoX Media.
Published
- Checks in every memo8
- Automatic on day one3 of 8
- Read by handad spend and processor payouts
- Tracked ecom salesEUR 200M+ZenoX ad-management figures, not Kairos deal volume - Kairos hasn't closed a deal yet.
Escrow fees are a small percentage of the transaction that falls as the deal grows. Escrow.com, the provider Kairos settles through, publishes 2.6 percent at the bottom and 1.9 percent between 50,000 and 200,000 dollars, falling to 0.95 percent past 3,000,000. We read that schedule on 29 July 2026. Every band carries a minimum fee. On Kairos, buyer and seller split it 50/50.
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The Rate Falls as the Deal Grows
Escrow is priced like insurance on a wire, so the percentage drops in bands. The band rate applies to the whole amount, not to a slice above the edge. Escrow.com's published standard schedule moves from 2.6 percent at the bottom to 1 percent past 1,000,000 dollars and 0.95 percent or less past 3,000,000 dollars. On a 120,000 dollar store that is 2,280 dollars in escrow fees, which is the number to put in your model rather than a vague low percent.
The Minimum Is the Part People Miss
Every band carries a floor. Escrow.com's published minimums start at 50 dollars and climb with the band, so a 400 dollar transaction pays 12.5 percent while a 400,000 dollar one pays 1.5 percent. Those floors sit right on the band edges, which is the fair part: crossing into a cheaper percentage never makes the fee go up. On anything small, read the minimum before you read the percentage.
Who Pays It
That is negotiable everywhere and settled here. On Kairos the escrow provider's fee splits 50/50 between buyer and seller, on the self-serve lane and the full-service lane alike, and Kairos never carries it. Wherever you transact, get the split written down before funding. It is a cheap argument to have early and an expensive one to have on handover day.
Related questions
Checked against
- Escrow.com fee calculator - read 29 July 2026
Terms Used
Escrow Fee
Escrow Fee is what a licensed third party charges to hold a buyer's funds until the deal closes, then release them.
Minimum Fee
Minimum Fee is the smallest amount a marketplace or broker will accept as its success fee, charged instead of the percentage whenever that percentage falls below the floor.
Buying a Store Somewhere Else?
Kairos Due Diligence works on any deal - Flippa, a broker, a private sale. A person reads the store's raw numbers and writes you a report. If the deal is bad, the report says walk away. From EUR 1.5K, no account needed.
Answered. Now Get in Line for the First Store
When the doors open, verified stores go to the waitlist first. You have done the reading part. The list is the part with a queue.