Financial Utility
Global Merchant Fee Calculator
Estimate payment processing fees and net payouts across major payment providers and currencies. Enter your transaction amount to see exactly what you keep after standard merchant fees.
Educational estimates only — actual fees depend on your payment provider, plan, card type, and region.
Merchant Fee Calculator
The interactive calculator loads in the area below.
How Does the Merchant Fee Calculator Work?
Online business owners, freelancers, and e-commerce digital entrepreneurs often face hidden transaction costs when accepting international payments. This tool helps you simulate your net payouts for major payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal instantly.
Stripe and PayPal fees by country (2026)
Card processing fees are not the same everywhere. Each country has its own published rates, and the fixed fee is charged in the local currency.
- United States: Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ for domestic cards. PayPal Checkout charges 3.49% + 49¢.
- United Kingdom: Stripe charges 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards. PayPal charges 2.9% + 30p for domestic sales.
- Canada: Stripe and PayPal both charge 2.9% + C$0.30 for domestic payments.
- Australia: Stripe charges 1.65% + A$0.30 for domestic cards (GST included). PayPal charges 2.9% + A$0.30.
- New Zealand: Stripe charges 2.65% + NZ$0.30 for domestic cards. PayPal charges 3.4% + NZ$0.45.
International cards and cross-border PayPal payments cost more. The calculator applies the higher international rate when you pick an international option.
How the fee is calculated
Every fee has two parts: a percentage of the sale and a fixed amount per transaction.
Fee = (amount × percentage) + fixed fee
Net payout = amount − fee
Example: a $100 sale paid with a US domestic card on Stripe costs (100 × 2.9%) + $0.30 = $3.20, so you keep $96.80. The effective rate is 3.2%.
The fixed part matters most on small sales. A $10 sale on the same plan costs $0.59, which is an effective rate of 5.9%. If you sell many low-priced items, the fixed fee can cost you more than the percentage.
How much to charge to receive a set amount
If you want a specific amount to land in your account, work backwards:
Price to charge = (amount you want + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage)
Example: to receive $100 on Stripe US domestic, charge (100 + 0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029) = $103.30.
If you are thinking of adding a card surcharge for customers, check your local rules first. The UK, for example, bans surcharges on most consumer card payments.
Stripe or PayPal: which costs less?
For a $100 domestic sale at standard rates:
- US: Stripe $3.20, PayPal $3.98
- UK: Stripe £1.70, PayPal £3.20
- Canada: Stripe C$3.20, PayPal C$3.20
- Australia: Stripe A$1.95, PayPal A$3.20
- New Zealand: Stripe NZ$2.95, PayPal NZ$3.85
At standard rates Stripe is cheaper or equal in all five countries, with the biggest gap in the UK and Australia. PayPal can still make sense if many of your buyers prefer to pay with their PayPal balance, and both providers can offer lower custom rates at high volume.
Fees this calculator does not include
- Currency conversion: Stripe adds 1% in the US and 2% in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand when a payment must be converted. PayPal's conversion spread is usually 3% to 4%.
- Manually keyed cards: Stripe adds 0.5% in the US and Canada.
- Refunds and disputes: in most cases the original processing fee is not returned when you refund a sale, and chargebacks carry a separate dispute fee.
- Monthly or plan fees on custom merchant accounts.
Frequently asked questions
Why are UK and Australian Stripe fees lower than US fees?
Card interchange fees are capped by regulation in the UK and Australia, so processors can charge merchants less for domestic cards.
Does the calculator include GST or VAT?
It shows the processor's published rate. Stripe's Australian card rates include GST. Your own sales tax on the product is not part of the processing fee.
Is a card from another country charged at the international rate?
Yes. A card issued outside your account's country usually costs more. Choose the international option to estimate it.
Can I get lower fees than these?
Often, yes. Both Stripe and PayPal offer custom or volume-based pricing for larger businesses. The rates here are the standard public rates.
How often are these rates checked?
The rates were last checked against Stripe's and PayPal's official pricing pages in October 2026. Providers change their pricing from time to time, so confirm your own rate in your account.
What this calculator shows you
A clean breakdown of the costs behind every card payment you accept — so you can price confidently and compare providers apples to apples.
Transparent fee math
See the processing fee, fixed charge, and net amount broken out line by line — no hidden percentages.
Multi-currency ready
Compare Stripe and PayPal fees in USD, GBP, CAD, AUD and NZD in one place.
Clear payout estimates
Enter a transaction amount and instantly see what you keep after standard merchant processing fees.
Independent & private
Calculations run in your browser. We do not store the transaction values you enter on this page.
Disclaimer: The Global Merchant Fee Calculator is an independent educational utility. Fee estimates are for informational purposes only and may differ from actual processing fees charged by your payment provider. Always confirm current rates, terms, and conditions directly with your merchant services provider. This tool is not affiliated with any payment processor.
Sources & methodology
Your estimate applies the selected processor's published percentage and fixed fee to the transaction amount you enter, showing the total fee, the net payout, and the effective fee rate.