Per-Player vs. Per-Table Pricing for Paid D&D

Use per-player pricing for open or drop-in seats, and per-table pricing for a fixed group with one payer. Per-player charges each seat its own price, so the total tracks attendance; per-table sets one flat session price at any headcount, moving the split to the group.

Marketplace scale supports the per-player default for open games: StartPlaying reported that its Game Masters had earned "over $17 million running tabletop RPGs" as of December 2023, and that "over 50k players have found games with StartPlaying" (StartPlaying blog, "Dungeon Masters Earned Over $17 Million Running Online D&D Games," March 4, 2024). Whether per-table pricing is available at all depends on the specific platform rather than on marketplaces as a category: StartPlaying states that "every game charges on a per player, per session basis" (StartPlaying, "How Does StartPlaying Work for Players?"), while Roll20's Help Center states that paid games "are allowed without prior approval from Roll20" and that "Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions," which leaves a Roll20 Game Master free to collect one flat table price directly (Roll20 Help Center, "Paid Games").

Sources and last-checked dates: every StartPlaying, FanBell, Roll20, Stripe, and Wizards of the Coast page cited on this page was accessed on September 2, 2026. FanBell's pricing page states "Free to start. No subscription required for the beta — you only pay when a fan pays you," with a 12% platform fee per paid transaction and $0 per month (FanBell pricing). Platform fees, refund windows, and processing rates change without notice, so re-check the linked source before relying on any figure below. FanBell publishes this page, so treat every FanBell detail here as vendor documentation and verify it against the linked FanBell page.

Most new paid DMs don't think about the per-player-versus-per-table choice until a table is already half-booked and someone asks, "wait, are we splitting this?" The two models change who's responsible for a no-show, how predictable your income is, and how much collection admin lands on you versus the group. Getting it wrong doesn't just cost money once — it sets an expectation that's awkward to walk back with a group you'll be running again next week.

What's the actual difference between per-player and per-table pricing?

Per-player pricing gives every seat its own price tag, so a Dungeon Master's total equals that price times the number of players who actually paid. Per-table pricing sets one flat number for the whole session, three players or six. The difference is where attendance risk sits, not how much money is on the table.

The practical difference shows up the moment someone cancels. StartPlaying's Help Center tells Game Masters that "the average price on StartPlaying is $15–$20 per session per player, but charge what feels right for you" (StartPlaying Help Center, "Best Practices for Game Masters," updated March 2026). Take an illustrative $15 seat from the low end of that published range: a DM who sold five seats and lost one player runs the session having collected $60 instead of $75, because the per-seat price never changed — only the headcount did. For a fuller walk-through of setting that per-seat number in the first place, see how much to charge per player for a D&D session.

Under per-table pricing, an illustrative flat $70 table fee is owed at four players or six only where the listing or booking message said, before payment, that the price is for the session and does not vary with headcount. That written condition is what creates the obligation; no pricing model imposes a flat-price obligation by itself. Writing the headcount rule into the listing is practical guidance rather than a legal rule, and it matches the evidence Stripe asks sellers for when a card charge is disputed.

"When it comes to disputes, fine print matters. For returns or refunds, it's critical to provide proof that your customer agreed to and understood your terms of service at checkout, or didn't follow your policies." — Stripe Documentation, "Dispute evidence best practices,"

Where the flat price was written down before money moved, splitting $70 five or six ways is the group's internal math. Where it wasn't, a shrinking table is a renegotiation rather than a settled bill. Neither model is "correct"; they move the variability to a different place.

Which model fits which kind of table?

Per-player fits open tables of strangers, because each person buys a seat independently and no one is responsible for anyone else's payment. Per-table fits a locked roster with one organizer who can pay for everyone at once. The table below matches each structure to a table type and its main risk.

Each decision rule below is stated with the condition that makes it true and the source that supports it:

• Listing on StartPlaying removes the choice. StartPlaying states that "pricing amounts for games is decided by each individual GM based on a variety of factors, but every game charges on a per player, per session basis," so a StartPlaying listing has no per-table option.
• A flat table price needs one buyer who will pay for everyone. StartPlaying confirms that "one StartPlaying account can reserve multiple seats in a game," so a single organizer "can sign up on behalf of your whole group". Without that organizer, a flat table price has nobody to charge.
• Size a flat price against a four-to-six player roster. The 2024 D&D rules state that "D&D plays best with four to six players in addition to the DM, but it's possible to run a game with fewer or more adventurers" (D&D Basic Rules, Wizards of the Coast).
• Benchmark a seat at $15–$20 before converting to a table price. StartPlaying's Help Center gives Game Masters an average of $15–$20 per session per player. Every dollar figure on this page is an illustration built on that published range, not a quote for any specific table.
• Write the headcount rule into the listing before anyone pays. This is practical guidance rather than a sourced legal rule: Stripe's dispute documentation asks sellers for proof that a customer "agreed to and understood your terms of service at checkout," which a listing line saying the price is per session and not per seat supplies.
• Percentage fees are identical under both models; the fixed per-charge fee is not. StartPlaying deducts 15% of every booking before payout (StartPlaying Help Center, "What Does the 15% Fee Cover?", updated April 2026, last checked September 2, 2026), and FanBell charges a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays — both are percentages, so they land the same whether one buyer pays $75 or five buyers pay $15 each. Stripe's published US rate is "2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction for domestic cards," and the $0.30 is charged per transaction rather than per session (Stripe pricing, last checked September 2, 2026). Applying Stripe's published $0.30 per-transaction fee to a five-seat table gives $1.50 in fixed fees across five separate seat payments against $0.30 on one flat table charge — a $1.20 arithmetic difference in favor of collecting once.

