Updated 4 October 2026.
DigiStreet field guide
When the ₹50,000 Minimum Performance Fee Applies
DigiStreet charges the higher of the percentage fee for the applicable media bracket or ₹50,000 plus GST a month. The minimum therefore governs media budgets up to ₹3,33,333.
The management fee sits on top of the advertising media budget. Below ₹20,00,000 of monthly media, the percentage rate is 15%. Fifteen percent reaches ₹50,000 at a media budget of ₹3,33,333, so the minimum is higher below that point and the percentage is higher above it.
The percentage rate applies to the whole monthly media budget, not only the amount above a threshold. It is 15% below ₹20,00,000, 10% from ₹20,00,000, 8% from ₹50,00,000, and 4% from ₹1,00,00,000. GST applies to the fee.
Use DigiStreet’s performance marketing fee calculator to check a proposed monthly budget before approving a media plan. Keep media, agency fee, production, landing pages and tracking work on separate lines so the person approving spend can see what each number pays for.
Use this as a working file: keep the URL, date, owner and source beside every decision.
Published monthly fee examples
| Monthly media | Rate | Percentage fee | Applied fee before GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,00,000 | 15% | ₹15,000 | ₹50,000 minimum |
| ₹3,33,333 | 15% | About ₹50,000 | ₹50,000 |
| ₹5,00,000 | 15% | ₹75,000 | ₹75,000 |
| ₹10,00,000 | 15% | ₹1,50,000 | ₹1,50,000 |
| ₹20,00,000 | 10% | ₹2,00,000 | ₹2,00,000 |
| ₹50,00,000 | 8% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹4,00,000 |
| ₹1,00,00,000 | 4% | ₹4,00,000 | ₹4,00,000 |
Read the fee before you set the media budget
Separate media from management
Media is paid to the advertising platform or agreed media supplier. The management fee covers the agency work around planning, setup, optimisation, reporting and decision support. Treating the two as one number hides how much actually reaches the campaign.
Apply the higher-of rule
Calculate the percentage for the month, then compare it with ₹50,000. The larger number is the management fee before GST. A small budget does not produce a smaller management requirement for account structure, tracking and reporting.
Use 15% below ₹20 lakh
For monthly media below ₹20,00,000, calculate 15% across the whole media budget. At ₹5,00,000, that is ₹75,000. At ₹2,00,000, it is ₹30,000, so the ₹50,000 minimum applies instead.
Use 10% from ₹20 lakh
At ₹20,00,000 monthly media, the published rate becomes 10% on the whole budget. The management fee is ₹2,00,000 before GST. Do not charge 15% on one part and 10% on the remainder.
Use 8% from ₹50 lakh
At ₹50,00,000 monthly media, the published rate becomes 8% on the whole budget, producing a ₹4,00,000 fee before GST. From ₹1,00,00,000 the rate is 4%, which also comes to ₹4,00,000 at that level. Record the approved media amount that places the month in that bracket.
Treat ₹3,33,333 as the minimum crossover
Fifteen percent of ₹3,33,333 is approximately ₹50,000. Up to that media level the minimum governs; above it and below ₹20,00,000, the 15% calculation is higher. Use exact calculator output for the approved amount.
Keep production as its own scope
Ad films, UGC, design volumes, a new landing page or a website rebuild can require separate production. The media fee should not imply that every creative and development request is included. Name the deliverables and price source in the proposal.
Agree the media floor for a real test
DigiStreet’s published guidance describes ₹50,000 to ₹1,00,000 a month as a sensible media floor. The right amount still depends on the market, channel and conversion path. A fee calculation is not a lead forecast.
Recalculate when the approved budget changes
If the media budget crosses ₹20,00,000, ₹50,00,000 or ₹1,00,00,000, use the rate for the whole new monthly amount. Keep the change date and approval in the media plan so invoices, platform limits and reports stay aligned.
Connect the fee to a decision record
The monthly report should show media used, fee bracket, campaigns, landing pages, tracked actions and changes made. That record lets the buyer see what was managed without turning an advertising result into a guarantee.
Five budget questions to settle before launch
First, write the total business budget and split it into media, management, production, landing-page work and measurement. If the business has ₹1,00,000 in total but the plan assumes ₹1,00,000 of media plus the fee, the approval is already mismatched.
Second, state the month and media amount used for the bracket. Seasonal changes can move a campaign from the minimum into the 15% calculation or into a lower percentage bracket at a larger spend. Recalculate from the final approved media amount rather than carrying last month’s fee forward.
Third, define the tracked action. A lead form, qualified call, ecommerce purchase and distributor enquiry have different evidence paths. Confirm the landing page, event, receiving system and owner before the first ad runs. A clean fee table cannot repair an undefined conversion.
