Kaspi marketplace or your own online store: what to choose in 2026

Kaspi marketplace or your own store is the first question most product sellers in Kazakhstan face. The short answer: Kaspi (the Kaspi.kz Magazin marketplace) brings buyers from day one, but takes a commission on every sale. Under the 2026 tariffs it is 12.5% including VAT for most categories. The customers, the rules and your place in the seller list stay with the platform. Your own store needs an upfront budget and your own traffic, but the customer base, the brand and the pricing are yours. For a growing seller the right answer is usually "both": Kaspi as a sales channel, your site as your own storefront, with one shared catalogue.

The Kaspi terms below come from the official Kaspi partner guide and were checked on 20 October 2026. They change, so confirm current figures in your seller account.

What selling on Kaspi costs

Joining Kaspi Pay is free. The monthly fee is ₸1,950, and the first month is free. The main costs come with sales:

• Sales commission. Fixed per product category. In the 2026 tariff table most categories are at 10.9% before VAT (12.5% with VAT). Groceries are at 6.4%, jewellery and some accessories and gadgets at 13.5%. VAT on the commission applies to every seller. The commission is charged only on completed sales.
• Kaspi Delivery. Charged separately, by city, order value and weight. An order of ₸10,000 or more under 5 kg costs the seller ₸1,099 within a city and ₸1,299 across Kazakhstan, before VAT.
• In-platform ads. Kaspi's Marketing service promotes products for an extra fee.

Example: a ₸20,000 item in a 12.5% category with city delivery. That is ₸2,500 in commission plus ₸1,099 for delivery, about ₸3,600 or 18% of the price, before VAT on delivery.

Platform rules that matter

• You can join only after accepting payments through Kaspi Pay on at least 20 days in the last 2 months.
• Only goods can be sold. Some brands and categories need permission.
• Quality thresholds apply: a rating of at least 4 stars, seller-caused cancellations under 3%, late hand-overs to Kaspi Delivery under 10%, quality returns under 2%. Breaches can lead to restrictions or disconnection.
• You talk to buyers inside the Kaspi.kz app. The rules forbid moving them to other channels.
• In the product card, sellers are ranked by bonuses, price, rating, reviews and delivery speed, and the lowest price goes first. For a common product with a barcode, that means a price war.

Customers, brand and SEO

On Kaspi the buyer stays Kaspi's customer. You get the order, but you cannot build a mailing list or bring the person back with an offer. On your own site every buyer joins your base: phone, order history, traffic source. With consent you can remind them about a repeat purchase on WhatsApp or Telegram, at no commission.

Your brand works the same way. Buyers on Kaspi pick a product, not a shop, and remember "I bought it on Kaspi". Your own site is where you explain what makes the product different.

SEO follows the same logic. A product card on kaspi.kz builds Kaspi's domain, while the rankings your site earns in Google and Yandex are an asset you keep. It takes at least three months to see results, but it builds up over time. The commission is paid again on every sale.

Side by side

When Kaspi is enough, and when you need a site

Kaspi alone works when you sell common barcoded goods that already have a Kaspi card, the range is small, and you have no marketing yet. It also works when your buyers expect instalments. Your own store makes sense when you have your own brand or production, when the product needs explaining, or when repeat purchases drive the business. It also helps if you sell wholesale, if your category is restricted on Kaspi, or if you need Kazakh and English versions.

How to run both

1. Keep one catalogue in your accounting system or the site's admin.
2. Sync it to Kaspi: the marketplace supports an auto-updating XML price list and an API for products and orders.
3. Accept Kaspi payments on your site with a payment link or an invoice from the Kaspi Pay app. See how to connect Kaspi Pay to a website.
4. Add Kaspi's official «Купить в кредит» ("Buy on credit") button to product pages if the item is also sold on Kaspi. It opens your Kaspi listing, where the buyer applies for credit.
5. Send your own ads and SEO traffic to your site.

We build this setup as part of our Kaspi integration work. The store itself is covered on the e-commerce development page, and the full price breakdown is in how much an online store costs.

The bottom line

Kaspi is a strong sales channel, and there is rarely a reason to leave it. But a channel whose rules someone else writes is rented space, while your own site is property. Start with whatever pays back sooner, and plan so the second channel plugs in without a rebuild. To estimate a store budget, try the cost calculator or describe your project. We will reply with a range and a timeline within one business day.