Practical Tools
Finance

Payment Fee Calculator

Payment processor
Amount and mode
Enter an amount to calculate payment processor fees.

Payment processors take a percentage plus a fixed fee from every transaction - and those fees add up. Use this calculator in forward mode to see exactly what you receive after fees on any charge amount. Use reverse mode to work out how much to charge a customer so that you receive a specific net amount after the processor takes its cut.

No signupRuns in your browserFormula explained belowGeneral information only
Fee rates shown are estimates based on publicly available standard pricing as of the tool's last updated date. Actual fees depend on your processor agreement, card type, country, and volume. Verify rates with your payment processor before making business decisions.

How to use this tool

  1. 1Choose your payment processor: Stripe Standard, Stripe International, PayPal, Square, or Custom (enter your own % and fixed fee).
  2. 2Select the calculation mode: 'Forward' to see what you receive after fees on a given charge amount, or 'Reverse' to find what to charge so you receive a specific net amount.
  3. 3Enter the amount - either the amount you plan to charge (forward mode) or the amount you need to receive (reverse mode).
  4. 4Read the results: charge amount, fee deducted, net received, and effective fee rate as a percentage of the charge.

Formula used

Forward: Net received = charge amount x (1 - fee %) - fixed fee. Reverse: Charge amount = (net needed + fixed fee) / (1 - fee %). Fee amount = charge amount - net received. Effective rate = fee amount / charge amount x 100.

Example

Stripe forward: what do I receive on a 250 invoice?

Processor: Stripe Standard (2.9% + 0.30). Charge: 250. Fee = 250 x 0.029 + 0.30 = 7.25 + 0.30 = 7.55. Net received: 250 - 7.55 = 242.45. Effective rate: 3.02%.

PayPal reverse: I need to receive exactly 100

Processor: PayPal (3.49% + 0.49). Net needed: 100. Charge amount = (100 + 0.49) / (1 - 0.0349) = 100.49 / 0.9651 = 104.12. Fee = 104.12 - 100 = 4.12. Effective rate: 3.96%.

Common use cases

  • Freelancers adding a payment processing surcharge to invoices so the fee does not come out of their quoted price
  • E-commerce merchants calculating exactly how much revenue they keep after Stripe or PayPal fees on each order
  • Small businesses comparing the true cost of different payment processors before switching
  • Marketplace sellers working out net income after platform + payment fees on each sale
  • Service businesses deciding whether to pass on card processing fees to customers

Common mistakes

  • Ignoring the fixed per-transaction fee on small sales - a 0.30 fixed fee on a 5.00 sale adds 6% to the effective rate on top of the percentage fee.
  • Using the same fee rate for all processors - Stripe, PayPal, and Square all have different rate structures; the cheapest option depends on your average transaction size.
  • Forgetting that PayPal's rate depends on the transaction type - goods and services, invoices, and PayPal Checkout each have different fee structures.

Frequently asked questions

What are the current Stripe fees?

Stripe's standard card rate is 2.9% + 0.30 per transaction for domestic cards. International cards (issued outside the US) incur an additional 1.5% fee. Manually entered cards add another 0.5%. These rates reflect the standard pricing as of mid-2026; verify at stripe.com/pricing for the most current rates, as they vary by country and volume.

What are PayPal's current fees?

PayPal charges 3.49% + 0.49 for standard PayPal Checkout and goods/services transactions. Invoicing via PayPal uses the same rate. PayPal Here (in-person) is 2.29% + 0.09. Rates vary by country - check paypal.com/fees for current local pricing.

Should I pass card fees on to customers?

Card surcharging is legal in most US states and many other countries, though some card network rules and local laws restrict it. If you add a surcharge, it must be disclosed upfront and typically cannot exceed your actual cost. The reverse mode in this calculator helps you quote a price that already includes the fee, which is often a cleaner approach than adding a visible surcharge.

Is the custom fee mode accurate for my processor?

The custom mode uses a percentage plus a fixed fee - the structure used by most major processors. Some processors (e.g. Braintree, Adyen) also have monthly fees or volume tiers that are not captured here. For complex fee structures, use this as an approximation and verify with your actual processor statements.

Is my data stored or uploaded?

No. All calculations run in your browser. Nothing is sent to any server.

Can I calculate fees for multiple transactions at once?

This tool calculates one transaction at a time. For batch fee calculations across multiple orders, multiply the per-transaction result by volume, keeping in mind that each transaction incurs the fixed fee separately.

Related tools

Last updated