Stripe’s standard rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. That’s the number they advertise. The actual rate your business pays depends on where your customers are, how you pay out funds, what you sell, and whether you ever get a chargeback. Here’s every fee broken down — with a live calculator so you know exactly what you’ll pay.
✓Fees verified against Stripe official pricing page — stripe.com/pricing — May 2026
Quick Answer — Core Rates
⚡ At a Glance
Online card (domestic): 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. No monthly fee.
International card: Add 1.5% on top. Currency conversion adds another 1.5%.
In-person (Terminal): 2.7% + $0.05 per transaction.
ACH Direct Debit: 0.8%, capped at $5.00. Best for large B2B payments.
Instant payout: 1.5% (min $0.50). Standard payout is free in 2 business days.
Dispute fee: $15 per chargeback — refunded if you win.
Live Stripe Fee Calculator
Enter your sale amount and transaction type. See your exact Stripe fee, net payout, effective rate, and what to charge your customer to cover fees completely.
Stripe Fee
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You Receive
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Effective Rate
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Charge to Cover
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Complete Stripe Fee Table
All fees for US businesses on Stripe’s standard plan. Verified against stripe.com/pricing, May 2026.
Fee Type
Rate
Notes
Card Processing — Online
Standard domestic card
2.9% + $0.30
Visa, MC, Amex, Discover — all same rate
International card surcharge
+ 1.5%
Added on top of standard rate
Currency conversion
+ 1.5%
When charge currency differs from payout currency
Manual card entry
+ 0.5%
Keyed-in card numbers — higher fraud risk
Card Processing — In-Person
Stripe Terminal (chip/tap/swipe)
2.7% + $0.05
Card-present transactions
Stripe Terminal (keyed entry)
3.4% + $0.15
Manually entered at terminal
Bank Transfers
ACH Direct Debit (US)
0.8% (max $5)
1–3 day settlement; ideal for large B2B payments
ACH Credit / Wire (US)
$1.50 per transfer
Outbound bank transfers
SEPA Direct Debit (EU)
0.8% (max €5)
EUR-denominated bank debits
Payouts to Your Bank
Standard payout (2 days)
FREE
Default — arrives in 2 business days
Instant payout
1.5% (min $0.50)
Within 30 minutes to eligible debit cards/banks
Stripe Add-On Products
Stripe Billing (subscriptions)
+ 0.5%
On top of standard card fees
Stripe Connect (marketplace)
+ 0.25%
For platforms paying connected accounts
Stripe Radar (fraud — standard)
Included
Machine-learning fraud detection — free
Stripe Radar (chargeback protection)
0.4% per transaction
Stripe covers dispute liability
Stripe Tax
0.5% of transactions
Automatic sales tax calculation
Disputes & Refunds
Dispute fee (chargeback)
$15.00
Refunded if you win — you keep if you lose
Refund
No extra fee
Original processing fee is NOT returned to you
Failed card attempt
$0
Declined transactions cost nothing
What Stripe Actually Costs a Real Business
The 2.9% + $0.30 rate looks simple. For a business with diverse payment types — some domestic cards, some international, the occasional ACH — the actual monthly bill looks different from the headline rate.
Monthly Cost Breakdown — $25,000 Business
Assumptions: 333 transactions @ $75 average | 80% domestic card | 15% international | 5% ACH
50 international transactions (4.4% + $0.30)$165.00
17 ACH transactions @ 0.8%$10.20
Estimated 2 chargebacks ($15 each)$30.00
Total monthly Stripe cost$865.60
Effective rate on $25,0003.46%
The effective rate on a mixed-payment business runs 0.5–1% higher than the advertised 2.9% + $0.30 because of international surcharges and chargebacks. This is the number to use for financial modelling — not the headline rate.
💡 The $0.30 fixed fee punishes small transactions hard. On a $5 sale the fixed fee alone is 6% of the transaction — making total fees nearly 9%. On a $500 sale the $0.30 is just 0.06%. If your average transaction is under $20, Stripe’s flat-rate pricing becomes expensive fast. Consider batching small purchases or switching to ACH for recurring low-value billing.
