HX is free
Free to join, free to create a hive, build a community, use the tools, build a course and run an event. You only pay if you sell something: HX takes 5% of paid tickets, courses and products, plus payment processing charges. If you don't charge, there's nothing to pay.
No set-up fee. No monthly fee. No hosting fee. No charge per member.
HX (The Hive Experience, also written Hive eXperience) is a privacy-first online community platform with no adverts and no algorithm deciding what you see. It is run by Elevated Experience Ltd.
What's free
- Creating your account and joining hives
- Creating your own hive, with your own branding, roles and membership settings
- The Café feed, polls, direct messages and group chats
- Events, online and in person, with registration, forms and QR check-in
- Building and publishing courses, with lessons, quizzes and certificates
- A business page and multi-page business website, listed in the business directory
- Listing products and services in the Marketplace
- The Noticeboard, with bring lists, sign-up sheets and questions
- Connecting your AI assistant with HXAI
- Sharing your posts straight to two connected social accounts
The fees, only when you charge
| Fee | How much | Goes to |
|---|---|---|
| HX platform fee | 5% of the price before tax | HX |
| Hive commission | Set by the hive's creator. 5% unless they change it, and it can be 0% | The hive the item was created in |
| Payment processing charges | Depends on the payment | Covers the cost of taking the payment |
All of these come out of the seller's share. Sellers see each one, and what they will receive, when they set a price. Buyers pay the listed price, plus any shipping, and HX adds no booking fee.
| The buyer pays | £100 |
|---|---|
| HX platform fee (5%) | £5 |
| Hive commission (5%) | £5 |
| The seller receives | £90, less payment processing charges |
If the hive's commission is set to 0%, the seller receives £95, less payment processing charges. A free ticket costs nobody anything.
One optional paid extra
Social Publisher lets you schedule posts to your social networks and connect more than two accounts. It is currently US$9.99 a month, with a free trial, and you never need it to use HX. Everything else on this page stays free without it.
Questions
Is HX (The Hive Experience) free?
Yes. HX is free to use. It is free to join, free to create a hive, free to build a community, free to use the tools, free to build a course and free to run an event. There is no set-up fee, no monthly fee, no hosting fee and no charge per member. You only pay if you sell something.
How much does it cost to create a hive on HX?
Nothing. Anyone with an HX account can create a hive for free, and running it is free. There is no commercial onboarding and no hosting fee: you accept the Hive Administrator Agreement when you create the hive and start straight away.
What fees does HX charge when I sell something?
HX takes a 5% platform fee on paid tickets, courses, products and services, plus payment processing charges. The hive the item was created in can also take a commission, which its creator sets and which is 5% by default.
Are there fees on free events or free courses?
No. If you don't charge, nobody pays anything.
Who pays the fees on a sale?
The seller. All fees come out of the seller's share, and sellers see them, and what they will receive, when they set a price. Buyers pay the listed price, plus any shipping. HX adds no booking fee.
Can a hive creator change the hive commission?
Yes. The person who runs a hive chooses its commission, which is 5% unless they change it. They can set it to 0%. The commission goes to the hive, not to HX.
Can I charge for membership of my hive?
Yes. If you run a hive, you can make it Private - Paid Membership and set a monthly, quarterly or annual price. Members pay by PayPal, renewing until they cancel. HX takes its 5% platform fee plus payment processing from each payment, there is no hive commission on a membership, and the rest goes straight to your PayPal. Setting it up is free.
How does HX make money?
HX earns its 5% platform fee when members sell something, including memberships of hives that charge for them, and from one optional subscription, Social Publisher, for scheduling posts to social networks. There are no adverts, no boosted posts and no paid placement anywhere on HX.
Want HX under your own brand?
Running HX as your own branded platform is a separate arrangement. Talk to us. Creating a hive on HX doesn't need any of this, and stays free.
Last updated: 9 November 2026. The full terms are in our Terms of Service, Creator Agreement and Hive Administrator Agreement. Help with everything on HX is in How We Hive.