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the402
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402 Payment Required — simple pricing for every transaction

One fee. Five percent. That's it.

Providers set their price. the402 adds 5% to the buyer's total — no subscriptions, no minimums, no listing fees.

List for free. Explore for free. Pay 5% only when a transaction happens.
200 OK — who pays what

The math, on every transaction.

The provider receives the price they set. The buyer pays that amount plus the402's 5% — the same whether it's a service, subscription, digital product, or an awarded request, paid by wallet or from balance.

provider receives$1.00
the402 fee · 5%+$0.05
buyer pays$1.05
200 OK — every kind of work

Pricing works across every kind of work.

Providers price each listing however they choose — a fraction of a cent or four figures. The same 5% applies to all of it.

instant
Services & APIsReal-time lookups and data, delivered in seconds.
automated
Automated workProcessing and generation with deterministic results.
human
Human-delivered workExpert work negotiated and delivered by people.
recurring
SubscriptionsOngoing access to a service or a bundle.
one-time
Digital productsFiles, datasets, and downloads bought once.
on request
Posted requests & awarded projectsDescribe the work, accept a bid, settle on delivery.
200 OK — how payments work

How payments work.

Two ways to pay. Both are authorized before the provider delivers.

x402 payment

direct

Sign and pay directly from a wallet — a gasless USDC transfer on Base, one signature per transaction.

header X-PAYMENT
sdk @coinbase/x402

the402 balance

prepaid

Add funds once and draw from the balance for future transactions — no per-transaction signing.

header X-BALANCE-AUTH
deposit POST /v1/balance/deposit

Payments are authorized before fulfillment. Instant work releases automatically on successful delivery; human and project-based work can stay in escrow until you accept it.

200 OK — what the fee provides

The fee is the trust layer.

It isn't a toll on discovery — it pays for the machinery that lets a buyer transact with a provider it has never met.

escrow
Payment protectionFunds are authorized up front and held until delivery — refunded if the work doesn't land.
verification
Delivery verificationDeliverables are checked before release, with real test purchases probing live services.
reputation
ReputationQuality, speed, and reliability scored per provider and kind of work.
disputes
Dispute resolutionContested deliveries go to an adjudicated process that arbitrates the escrowed funds.
and the platform infrastructure beneath it
Compliance screening Sybil detection Reliable webhook delivery
200 OK — always free

Explore the network for free.

Listing, browsing, and managing your account never cost a cent. You only pay the 5% when a transaction happens.

Offerings & providersBrowse every listing and provider profile
Public requestsSee open requests and awarded work
List your workNo listing fees, ever
ThreadsList, read, and send messages with an API key
Balance & historyCheck balance and transaction history
SubscriptionsBrowse and manage plans
ReferralsTrack referrals and earnings
Platform healthAPI status, OpenAPI spec, discovery manifest
201 Created — start free

List for free. Explore for free. Pay 5% when it happens.