Stripe Fee Calculator
Estimate Stripe or any payment processor's fees, see what you'll actually receive, and reverse-calculate what to charge to net a target amount.
About the Stripe Fee Calculator
This fee calculator shows what a card payment actually costs you. Enter the payment amount and it applies the percentage and fixed fee — pre-filled with the standard 2.9% + 0.30 US card rate, both fully editable for your country, currency or negotiated plan — to show the fee, the net you receive and the effective fee rate.
It also solves the problem every freelancer hits: what should I charge so that I *receive* a target amount after fees? Simply grossing up by 2.9% undershoots, because the fee applies to the higher amount too. The correct formula is gross = (net + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage), and the reverse-calculation box applies it automatically.
The same math works for PayPal, Square, Wise or any processor with a percent-plus-fixed structure — just edit the two fee fields. Remember that international cards, currency conversion and instant payouts usually add 1–2% on top of the base rate.
How to Use the Stripe Fee Calculator
- 1Enter the payment amount you plan to charge (or want to receive).
- 2Adjust the percentage and fixed fee to match your processor and region.
- 3Read the fee, the net amount you'll receive and the effective rate.
- 4Use the reverse calculation to see what to charge to net that amount instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Stripe take from a 100 payment?
At the standard US rate of 2.9% + 0.30: fee = 100 × 0.029 + 0.30 = 3.20, so you receive 96.80. The effective rate is 3.2% — slightly above 2.9% because of the fixed fee, and the smaller the payment, the worse it gets.
What should I charge to receive exactly 100 after fees?
Use gross = (net + fixed) ÷ (1 − rate): (100 + 0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029) = 100.30 ÷ 0.971 = 103.30. Charging 103.30 leaves you 100.00 after the 3.30 fee. Simply adding 2.9% + 0.30 (charging 103.20) would leave you about 10 cents short.
Why are small payments so expensive to process?
The fixed fee dominates. On a 5 payment, 2.9% + 0.30 = 0.45 — an effective 9% rate. That's why micro-transaction businesses batch purchases into credits or bundles, and why minimum order values exist.
Do these rates apply everywhere?
No — pricing varies by country and card type. European cards within Europe often cost less; international cards and currency conversion typically add 1–2%. Look up your processor's pricing page for your account's country and enter those numbers — both fee fields in this calculator are editable for exactly that reason.
Can I use this calculator for PayPal or Square?
Yes. Any processor charging percentage-plus-fixed works identically — just change the two fee inputs (for example, PayPal's US commercial rate has different percentages by product, and Square charges different rates for tapped vs keyed transactions). The forward and reverse math is the same.