Payment fee calculator
Enter a sale amount and pick a processor to see the fee, the net
you receive, and the effective rate. The formula is
fee = percent × amount + fixed fee. As of June 2026: Stripe and Square are
2.9% + $0.30, Braintree 2.59% + $0.49, and standard PayPal Checkout 3.49% + $0.49. Stripe/Square
win on small sales; Braintree's lower percentage pulls ahead on large ones. Estimate only — verify
on the vendor pricing page.
Data as of June 2026.
Vendor pricing as of June 2026 — verify on the vendor pricing page. International cards and currency conversion add surcharges not shown here.
How the calculation works
Each provider charges a percentage of the sale plus a fixed per-transaction fee:
fee = (percent ÷ 100) × amount + fixed. Your net is amount − fee, and the
effective rate is fee ÷ amount × 100. The fixed fee dominates small sales, so the
effective rate is highest on low-ticket transactions. See the full
payments comparison or individual profiles for
Stripe, PayPal,
Square and Braintree.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a payment processing fee?
Fee = (percentage rate × amount) + fixed fee. For example, Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30 on a $100 sale is (0.029 × 100) + 0.30 = $3.20, leaving you $96.80. The effective rate is fee ÷ amount, which falls as the sale gets larger.
Why is the effective rate higher on small payments?
Because the fixed fee (e.g. $0.30 or $0.49) is a bigger share of a small charge. On a $5 sale, Stripe's $0.30 fixed fee alone is 6% before the percentage is even added, so small-ticket businesses feel fixed fees the most.
Last updated: 2026-06-18