International Card Fees — Worst-Case Scenario
International customers add 1.5% automatically. If they pay in a different currency, another 1.5% stacks on top. The worst case — a foreign card paying in a foreign currency — pushes your effective rate to 5.9% + $0.30.
Worst case: UK customer paying in GBP on a $200 sale
That $12.10 on a $200 sale compares to $6.10 for a domestic customer. International fees nearly double your processing cost per transaction. For businesses with significant international volume, this is a meaningful margin hit.
How to Cut International Fees by 1.5%
You can’t avoid the 1.5% international card surcharge. You can avoid the 1.5% currency conversion fee. Charge customers in their local currency (called presentment currency) and settle in USD. Stripe handles the conversion at interbank rates with only the 1.5% international card surcharge — saving you the additional 1.5% conversion markup. Set this up in Stripe Dashboard under Settings → Business → Bank accounts and scheduling.
⚠️ Acodei notes a common mistake: Many businesses charge in USD assuming it simplifies accounting. For customers paying from abroad, this triggers the currency conversion surcharge. Switching to presentment currency costs nothing to set up and saves 1.5% on every international transaction.
Instant Payouts — When They Are Worth It
Standard Stripe payouts arrive in 2 business days for free. Instant payouts — same day or within 30 minutes — cost 1.5% of the payout amount with a $0.50 minimum. Instant payouts require a linked debit card or a bank that supports real-time payments. Not all banks qualify — check Stripe’s eligible bank list before planning around it.
Payout Amount
Standard (Free, 2 days)
Instant Payout Fee
Effective Rate
$33
FREE
$0.50 (minimum)
1.52%
$100
FREE
$1.50
1.50%
$500
FREE
$7.50
1.50%
$1,000
FREE
$15.00
1.50%
$5,000
FREE
$75.00
1.50%
For most businesses, the 2-day free payout is fine. Instant payouts make sense if cash flow timing matters — covering payroll, reordering inventory, or a business that operates on thin working capital margins. At 1.5% it’s not cheap, but cheaper than a short-term credit line.
ACH Direct Debit — The Fee That Changes B2B Economics
0.8% capped at $5.00. That cap is the entire story. Any ACH payment over $625 costs exactly $5.00. A $10,000 invoice processed via ACH costs $5 — a $10,000 invoice processed via card costs $290.30. For B2B payments, invoice billing, and large recurring charges, ACH is the obvious choice once you know it exists.
Amount
Card Fee (2.9% + $0.30)
ACH Fee (0.8%, max $5)
Savings with ACH
$100
$3.20
$0.80
$2.40
$500
$14.80
$4.00
$10.80
$625
$18.43
$5.00 (cap hit)
$13.43
$1,000
$29.30
$5.00
$24.30
$5,000
$145.30
$5.00
$140.30
$10,000
$290.30
$5.00
$285.30
The tradeoff is real: ACH takes 3–5 business days to settle and customers must provide bank details instead of a card number. For invoice-based B2B billing over $500, switching from card to ACH is almost always worth the extra friction.
💡 SaaS businesses using Stripe Billing note this: If your subscription charges are over $625/month, ACH costs you $5.00 flat vs $18+ via card. For annual plans the math is even more dramatic. Many SaaS companies offer a small discount (1–2%) to customers who pay by ACH — they still come out ahead after the fee difference.
Disputes and Chargebacks — The Hidden Cost Most Businesses Underestimate
The $15 dispute fee is the visible cost. The real cost of a chargeback you lose is the $15 fee plus the full transaction amount plus the product or service you already delivered. The average total cost of a single lost chargeback — including administrative time and the original transaction value — is estimated at 2–3× the transaction amount.
