Questions about lowering Stripe and card processing fees

We add up every fee on your Stripe statements for a period and divide by your card volume for the same period. That gives your effective rate. Then we price the same volume and card mix under the proposed pricing. The difference is your saving. The calculator on this site is a quick illustration; the analysis uses your real statements.

It is a reduction in your total processing fees compared with what you pay Stripe today. On $750,000 a year in fees, 30% is $225,000. It is not 30% of your card volume or your revenue.

Your own figure depends on your card mix, average ticket size and the pricing we can secure for your volume. The free analysis gives you the exact number before you commit to anything.

For the number. On the right pricing, a merchant can save up to 71% of its total card processing fees. Most merchants processing $10M+ a year on Stripe's standard pricing save at least 30%. The free analysis tells you where you land, using your own statements.

Every fee is listed in the written proposal: processing, gateway, chargebacks and any monthly or compliance fees. Savings are always calculated on total fees, so nothing is left out of the comparison.

Our analysis is built for merchants processing $10M or more a year in card payments. Below that, the biggest win is usually negotiating with Stripe directly or trimming surcharges and add-ons. Our guide on how to negotiate Stripe fees walks through it.

No. The calculator uses a simple model to show the average savings we can make for your volume and industry. The exact proposal comes after we review your statements and learn about your business.

Stripe's standard online card rate is 2.9% plus 30 cents per charge (as of October 2026). The 30 cents is a bigger share of small transactions, and surcharges for international cards (+1.5%) and currency conversion (+1%), plus products like Stripe Billing (0.7%), all add to the total. Divide total fees by total volume and most merchants on standard pricing land above 3%.

On standard US pricing, Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ for each successful online card payment (as of October 2026). On a $100 payment that is $3.20, so you receive $96.80. International cards add 1.5%, currency conversion adds 1%, and manually entered cards cost 3.4% + 30¢.

Multiply the payment amount by 2.9% and add 30¢: fee = amount × 0.029 + $0.30. Add 1.5% for international cards and 1% if a currency conversion is needed. For your overall cost, divide your total Stripe fees by your total card volume for the same period. That is your effective rate.

To receive a set amount after fees, divide the amount plus 30¢ by 0.971: charge = (amount + $0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029). To receive $100, charge $103.30. Check local rules before adding a surcharge: card network rules and some US states limit surcharging, and debit cards can't be surcharged.

Stripe's standard pricing has no monthly or setup fee for card processing. Costs come per transaction, plus fees for optional products such as Billing, Radar for Fraud Teams, Tax and Connect.

Yes. Stripe offers custom pricing to larger merchants, including volume discounts and interchange-plus pricing. It doesn't publish a minimum. You usually need to ask, and a competing written quote makes the conversation more productive.

Under Stripe's standard pricing, the original processing fee is not returned when you refund a payment. At high refund volumes this adds up, and it is one of the line items we check in an analysis.

Interchange-plus passes through the exact interchange and card network fees for each transaction and adds a fixed, disclosed markup. You see every cost separately, unlike a flat rate that blends them into one number.

Not always. It saves most when your card mix includes debit and standard consumer cards, and when your volume earns a low markup. A merchant with mostly premium rewards and international cards may see less difference. That is why we compare total fees on your actual mix.

Stripe offers interchange-plus to some merchants as part of custom pricing. It is not on the standard plan, so you need to ask.

It depends on your volume, card mix and how strong your alternatives are. Stripe does not publish custom rates. The most reliable way to know is to compare their offer with a written quote on the same volume.

Most of the work sits with us and the processing partner. Your team is needed for the integration changes and for testing. We agree a written plan and a cutover date with you up front, and nothing moves until you have tested it.

Stored card data can be migrated from Stripe to the new processor. The transfer happens directly between the two PCI-compliant providers, so card numbers never pass through us. Recurring payments and integrations are mapped in the switch plan before anything moves, so subscriptions keep billing on schedule.

Yes, if you want to. Many merchants keep Stripe running for some volume or products while moving the bulk of card processing. You can close it later, or keep it as a backup.

Either. Some merchants move all card volume; others move one business line, one region or a share of traffic first and expand once results are proven. The analysis shows the saving for each option.

Our focus is US merchants processing in USD, with international cards accepted. If you sell in several currencies, tell us in the analysis request and we will check what the processing partner supports for your markets.

The goal is that they don't. Checkout changes are planned with your team, tested on the new processor first, and live traffic moves only after you sign off. Many merchants move traffic in stages.

It depends on how deeply you use Stripe's APIs. A typical project updates the payment integration, maps subscriptions and webhooks, and runs tests against sandbox accounts. We scope it with your team before you decide.

If you process well under $10M a year, or rely heavily on Stripe-only products, staying and negotiating is often the better move. We will tell you if the analysis shows that.

Card data is handled only by PCI-compliant processors. We never receive or store card numbers. The processing partner's certifications are listed in your proposal.

Statements contain volumes and fees, not card numbers. We use them only to prepare your analysis, and we delete them on request.

A licensed processing partner runs the processing and settles funds to your bank account. We are your named contact for pricing, the switch and anything that needs escalating.

The analysis is free. If you switch, we are paid by the processing partner as a share of the processing revenue, which is already included in the pricing shown in your proposal. You never receive a separate bill from us.

About 5 business days from receiving your statements. You get your effective rate, where the money goes, and what the proposed pricing would cost on the same volume.

Three recent months of Stripe statements, or a fee report export from the Stripe Dashboard covering the same period. If you process with more than one provider, include those statements too.

Contract length and termination terms are written into the proposal before you sign anything. Check your current Stripe agreement too, in case custom pricing came with its own terms.

No. The analysis is free and carries no obligation. You can use it to switch, to negotiate with Stripe, or simply to understand your costs.

We reply within 1 business day with a secure way to send your statements. About 5 business days later you receive the analysis and, if it saves you money, a written proposal.