Free Stripe Fee Calculator

How Stripe Fees Are Calculated

The 2.9% headline rate feels small until you multiply it across a year of revenue. A SaaS doing $10,000 MRR on $29 plans pays Stripe roughly $394 every month, $4,700 a year, once the $0.30 fixed fee is counted on each of ~345 payments.

The fixed fee is why low-priced plans hurt: on a $5 payment Stripe's cut is effectively 8.9%, while on a $500 payment it is barely 3%.

Three practical takeaways:

• Annual plans cut fee costs. One $290 charge costs $8.71 in fees; twelve $29 charges cost $13.70.
• International cards quietly add 1.5%, which matters for products with global audiences.
• Merchant-of-record platforms change the math. Our merchant of record guide covers when Paddle-style pricing beats Stripe despite the higher rate.

Stripe Fees at Common Price Points

Reverse Stripe Fee Calculation

Sometimes you need to work backwards: what should the invoice say so that you receive an exact amount after fees? Because the fee has a fixed component, you cannot just add 2.9%. The gross-up formula is charge = (target + 0.30) / (1 - 0.029). To net exactly $1,000 you need to charge $1,030.20, not $1,029. The third result card in the calculator above runs this formula for whatever amount you enter.

Stripe vs Square vs Merchant-of-Record Platforms

Stripe and Square both charge similar headline rates (Square is 2.9% + $0.30 online, 2.6% + $0.10 in person), but they serve different businesses: Square is built around physical point-of-sale, Stripe around online and subscription billing. For SaaS specifically, the more relevant comparison is Stripe vs merchant-of-record platforms like Paddle or Lemon Squeezy (roughly 5% + $0.50): they cost more per transaction but take over global sales tax and VAT compliance, which Stripe leaves entirely to you.