Payment fee planning

Estimate payment processor fees before they eat the margin.

Compare Stripe, PayPal, Square, and custom payment rates. See the fee per transaction, monthly fees, net revenue, effective rate, and the price you need to charge if you want to receive a target net amount.

Open calculator Rate sources How to read the estimate

Common payment fee comparisons.

Most searches are not general. They are about one processor, one payment type, or one pricing question. These pages answer those specific searches and feed back into the calculator.

Choose a preset or enter a custom rate.

Use for cross-border, currency, marketplace, or platform markup.

Optional subscription or account fee.

The gross-up result shows what to charge to receive this amount after per-transaction fees.

Fee per transaction $3.20

Net after fee: $96.80

Monthly fees $320.00
Monthly net $9,680.00
Effective rate 3.20%
Charge to net target $103.30
Preset comparison Same amount and monthly volume

How to use the estimate without over-trusting it.

Payment fees are not only one percentage. A fixed fee matters a lot for small transactions, cross-border and currency costs can add up, and your actual account may have a different negotiated or regional rate.

Small payments are hit harder

A 30 or 49 cent fixed fee is tiny on a $500 invoice, but painful on a $5 digital product.

Gross-up pricing helps

If you need to receive exactly $100 after fees, the calculator estimates the price you need to charge before fees.

Use custom rates

If your processor, region, marketplace, or card type is different, switch to custom and enter the exact rate.

Rate presets and official sources

Presets are common US online payment baselines checked on May 26, 2026. They are included to make quick comparisons easier, but provider pricing pages are the source of truth.

Stripe

Online card pricing varies by region and account. Verify the current rate on Stripe before billing customers.

Stripe pricing

PayPal

PayPal has multiple commercial transaction categories. Choose the one that matches your product and checkout method.

PayPal business fees

Square

Square pricing can differ for online, in-person, keyed-in, invoice, and other transaction types.

Square pricing

Common payment fee mistakes

Ignoring fixed fees

Fixed fees can dominate low-ticket sales. Always test the actual product price, not only monthly volume.

Comparing the wrong product

Online checkout, invoicing, in-person card, and marketplace payments can all have different rates.

Forgetting refunds and disputes

Refund policy, dispute fees, and chargebacks can affect real net revenue beyond the basic transaction fee.

FAQ

How do I calculate payment processing fees?

Multiply the transaction amount by the percentage fee, then add the fixed fee. For monthly fees, multiply that per-transaction fee by transaction count and add any platform fee.

Why does the fixed fee matter?

A fixed fee is charged per transaction, so it has a bigger effect on low-price products and micro-payments.

Can I use this for international payments?

Yes, but you should add the extra percentage or use a custom rate that matches your provider's cross-border and currency conversion fees.

Is this calculator official?

No. It is an independent planning calculator. Always verify current pricing with your payment provider before making business decisions.