Credit Card Processing Fee Calculator
How much does Stripe, Square, or PayPal actually take from each sale? Enter the sale amount and fee rate — or tap a preset — to see the processing fee, what you keep, and the effective rate. Switch to gross-up mode to find the price that passes the fee to the customer. Runs entirely in your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are credit card processing fees calculated?
Most flat-rate processors charge a percentage of the sale plus a fixed per-transaction fee: fee = sale × rate% + fixed fee. For example, a $100 Stripe online sale at 2.9% + 30¢ costs $3.20, leaving you $96.80. The fixed fee hurts most on small tickets — on a $5 sale that same 30¢ alone is 6%.
What are Stripe, Square, and PayPal fees in 2026?
Typical published US rates: Stripe online 2.9% + 30¢, Square in-person 2.6% + 10¢, PayPal online checkout 3.49% + 49¢. In-person, invoicing, and keyed-in rates differ, and all three adjust pricing periodically — treat the presets here as a starting point and confirm your processor's current pricing.
How do I pass the credit card fee to the customer?
Use gross-up mode: instead of subtracting the fee, it solves for the price where the fee leaves you with your target amount. The formula is charge = (target + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − rate). To net $100 at 2.9% + 30¢, charge $103.30 — the $3.30 fee on that price leaves you with $100.00.
Is it legal to surcharge credit card customers?
In most US states yes, with rules: surcharges generally can't exceed your actual processing cost (often capped around 3–4%), must be disclosed before checkout, and debit cards usually can't be surcharged. A few states still restrict the practice, so check your state's current rules before adding one.
Why is my effective rate higher than the advertised rate?
The fixed per-transaction fee raises the effective rate, especially on small sales: effective rate = total fee ÷ sale. A $10 sale at 2.9% + 30¢ has an effective rate of 5.9%. Higher average tickets dilute the fixed fee and bring the effective rate closer to the percentage.
How can I lower processing fees?
Negotiate or switch to interchange-plus pricing once volume justifies it, encourage debit or ACH for large invoices, use in-person rates instead of keyed-in rates, and keep chargebacks low — excessive disputes can push you into higher-risk pricing tiers.