Payments & Money Movement
Every hidden fee in your payment stack, exposed and modeled.
Card processing, international transfers, multi-currency settlement, and tax-on-fees in every jurisdiction we cover. Built for operators sending invoices across borders, accepting customer cards from 30 countries, or moving payroll into multiple currencies every month.
- Available calculators
- 3
Tools
Stripe True Fee Calculator
LiveEvery Stripe fee surface — base rate, international card surcharge, currency conversion, dispute fees, monthly minimums. Country-aware.
Open calculator →Wise vs PayPal vs Revolut
LiveLive mid-market FX, updated daily. True all-in cost across 8 providers — fees, FX spread, arrival time.
Open calculator →NZ GST Calculator
LiveInclusive / exclusive GST, IRD filing logic, and edge cases for cross-border digital sales into New Zealand.
Open calculator →
How to use this section
Work through the numbers in the order that prevents bad decisions.
- 01
Model the transaction you actually receive
A domestic card, an international card, and a foreign-currency payout are three different cost structures. Start with Stripe true fees when card acceptance is the problem, then compare transfer providers when the issue is moving money after the sale.
- 02
Keep fixed fees visible
A 30 cent fixed fee barely matters on a $500 invoice and dominates a $5 subscription. The payment tools keep fixed fees separate from percentage fees so low-ticket products do not look healthier than they are.
- 03
Use tax calculators as a filing check, not advice
GST and VAT pages help catch arithmetic mistakes and inclusive/exclusive price confusion. They do not replace an accountant, especially when cross-border digital services or marketplace facilitator rules are involved.
Guides & deep dives
Long-form explainers that go deeper than the calculators — the hidden traps, the real math, and how operators actually cut the bill.
How Stripe Fees Actually Work for SaaS
GuideThe real effective Stripe rate for subscription businesses — Billing fees, the fixed-fee drag on cheap plans, involuntary churn, and international surcharges.
Read guide →Wise vs PayPal for Business: Which Actually Wins
GuideNot 'which is cheaper' but which role each plays — the PayPal convenience tax, the double FX markup, account-freeze risk, and the Wise feature that lets overseas clients pay you like a local.
Read guide →The Real Cost of Cross-Border Payments
GuideThe three cost layers that decide what crossing a border actually costs — card processing, transfer fees, and the hidden FX markup — with a worked example and how to cut all three.
Read guide →The 2026 Stripe Global Fee Index
GuideAn independent, citable data study ranking Stripe's real card-processing cost across 18 markets, with source-linked rates and a verification date.
Read guide →
Why this category exists
Surcharge structures are intentionally opaque
International cards, premium reward cards, and currency conversion each carry separate surcharges that vendor calculators almost never combine in one view.
FX markup is the silent killer
Wise quotes the mid-market rate. PayPal adds 3–4%. Revolut waives some markup on certain plans. We compare the all-in total, not the headline rate.
Tax-on-fees compounds
In some jurisdictions, GST or VAT applies to payment processing fees themselves. We model that where relevant.
FAQ
- How often is Stripe pricing re-verified?
- Stripe pricing is reviewed on a 14-day cadence against its public pricing pages. The last completed verification date appears on each Stripe tool.
- Do you include Stripe Tax / Atlas / Issuing fees?
- No. The current calculator covers card processing, international-card surcharges, currency conversion, and dispute assumptions. It does not estimate Stripe Tax, Atlas, or Issuing.
- Why not include Square or Adyen by default?
- Square's pricing is geographically fragmented and Adyen's is interchange++ for most accounts, which makes the standard calculator format misleading. Both get dedicated comparison tools.