Credit card processing fee calculator

Three parties are paid out of every card payment. Interchange goes to the bank that issued the customer's card and is usually the largest part; it varies by card type (debit, credit, rewards, business), by how the card is taken (in person or online) and by the merchant's industry. Network assessments go to the card network, such as Visa or Mastercard. The processor's markup is what's left, and the only part that varies by processor.

Flat-rate pricing, which is what Stripe, Square, PayPal, Shopify and Anytime Capital publish, bundles all three into one percentage and fixed fee, so the same sale costs the same whichever card the customer uses. The processor carries the difference between cheap and expensive cards.

Interchange-plus pricing passes interchange and assessments through at cost and adds a fixed markup. Helcim, for example, publishes interchange + 0.50% + 25¢ for online payments and cites a US average of about 2.29% + 25¢, which is $2.54 on $100 by its own figure. Your actual cost depends on your mix of cards: more debit cards pull it down, more rewards and business cards push it up.

Flat rate is predictable and simple to reconcile; interchange-plus is usually cheaper on average and harder to forecast. Many processors, Anytime Capital included, offer custom pricing to businesses processing $1M+ a year. Below that, the published flat rates on this page are what most small businesses pay.

A month's fees are your card volume times the percentage, plus the number of payments times the fixed fee. A business taking $20,000 a month in $80 sales makes 250 payments: at Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ that is $655.00, at Square Free's 3.3% + 30¢ $735.00, at PayPal Checkout's 3.49% + 49¢ $820.50, and at 2.75% + 30¢ $625.00.

Add any monthly plan you pay to reach a rate (Square Plus, a Shopify plan) and the extras you use, such as instant payouts, international cards and disputes, for the all-in figure.

The fixed fee decides small sales. Braintree's 2.89% + 29¢ has a higher percentage than 2.75% + 30¢ but a smaller fixed fee, so it is cheaper below about $7 a sale and dearer above it. PayPal Checkout's 49¢ fixed fee makes a $5 payment cost $0.66, 13.2% of the sale. Run your own typical sale sizes through the calculator rather than comparing headline percentages.

The calculator's “What to charge” mode grosses a price up so you net a set amount, which is how many businesses build card costs into what they charge.

Grossing up a price is different from adding a separate card surcharge. Surcharges are restricted by card-network rules and some state laws: they are capped, must be disclosed before payment and are not allowed on debit cards. Building the fee into your price, or invoicing large amounts by bank payment, avoids the question. This is general information, not legal advice.