The 0.8% Threshold That Matters
Stripe warns accounts when dispute rates exceed 0.8% and restricts or closes accounts above 1%. A business processing 500 transactions per month can have at most 4 chargebacks before hitting the warning threshold. That’s not many. High-risk industries — digital goods, subscription services, travel — hit this faster than they expect.
⚠️ If Stripe flags your account: They can hold funds for 90–120 days while they review. Real user reports document holds of $4,000 to $7,000 frozen for 120 days. To avoid this: keep chargebacks below 0.8%, set a clear billing descriptor (your recognizable brand name on card statements), send receipts immediately, make your refund policy visible, and respond to Stripe verification requests within 24 hours.
Account Holds and Fund Reserves
This is the risk no Stripe pricing guide covers properly. Stripe can freeze payouts at any time if they detect patterns that suggest elevated risk — sudden volume spikes, high refund rates, operating in a restricted industry, or unusual transaction patterns. When this happens, funds sit in reserve for 90–120 days with no access. Stripe is within its rights under its terms of service.
It doesn’t happen to most businesses. When it does happen, it’s catastrophic for cash flow. Protect yourself: maintain a separate operating account with 30–60 days of runway that doesn’t depend on Stripe payouts, respond instantly to any Stripe compliance requests, and ensure your business category on your Stripe account matches what you actually sell.
Stripe vs PayPal vs Square
Fee Type
Stripe
PayPal
Square
Online card (standard)
2.9% + $0.30
2.99% + $0.49
2.9% + $0.30
In-person card
2.7% + $0.05
2.29% + $0.09
2.6% + $0.10
Monthly fee
$0
$0
$0
International card
+ 1.5%
+ 1.5%
+ 1.0%
Instant payout
1.5%
1.75%
1.75%
Dispute fee
$15
$20
$0
ACH / bank transfer
0.8% (max $5)
Not available
1% (max $10)
Developer API
Best in class
Good
Good
Square wins for in-person retail with no dispute fee — relevant if you have a high chargeback exposure. PayPal wins for consumer-facing payments and international reach. Stripe wins for online businesses, SaaS, marketplaces, and anything that requires API customisation. Online rates are identical to Square but Stripe’s ACH pricing is far superior for B2B.
How to Reduce Your Stripe Fees
Use ACH for invoices over $200
Any B2B invoice where the customer can provide bank details should go through ACH. A $2,000 invoice costs $5 via ACH vs $58.30 via card — a $53.30 saving per transaction. Customers who pay large invoices regularly are generally willing to provide bank details for the convenience.
Negotiate custom pricing at $250k/year processing volume
Stripe offers custom pricing for businesses processing more than $250,000 per year. Contact Stripe sales — interchange-plus pricing and volume discounts are available but not advertised. Businesses processing $1M+/year commonly reach rates like 2.5% + $0.10. This is not on the pricing page. You have to ask.
Present in local currency to avoid conversion fees
For international customers, charge in their local currency rather than USD. This avoids the 1.5% currency conversion surcharge while keeping the 1.5% international card surcharge. Net saving: 1.5% on every cross-border transaction. Set this up in Stripe Dashboard under Settings → Bank accounts and scheduling.
Add a clear billing descriptor to cut "I don’t recognize this charge" disputes
Every chargeback costs $15 plus the transaction amount if you lose. The most common chargeback reason is customers not recognising the charge on their statement. Set your Stripe billing descriptor to your recognizable brand name — not your legal entity name. Add a customer service number. This single change reduces friendly-fraud chargebacks significantly.
Consider the Stripe Startups Program
Qualifying startups — typically those backed by an accelerator, incubator, or VC partner — can access the Stripe Startups Program. This provides fee credits commonly covering $20,000 to $50,000 in processing volume with no fees for 12 months. Check stripe.com/startups or ask your accelerator if they have a Stripe partnership. Worth checking before you start paying full rates.
