Payments
Stripe fee calculator
A percentage plus a fixed amount, taken per successful charge. The fixed part is what makes small transactions expensive.
Editable because the rate differs by country, card type and whether the card is domestic.
You receive
$27.86
- Processing fee
- $1.14
- Effective rate
- 3.93%
- Charge this to net the amount above
- $30.18
- The amount to charge so that the figure you entered arrives after fees.
Fee = (amount × percentage) + fixed fee
The fixed fee is what hurts
At 2.9% plus 30 cents, a $100 charge loses 3.2% and a $3 charge loses 13%. The percentage is the same; the fixed fee is not, and on small amounts it dominates completely.
This is the whole argument for annual plans and for bundling. One $190 charge a year costs far less in fees than twelve $19 charges, and the difference goes straight to your margin.
Rates are not one number
The percentage above is editable because the real rate depends on where you are, where the card is from, and what kind of card it is. International cards usually add roughly a percentage point, currency conversion adds another, and American Express is often priced differently.
Charge an international customer in their own currency and you can pay the international fee and the conversion fee on the same transaction. Check your own Stripe pricing page for your country rather than trusting any published figure, including this one.
What else comes out
Disputes carry a fixed fee that is not returned even if you win, and the disputed amount is held meanwhile. A product with a high dispute rate can lose more to dispute fees than to the disputes themselves.
Refunds do not return the original processing fee in most regions, so a refunded $100 charge costs you the $3.20 permanently. That is worth knowing before offering a generous refund policy on a low-margin product.
Payouts to another country, instant payouts and some subscription tooling carry their own charges. The fee above is per-charge processing only.
Charging to net a specific amount
The last figure inverts the calculation: what to charge so that the amount you entered actually arrives. It is the amount plus the fixed fee, divided by one minus the rate.
Adding the fee percentage to your price does not work, because the fee then applies to the larger amount too. At 2.9% plus 30 cents, netting exactly $29 means charging $30.18, not $29.84.
Questions
- How do you calculate Stripe fees?
- Multiply the charge by the percentage rate and add the fixed fee. At 2.9% plus 30 cents, a $29 charge costs $1.14 in fees and you receive $27.86.
- Why do small charges lose more to fees?
- Because of the fixed fee. At 2.9% plus 30 cents, a $100 charge loses 3.2% while a $3 charge loses 13%. The percentage is identical; the fixed component dominates small amounts.
- How much should I charge to receive a specific amount?
- Add the fixed fee, then divide by one minus the percentage rate. Netting exactly $29 at 2.9% plus 30 cents means charging $30.18. Simply adding the percentage to your price does not work, because the fee then applies to the larger amount too.
- Do I get the processing fee back on a refund?
- In most regions, no. A refunded $100 charge still costs you the original processing fee permanently, which is worth knowing before offering a generous refund policy on a low-margin product.
- Are international card fees higher?
- Usually yes, by roughly a percentage point, and currency conversion adds another. Charging an international customer in their own currency can incur both on the same transaction. Check your own country's pricing page rather than any published figure.
- Does annual billing save on payment fees?
- Yes, meaningfully. One charge a year pays the fixed fee once rather than twelve times. On a $19 monthly plan that is roughly $3.30 a year of pure margin, before counting the reduced failed-payment churn.