Fourth, list the creative inventory and expiry dates. Mark which ads are ready, which need adaptation and which require new production. This stops an account from being funded while the useful campaigns wait for assets or claim approval.
Fifth, agree the review rhythm. The report should separate platform delivery from verified business outcomes, then state which budget, audience, creative or landing-page decision follows. Keep the fee calculator output with the approved plan so the commercial basis remains visible.
Fee arithmetic on real budgets, and what to ask before agreeing one
What the minimum does to a small budget
At ₹2,50,000 of monthly media, 15% is ₹37,500, so the ₹50,000 minimum applies and the real fee is a fifth of the media. The month then costs ₹3,00,000 before GST, and the ads must return ₹3,00,000 of gross margin, not ₹2,50,000, just to break even. Work the sum from the margin side. If your average order earns ₹1,500 of margin, the month needs 200 orders before it has paid for itself. Check that number against what your site and your sales team can actually handle before you approve the budget. If it cannot, a smaller test with the same fee is poor value, and the plan needs fixing first.
The two budgets worth comparing before you fix the month
Because the rate applies to the whole budget, the fee drops at a bracket boundary. A ₹19,00,000 budget carries a fee of ₹2,85,000. A ₹20,00,000 budget carries ₹2,00,000, which is ₹85,000 less, with ₹1,00,000 more reaching the platform. The same pattern repeats near ₹50,00,000: ₹49,00,000 pays ₹4,90,000, while ₹50,00,000 pays ₹4,00,000. Anyone planning within a lakh of a bracket should calculate both budgets, then decide whether the extra media can be spent usefully, not just whether the fee looks lower. The goal is the right media amount for the demand you can serve.
Questions to ask any agency about a percentage fee
Ask what the percentage is applied to: the approved budget or the amount actually spent. Ask whether it is applied to the whole budget or only to the slice above a threshold, since the two give very different totals. Ask what happens in a month when spend runs under plan, and who decides when a bracket changes. Ask which costs sit outside the fee, such as creative production and landing pages. Get each answer in the proposal. A fee that is clear in the sales call but vague in the contract is where most disputes start. Keep the proposal and the calculator output together in one folder.
A budget sheet that adds up, worked backwards
A common mistake is setting a total cap and then adding the fee on top of it. For example, with a cap of ₹6,00,000 before GST, media and the 15% fee must fit inside it together. Media is ₹6,00,000 divided by 1.15, about ₹5,21,700, and the fee is about ₹78,300. With a cap of ₹3,00,000, the minimum governs: media ₹2,50,000 plus the ₹50,000 fee. Do this sum before the first ad runs. If the lines do not add up to the approved cap, someone has counted the fee twice or not at all, and the first invoice will show it.
Scaling spend without surprising the finance team
Between ₹3,33,333 and ₹20,00,000, each extra ₹1,00,000 of media adds ₹15,000 of fee. Moving from ₹4,00,000 to ₹5,00,000 takes the fee from ₹60,000 to ₹75,000, and that is the whole change. Raise spend in steps and hold each step for a full month, so you can see the cost per lead at the new level before the next increase. Note the fee change beside each step in the plan. When the finance team sees the arithmetic in advance, a budget increase stops being a surprise at invoice time. Share the table once and update it whenever a step is approved.
Evidence from DigiStreet work
A campaign asset becomes useful when it is connected to a defined audience, landing page and verified action. The management fee funds the work around those decisions; the media budget funds delivery on the chosen channel.
Open the published calculator with the exact monthly media amount. Save the result beside the approval and recalculate when the budget crosses a bracket or the plan changes.
Questions people ask before using this guide
When does the ₹50,000 minimum apply?
It applies when the percentage fee is lower than ₹50,000, which is up to ₹3,33,333 of monthly media at the 15% rate.
Is the fee included in the media budget?
No. The management fee is charged on top of the monthly media budget, plus GST.
What is the rate below ₹20,00,000?
The rate is 15% of the whole monthly media budget, subject to the ₹50,000 minimum.
What happens at ₹20,00,000?
The rate becomes 10% of the whole monthly media budget, so the fee is ₹2,00,000 before GST.
What happens at ₹50,00,000?
The rate becomes 8% of the whole monthly media budget, so the fee is ₹4,00,000 before GST. From ₹1,00,00,000 the rate is 4%.
Does the management fee include every creative and landing page?
Production and development should be scoped separately when they are not part of the agreed management deliverables.
Put the next decision on one page
Bring the current brief, the evidence you already have and the business action that matters. DigiStreet will tell you what should be checked first.
