Learn English – correct “Fee” or “Price”

word-usage

I'm writing a text about how much the website is going to charge for ads and don't know which phrase is the better one. I checked it with some websites but everyone is doing it differently.

What should I use?

  1. Fees & Information: The fees for banner ads are based on the run time […].

  2. Price & Information: The price for banner ads are based on the run time […].

Best Answer

They are equivalent enough in general usage that, in the context you have provided, it doesn't make a difference worth worrying about.

As justification for that:

You would ordinarily use price for an item or product that could be purchased. This isn't necessarily physical. The customer can buy airtime for instance, and therefore price works in your example.

On the other hand, fee usually indicates payment for a service. This could be a consultation with a doctor or payments to the tennis club for using the court each week. In your example your service is the placement and display of the banners, so fee works too.