Selar and Strawlo charge you in completely different ways.
Selar takes a percentage of every sale you make. Strawlo charges one flat fee each month and takes nothing from your sales.
Which one is cheaper depends entirely on how much you sell. Here is how to work it out.
The Two Pricing Models
Selar has no monthly fee. It takes a cut of each sale instead. Their published naira rate is 4% plus a small fixed amount per sale. Check their site for the current rate on cedi sales, as it can change.
Strawlo charges GHS 60 a month for the Business plan, or GHS 150 for Business+. It takes 0% of your sales.
So with Selar, the more you sell, the more you pay. With Strawlo, the price stays the same whether you sell one item or five hundred.
The Number That Decides It
At 4% per sale, Selar costs the same as Strawlo Business when you sell GHS 1,500 in a month.
| Your monthly sales | Selar takes (4%) | Strawlo Business | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHS 1,000 | GHS 40 | GHS 60 | Selar |
| GHS 1,500 | GHS 60 | GHS 60 | The same |
| GHS 5,000 | GHS 200 | GHS 60 | Strawlo |
| GHS 10,000 | GHS 400 | GHS 60 | Strawlo |
| GHS 20,000 | GHS 800 | GHS 60 | Strawlo |
| GHS 50,000 | GHS 2,000 | GHS 60 | Strawlo |
Below GHS 1,500 a month in sales, Selar is cheaper. Above it, Strawlo is cheaper, and the gap grows fast.
At GHS 10,000 a month, which is a small shop, the difference is GHS 340 every month. That is over GHS 4,000 a year.
Why This Matters As You Grow
A percentage fee punishes you for doing well.
Sell more and you pay more, forever. There is no point where the cost stops rising. A flat monthly fee works the other way. Your cost per sale drops every time you sell another item.
If you are just testing an idea and selling very little, a percentage is easier because you pay almost nothing when you make almost nothing. Once you are selling properly, it becomes the more expensive option by a wide margin.
They Are Built for Different Things
This matters as much as the price.
Selar is built for digital products. Ebooks, online courses, templates, music, memberships and event tickets. If that is what you sell, Selar handles the delivery of those files and access for you, and it does it well.
Strawlo is built for physical products. Clothes, shoes, bags, food, beauty products, phone accessories. Things you keep in stock, pack and deliver to someone's house.
So the honest answer for many people is not about price at all. It is about what you sell.
If you sell ebooks and courses, use Selar. If you sell physical goods that need stock counts, delivery and payment on delivery, Strawlo is built for that job.
What Strawlo Gives You for the Flat Fee
Stock tracking. Know what you have left without checking by hand.
Delivery and order tracking. Built for Ghana, not for international couriers.
Payment on delivery. Many Ghanaian customers still prefer to pay when the item arrives, especially from a shop they do not know yet.
Mobile money and cards at checkout. MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash and AirtelTigo Money.
WhatsApp broadcast. Message every customer who has ever bought from you, from your own number. See our WhatsApp broadcast post.
Your own domain, included on both paid plans.
About the Payment Fee
People sometimes mix this up, so it is worth being plain.
Strawlo takes 0% of your sales. You pay the monthly fee and nothing else.
Paystack is the payment processor. It is the company that actually moves the money from your customer's mobile money wallet or card into your bank account. Somebody has to do that job, and 1.95% is what it costs. That is not a Strawlo commission, and Strawlo takes none of it.
With Selar you pay their percentage on top of the cost of processing.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Selar if you sell digital products like ebooks and courses, or you sell very little each month and want to pay almost nothing while you test an idea.
Choose Strawlo if you sell physical products, or you already sell more than about GHS 1,500 a month and want your costs to stop growing with your sales.
Some people use both. Selar for a course, Strawlo for the physical shop. There is nothing wrong with that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Selar free?
There is no monthly fee, but it is not free. Selar takes a percentage of every sale instead. If you sell a lot, that percentage adds up to far more than a monthly fee would.
At what point does Strawlo become cheaper?
At about GHS 1,500 in sales per month, based on a 4% rate. Above that, Strawlo Business at GHS 60 costs you less, and the saving grows the more you sell.
Can I sell physical products on Selar?
Yes, but the platform is built mainly around digital products. Stock counts, delivery and payment on delivery are where a physical shop needs proper support.
Does Strawlo take any cut of my sales?
No. 0% on every plan. The only percentage you see is Paystack's 1.95% processing fee for moving the money from your customer to you.
Can I use both?
Yes. Some sellers run digital products on Selar and a physical shop on Strawlo. They do different jobs.
Work Out Your Own Number
Take what you sold last month and multiply it by 4%.
If that number is bigger than GHS 60, a flat monthly fee saves you money, and it keeps saving you more as you grow.
Try Strawlo free for 7 days and see how it handles real orders.
Prices correct as of September 2026. Selar's published rate is for naira sales, so check their current rate for cedi sales before deciding.
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