This is an independent guide. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Stripe.
Stripe charges 2.9%.
Your real rate is probably 3.5–4.5%.
Updated 24 March 2026
International card surcharges, currency conversion fees, Radar, Tax, Billing, and Connect costs stack on top of Stripe's advertised rate. Find out what you're actually paying.
Your Stripe Setup
Total $ processed per month
Transactions processed per month
US-issued cards
+1.5% surcharge applies
+1.0% on top of international fee
Add-on Products
Fraud detection. Enabled by default on most accounts.
% of transactions flagged for manual review ($0.07 each)
Automatic tax calculation and collection
Subscription or invoicing management
Marketplace or platform payments
Stripe advertises 2.9%. Your effective rate:
3.85%
That's +0.95% above the advertised rate - costing you an extra $5.7K/year
Total Monthly Fees
$1.9K
All Stripe fees combined
Annual Fees
$23.1K
Monthly x 12
Cost Per Transaction
$3.85
Average across all transactions
Effective Rate
3.85%
vs. 2.9% advertised (+0.95% extra)
Fee Breakdown
Competitor Comparison
Interchange++ ~2.2% + processing. Best for high volume ($1M+/mo)
$1.2K/mo
2.33% effective
2.6% + $0.10. Best for small average ticket sizes
$1.4K/mo
2.70% effective
2.49% + $0.49 (owned by PayPal). Volume discounts available
$1.5K/mo
2.98% effective
2.99% + $0.49 per transaction. Simple but expensive at scale
$1.7K/mo
3.48% effective
2.9% + $0.30. Add-ons push real rate to 3.5-4.5%
$1.9K/mo
3.85% effective
Overpaying on payment processing?
You're paying $23.1K/year in Stripe fees.
A free stack audit identifies where you're overpaying and what processor would save you most.
Get a Free Stack Audit →Or email Oliver → oliver@digitalsignet.com
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