For the dollar amounts that go in either column, see how much to charge for a paid D&D one-shot — this page covers the structure, not the benchmark numbers.

Why do open and drop-in tables default to per-player?

Open tables default to per-player pricing because each seat is a separate purchase made by a stranger with no relationship to the rest of the group. There is no shared "we" to split a flat price among, and StartPlaying, which lists open games and processes their payments, hard-codes per-seat charging rather than offering a table price.

StartPlaying builds its entire booking flow around that assumption, stating that "pricing amounts for games is decided by each individual GM based on a variety of factors, but every game charges on a per player, per session basis". Roll20 sits at the other end: Roll20's Help Center states that paid games "are allowed without prior approval from Roll20" and that "Roll20 is not responsible for any payment transactions," so a Roll20 Game Master who collects the money personally can price the whole table instead of the seat. Open, marketplace-style tables are exactly the drop-in scenario per-player pricing was built for — a related structure covered in charging for drop-in D&D game slots.

Why does a locked campaign group default to per-table?

A locked campaign group tends toward per-table pricing because the Dungeon Master is selling one weekly session to one standing group rather than re-selling seats to strangers. Five friends treated as five transactions means five payments to track and five reminders to send, for a roster that is not changing.

The pattern only works when one person in the group is willing to be the payer. A flat table price also matches how these groups already talk about cost: an illustrative "the game costs $70 a week" is a sentence a friend group can agree on once, rather than re-negotiating per player every time someone's paycheck timing shifts. Wizards of the Coast puts the standard roster at "four to six players in addition to the DM" (D&D Basic Rules), which is the headcount a flat weekly price is normally sized against. The DM is protected against a shrinking roster only where the flat price was stated as headcount-independent before the group paid.

How do no-shows change the math under each model?

A no-show under per-player pricing lowers the session total and nothing else, because each seat was priced independently. A no-show under per-table pricing changes nothing for the Dungeon Master when the flat price was agreed as headcount-independent before payment; it only shifts who covers the missing share inside the group.

Payment timing matters more than the pricing model. Collecting before the session — a practice covered in collecting payment from your D&D table upfront — removes the no-show problem for the DM entirely, because the money is already in hand regardless of who sits down to play. Collecting before the session does not resolve the players' internal splitting question, which was never the DM's transaction to manage.

StartPlaying's published rules show how one marketplace times no-show charges at scale. StartPlaying charges players automatically "1 hour after the session start time" regardless of attendance, and a player must skip a session "at least 24 hours before the start time" to avoid the charge (StartPlaying Help Center, "When are Players Charged?", updated June 2026). Inside that 24-hour window, the same StartPlaying Help Center article states that "the Game Master has the discretion to decide whether to charge or waive the fee". StartPlaying's GM-facing no-show guidance adds that a GM has "no obligation to refund a no-show" and may issue a refund within 14 days of the charge at their own discretion. A DM selling from their own page writes an equivalent rule into the listing instead of inheriting a marketplace default.

What does a marketplace alternative charge on top of either model?

StartPlaying charges Game Masters a 15% booking fee on every paid session, deducted before payout rather than billed separately, and the fee is identical whether the underlying price was set per player or per table. Card processing applies on top of any platform's cut.

"You set your own session price. When a player books and pays, StartPlaying automatically deducts 15% before the remainder is paid out to you. You never handle the fee directly… There are no upfront costs, subscription fees, or sign-up charges." — StartPlaying Help Center, "What Does the 15% Fee Cover?", updated April 2026 (source)

StartPlaying's payment help article states that "we take a 15% platform fee from each booking" and that "85% of each booking is paid out to you". Because StartPlaying's 15% applies to the total collected under either pricing structure, the fee does not decide which pricing model fits a given table; the 15% figure sets a baseline for what "on top of the price" already looks like in this space. All StartPlaying prices are listed in US dollars, so a non-US DM's take is also exposed to their bank's conversion handling.

How do you collect either price on FanBell?

On FanBell the price is a property of each listing rather than a headcount rule: FanBell's Creator Services page states that a creator sets "a price and turnaround" per service and that "you can offer more than one" (FanBell, Creator Services). A Dungeon Master can list a per-seat price, one flat table price, or both.