Pass fees to customers where legal
In most US states you can add a card surcharge to cover processing fees. Some states — California, Connecticut, Massachusetts — have restrictions, so check local law first. Stripe supports surcharges natively. Showing customers a “credit card surcharge: 3%” option often nudges them toward debit or ACH, which carries lower fees for you and often costs nothing for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
2.9% + $0.30 per successful online card transaction. On a $100 sale that’s $3.20 in fees and you receive $96.80. In-person Stripe Terminal costs 2.7% + $0.05. ACH Direct Debit costs 0.8% capped at $5.00. International cards add 1.5%. No monthly fee, no setup fee, no fee for failed transactions.
Domestic card: 2.9% × $1,000 + $0.30 = $29.30. You receive $970.70. International card: add 1.5% ($15) for $44.30 total. ACH: 0.8% × $1,000 = $8.00, but the $5.00 cap applies, so you pay $5.00 flat. ACH saves $24.30 on a $1,000 transaction.
No extra refund fee. But the original processing fee is not returned. Refund a $100 payment and Stripe returns $100 to the customer — you absorb the original $3.20 fee. Effectively, every refund costs you the processing fee you paid on the original transaction.
The 1.5% international card surcharge is unavoidable when a non-US card processes. You can avoid the additional 1.5% currency conversion fee by charging customers in their local currency (presentment currency). This saves 1.5% on every international transaction where the customer’s currency differs from your payout currency. Set up in Stripe Dashboard → Settings → Bank accounts and scheduling.
Generally yes. Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30 beats PayPal at 2.99% + $0.49 on most transaction sizes. On a $10 transaction Stripe charges $0.59 vs PayPal’s $0.79. Stripe also charges less for instant payouts (1.5% vs 1.75%) and disputes ($15 vs $20). PayPal wins for consumer-facing payments, international reach, and Buy Now Pay Later integrations.
Yes at $250,000+ per year in processing volume. Contact Stripe sales — interchange-plus pricing and volume discounts are available but not advertised on the pricing page. Businesses processing $1M+/year typically reach rates around 2.5% + $0.10. You have to ask; it won’t be offered automatically.
Stripe can place holds on payouts for accounts flagged as high-risk. Funds are typically held for 90–120 days. It happens due to chargeback rates above 1%, operating in a restricted industry, sudden volume spikes, or unusual patterns. To avoid: keep chargebacks below 0.8%, use a clear billing descriptor, respond immediately to Stripe verification requests, and maintain separate operating capital that doesn’t depend on Stripe payouts.
0.8% capped at $5.00. Any ACH payment over $625 costs exactly $5.00. A $10,000 invoice via ACH costs $5.00 versus $290.30 via card. ACH takes 3–5 business days to settle and requires customers to provide bank account details. For B2B invoices over $500, ACH is almost always the right choice.
Yes. The Stripe Startups Program provides fee credits for qualifying startups — typically through an accelerator, incubator, or VC partner. Credits commonly cover $20,000 to $50,000 in processing volume with no fees for 12 months. Check stripe.com/startups or ask your accelerator if they have a Stripe partnership before paying full rates.
Yes. Payment processing fees are deductible as ordinary business expenses in the US. Stripe provides a fee summary under Reporting in your dashboard that makes it straightforward to total your annual processing costs. Pass this to your accountant at year-end.
$15 per chargeback opened by a customer. Refunded if you win the dispute. You keep the cost if you lose or don’t contest it. Losing a dispute also means losing the original transaction amount. A chargeback rate above 0.8% triggers Stripe warnings; above 1% risks account restrictions. Square charges $0 per dispute, making it better for businesses with elevated chargeback exposure.
Yes in most US states. Stripe supports surcharging natively. California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have restrictions — verify your state’s rules first. Showing customers a credit card surcharge option often nudges them toward debit or ACH, which carries lower fees for you. Debit card transactions cost the same as credit on Stripe’s standard plan.
✓
All fee rates verified against the official Stripe pricing page (stripe.com/pricing), May 2026. Real business cost breakdown based on publicly cited $25,000/month scenarios from independent merchant analysis.