Stripe fees start at 2.9% + $0.30 per online card payment in the US (Stripe's published pricing as of October 2026). International cards add 1.5%, currency conversion adds 1%, and products such as Stripe Billing, Radar for Fraud Teams and Stripe Tax add their own charges. Divide your total fees by your total volume and the result, your effective rate, usually lands above 2.9%.
This guide is written for finance and payments teams at merchants processing millions a year. It explains each fee, works through a $25M example, and shows where the money actually goes.
Stripe's standard pricing at a glance
These are Stripe's standard, pay-as-you-go prices for US businesses. Merchants on custom pricing pay different rates, which is why your own effective rate matters more than this table.
| Fee | Standard price |
|---|---|
| Domestic online card | 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge |
| International card | +1.5% on top of the card rate |
| Currency conversion | +1% when a conversion is needed |
| Manually entered card | 3.4% + $0.30 |
| Dispute (chargeback) | $15 per dispute |
| ACH Direct Debit | 0.8%, capped at $5 |
| Stripe Billing | 0.7% of billing volume |
| Radar for Fraud Teams | About $0.02 to $0.07 per screened transaction |
| Stripe Tax | 0.5% per transaction where tax is calculated |
| Connect (Express or Custom) | $2 per active account per month, plus 0.25% + $0.25 per payout |
| Custom pricing | Offered to larger merchants. No published minimum |
Source: Stripe's published US pricing at stripe.com/pricing, as of October 2026. Merchants on custom Stripe pricing pay different rates.
The surcharges that raise your effective rate
The headline rate covers a domestic card charged online. Anything else costs more.
International cards
When a customer pays with a card issued outside the US, Stripe adds 1.5% on top of the standard rate. A business with 15% of volume on international cards pays the surcharge on that slice, which adds about 0.23 percentage points to its blended rate. Cross-border sales are often where high-volume merchants see the biggest gap between headline and effective rate.
Currency conversion
If a payment needs converting from one currency to another, Stripe adds 1%. This applies on top of the international card surcharge when both are true. Presenting prices in your customer's currency and settling in the same currency can avoid conversion, but it needs the right account setup.
Manually entered cards
Card numbers typed in by your team, for example over the phone, cost 3.4% + $0.30 instead of 2.9% + $0.30. If you take phone orders at scale, this line deserves a look.
Disputes and chargebacks
Each dispute costs $15 on standard pricing. Beyond the fee, you lose the disputed amount if you lose the case. Merchants with high dispute rates also risk card network monitoring programs, which carry their own costs.
Add-on product fees
Stripe sells products on top of payments. Each is useful; each is priced in a way that grows with your volume.
Stripe Billing
Subscription and invoicing logic is charged at 0.7% of billing volume on the pay-as-you-go plan. For a SaaS business billing $20M a year through Billing, that is $140,000 a year before any card fees.
Radar
Basic fraud screening is included with standard pricing. Radar for Fraud Teams, with custom rules and reviews, costs roughly $0.02 to $0.07 per screened transaction, depending on your pricing plan. At a million transactions a year that is $20,000 to $70,000.
Stripe Tax
Automatic tax calculation costs 0.5% per transaction where tax is calculated on the pay-as-you-go plan.
Connect
Platforms and marketplaces using Connect with Express or Custom accounts pay $2 per active account per month, plus 0.25% + $0.25 per payout sent to connected accounts, on top of processing fees.
Worked example: a $25M a year merchant
Take an online merchant with $25M a year in card volume, an average transaction of $120, 15% of volume on international cards and 5% needing currency conversion. On Stripe's standard pricing, the fees look like this:
| Line item | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Card rate: 2.9% of $25,000,000 | $725,000 |
| Per-charge fee: $0.30 × 208,333 charges (average ticket $120) | $62,500 |
| International surcharge: 1.5% on the 15% of volume from international cards | $56,250 |
| Currency conversion: 1% on the 5% of volume that needs converting | $12,500 |
| Total fees | $856,250 |
| Effective rate (total fees ÷ volume) | 3.43% |
Assumptions are illustrative. Rates from Stripe's published US pricing as of October 2026.
The headline is 2.9%. The effective rate is 3.43%. The 30¢ per charge alone adds a quarter of a point at a $120 average ticket, and the international mix adds more. Add Stripe Billing or Radar for Fraud Teams and the number climbs again.
Run your own numbers in the Stripe fee calculator, which uses the same formula.
Estimate your own Stripe fees
Your turn.
Enter your volume and what you pay now. You'll see an estimate in seconds, based on average interchange rates. A precise number comes from your statements.
Your estimate
Estimated savings per year
$240,957
- Fees now
- $750,000
- Estimated fees with us
- $509,043
- Effective rate
- 3.00% to 2.04%
- Reduction in total fees
- 32%
Below $10M a year, your best move is usually negotiating with Stripe directly. Our analysis is built for higher volumes, but the numbers above still show what's at stake.
This calculator uses a simple model to show the average savings we can make for your volume and industry. It is not a quote. The exact proposal comes after we review your statements and learn about your business.
Where your fee actually goes: interchange, network, markup
Every card payment carries three costs. Only one of them is set by your processor.
- Interchange
- Paid to the bank that issued the card. Set by the card networks and the same whichever processor you use. Varies by card type: debit, standard credit, premium rewards, corporate, international.
- Network fees
- Paid to Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover for using their networks. Also the same for everyone.
- Markup
- What the processor keeps. This is the only part that can be negotiated, and the part a flat blended rate hides.
On a flat rate such as 2.9% + 30¢, all three parts are blended into one price. You pay the same whether the card cost the processor 0.5% or 2.5% in interchange, and the difference stays with the processor.
Segment widths are illustrative. The real split depends on your card mix.
A flat rate blends all three. That is simple, but it means you pay the same 2.9% on a debit card that might carry well under 1% in interchange as on a premium rewards card that carries over 2%. On interchange-plus pricing, the first two costs pass through at actual cost and you pay a fixed, visible markup on top.
Can you lower your Stripe fees?
Yes. There are three broad routes, and the right one depends on your volume.
- Optimize what you have. Reduce international and conversion surcharges, steer large B2B payments to ACH, cut disputes and audit add-ons. See how to lower Stripe fees.
- Negotiate with Stripe. Stripe offers custom pricing to larger merchants, including interchange-plus. See how to negotiate Stripe fees.
- Move volume to a lower-cost processor. At $10M+ a year, interchange-plus pricing from a licensed processor typically costs less than a blended rate. See a Stripe alternative for high-volume merchants.
Fee values are from Stripe's published US pricing as of October 2026. Prices change; always check stripe.com/pricing for the current figures.