The fees Stripe doesn't put on the homepage
Stripe's pricing page leads with a clean "2.9% + $0.30" number in the US. That number is accurate only for a domestic Visa or Mastercard transaction, settled in the same currency as your bank account, that never gets disputed. In the real world, the fee you pay is some combination of base rate, international card surcharge, currency conversion markup, and a probability-weighted dispute reserve.
This calculator models all four. The base rate comes from Stripe's public per-country pricing page. The international and currency surcharges are documented but rarely surfaced prominently. The dispute reserve is modeled as a probability — at a 0.3% dispute rate (typical for healthy retailers), each disputed transaction costs you the dispute fee plus the lost transaction amount.
How each surcharge stacks up
International card surcharge
If your customer's card is issued in a country different from your Stripe account, Stripe adds an extra 1.0–1.5 percentage points on top of the base rate. In the US, this takes the headline rate from 2.9% + $0.30 to 3.9% + $0.30. For ecommerce stores selling globally, the international mix can run 20–60% of all volume — make sure to model it.
Currency conversion
If you accept payment in a currency different from your bank settlement currency, Stripe converts at the mid-market rate plus a 1–2% markup. Many merchants run multi-currency Stripe accounts to avoid this — the calculator's toggle shows the impact.
American Express premium
In some countries (notably the US, EU, and Switzerland), Stripe charges 0.5–1.5% more for Amex transactions. Amex cardholders skew high-value, so this matters for B2B and luxury ecommerce.
Dispute reserve
Every chargeback costs you Stripe's dispute fee ($15 US, $25 AU, $30 NZ) plus the disputed transaction amount if you lose the case. At a 0.5% dispute rate on $50 average orders, that's effectively another 0.5% off your effective margin.
Real-world example
Take a US Stripe account processing $100,000/month, with 40% international card volume, no currency conversion, and a 0.3% dispute rate at an average order value of $80:
- Base processing (US domestic): $2,950
- International surcharge on 40% volume: $400
- Dispute losses: $300
- Effective rate: ~3.7% of gross — not the 2.9% the homepage suggests.
Methodology & sources
Base rates verified against each country's Stripe pricing page. Currently indexed: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Eurozone, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland. All sources:
- https://stripe.com/pricing
- https://stripe.com/gb/pricing
- https://stripe.com/au/pricing
- https://stripe.com/nz/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-ca/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-de/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-sg/pricing
- https://stripe.com/jp/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-hk/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-in/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-mx/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-br/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-ae/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-ch/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-se/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-no/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-dk/pricing
- https://stripe.com/en-pl/pricing
FAQ
Can I negotiate Stripe's pricing?
Yes — once you're processing more than $80,000–$100,000/month, Stripe Sales will often quote custom Interchange++ pricing that can save 0.3–0.8% off the headline rate. The calculator uses public rates; override them in your accounting if you have a custom contract.
Are these fees inclusive of Stripe Tax?
No. Stripe Tax (the automatic sales tax / VAT calculation product) is billed separately at 0.5% per transaction in the US, with custom pricing in other regions. Not included in this calculator.
What about Apple Pay / Google Pay?
Same Stripe rate as the underlying card. Apple/Google take no additional cut — your fee is whatever Stripe charges for the card behind the wallet.
What is the Stripe fee for international transactions?
In the US, Stripe adds a 1.5% international card surcharge on top of the standard 2.9% + $0.30. That makes the effective rate 4.4% + $0.30 for an international card. Other countries have similar surcharges — the calculator above shows the exact rate for your Stripe account's country.
How does Stripe compare to PayPal for payment processing?
For card-present and ecommerce, Stripe typically wins on total cost. Stripe's base US rate (2.9% + $0.30) is identical to PayPal's, but PayPal adds currency conversion markups of 3–4% vs Stripe's 1–2%. For businesses with significant international volume, Stripe is usually cheaper. See also the Wise vs PayPal vs Revolut international transfer comparison for money movement specifically.
Does Stripe charge a monthly fee?
No — Stripe's standard plan has no monthly fee. You only pay per transaction. Stripe Radar (fraud), Stripe Tax, and Stripe Billing (subscriptions) have separate per-transaction fees if you use them. The calculator covers only the core payment processing fee.
What is the cheapest way to accept payments online?
For most businesses, the options are Stripe (2.9% + $0.30 US), Square (2.9% + $0.30 online), and PayPal (also 2.9% + $0.30). The difference is in volume discounts, international rates, and add-on fees. Once you exceed ~$80K/month, Stripe offers Interchange++ pricing that can save 0.3–0.8% off the standard rate.
What is Stripe's dispute fee?
Stripe charges $15 per dispute in the US, $25 in Australia, and $30 in New Zealand. If you lose the chargeback, you also forfeit the full transaction amount. At a 0.5% dispute rate on $50 average orders, this is effectively another ~0.5% off your net margin — not a rounding error.
Does Stripe work with Shopify?
Stripe can be used as a Shopify payment gateway, but Shopify charges a 0.5–2.0% extra transaction feefor using any non-Shopify-Payments gateway (depending on your plan). On a Basic plan, that's 2.0% on top of whatever Stripe charges. See the Shopify true cost calculator to model the total cost of each gateway option.
Last verified: 2026-05-19. Spotted a pricing change? Email support@smartcloudsuites.com and we'll usually fix within 48 hours.