The documented payment claim is upfront checkout, not session timing. FanBell's how-it-works page states: "A fan pays the full price upfront — checking out as a guest by card, with no account to create and no app to install — and their request lands in your creator inbox as a private thread" (FanBell, How It Works, last checked September 2, 2026), and the same page's FAQ repeats that fans "pay the full price upfront when they order". The buyer therefore pays when the order is placed; whether that lands before the session depends on when the DM sells the listing, which is the DM's scheduling decision rather than a platform guarantee. The DM uses the private order thread to send the session time, system, and Discord or VTT link.

The comparison against a marketplace runs in both directions, and the cheaper percentage is not automatically the better deal. FanBell charges a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays, with no monthly fee, against StartPlaying's 15% deducted before payout, and Stripe's published 2.9% + $0.30 for US domestic online cards applies on top of FanBell's fee. The 3-percentage-point gap buys a different bundle: StartPlaying's published fee explicitly covers access to players, booking and scheduling admin, payment processing and fraud protection, and a review system. FanBell's own how-it-works page states that FanBell is asynchronous and that "there are no live video calls or appointments to schedule", so FanBell provides no booking calendar, does not run the live session, does not send players to a table, and does not split a group payment: a per-table listing still relies on one buyer collecting from their tablemates outside the platform, the same way it would with cash or a shared spreadsheet. A DM with no existing audience is buying a player pipeline on a marketplace; a DM whose players already come from a Discord or a social following is mostly paying for payment rails.

Can a DM mix both models in the same campaign?

Yes — nothing requires one pricing structure for the life of a campaign. A common pattern is a per-table price for the core locked group plus a separate per-player listing for occasional guest seats, used when a regular drops out for a week. Mixing costs two listings instead of one compromise price.

Per-seat prices also don't have to be uniform within one game. StartPlaying's Help Center documents a "Change booking price" control that lets a GM set an individual player's price "as low as $5 and as high as their initial booking price," with any increase above the original rate requiring the player's authorization (StartPlaying Help Center, "How Do I Edit a Player's Price in an Adventure?", updated June 2026). A DM running an online table might also compare how venue and format shift these numbers in pricing online vs. in-person paid D&D games, since a hybrid group often ends up mixing models.

Frequently asked questions

Five questions settle most per-player-versus-per-table decisions: which model earns more, what happens when one player cancels under a flat price, what StartPlaying's marketplace forces, whether seats inside one game can carry different prices, and what FanBell charges on either structure. Each answer below stands on its own, with the source and verification date attached to every figure.

Does per-player or per-table pricing earn more overall?

Neither model earns more by default — the total collected depends on the price set and how many players actually pay, not on which structure is used. Per-player revenue moves with attendance; per-table revenue is fixed once booked. The published per-seat reference point is StartPlaying's stated average of $15–$20 per session per player; treat every other dollar figure on this page as illustrative, not a guaranteed outcome.

What happens if one player cancels under per-table pricing?

The flat table price is still owed in full only if the booking terms stated upfront that the price is for the session rather than per seat. Where that was written into the listing or the booking message, headcount is irrelevant and the group settles the split internally. Where it wasn't, the DM is negotiating rather than invoicing — which is why the flat-price condition belongs in the listing text before anyone pays.

Does StartPlaying charge per player or per table?

StartPlaying's default is per player, per session: the platform states that every game charges on that basis regardless of how the GM sets the individual price. A group can still route around it in practice, because "one StartPlaying account can reserve multiple seats in a game" (same source). A DM running their own page isn't bound by that default and can list either structure.

Can I charge different players different per-seat prices?

Yes, and platforms build for it: StartPlaying's Help Center documents changing an individual player's booking price "as low as $5 and as high as their initial booking price," with increases above the original rate requiring player authorization. On FanBell, price is a property of each listing, so a differently-priced seat is simply a second Creator Service listing: FanBell's Creator Services page states that a creator sets "a price and turnaround" per service and that "you can offer more than one". The constraint is social rather than technical: most DMs keep one posted per-seat price and handle exceptions privately rather than publishing tiered rates.

What does FanBell charge on either pricing model?

FanBell's pricing page states "Free to start. No subscription required for the beta — you only pay when a fan pays you," with a 12% platform fee per paid transaction and $0 per month, whether the listing is priced per seat or as one flat table price. Stripe's published 2.9% + $0.30 rate for US domestic online cards applies on top, separately from FanBell's own fee; international cards and currency conversion carry additional Stripe charges. Because Stripe's published $0.30 is charged per successful transaction, five separate $15 seat payments carry $1.50 in fixed Stripe fees against $0.30 on one $75 flat-table charge.

Site navigation, not editorial guidance — FanBell is one of several ways to collect either price, and the comparison above lists what it does not do: Create your free FanBell page.