Understanding Stripe Processing Fees
Stripe is one of the most widely used payment processors for online businesses, SaaS subscriptions, marketplaces, and in-person Tap to Pay. Unlike flat monthly merchant accounts of the past, Stripe charges per successful transaction — a percentage of the charge amount plus a small fixed fee. That model is predictable for low volume and scales with revenue, but it means every invoice, checkout, and subscription renewal has a processing cost you should bake into pricing.
This Stripe fee calculator helps Australian, American, and British merchants estimate take-home amounts before money hits the bank. Use forward mode when a customer pays a known price; use reverse mode when you need to invoice a gross amount that nets to a specific figure after Stripe's cut.
Forward Fee Calculation
When you know the charge amount your customer pays:
- Stripe Fee = (Charge × Percentage ÷ 100) + Fixed Fee
- Net Payout = Charge − Stripe Fee
Example (Australia, domestic): Customer pays $250.00. Fee = ($250 × 1.75%) + $0.30 = $4.38 + $0.30 = $4.68. You receive $245.32.
The fixed fee matters most on small transactions. On a $5 charge, $0.30 alone is 6% before the percentage applies — micro-payments are disproportionately expensive on percentage-plus-fixed pricing.
Reverse Gross-Up Calculation
When you need to receive exactly $X after fees:
- Charge Amount = (Target Net + Fixed Fee) ÷ (1 − Percentage ÷ 100)
Example: You want $1,000 net. With 1.75% + $0.30 AUD: Charge = ($1,000 + $0.30) ÷ 0.9825 ≈ $1,018.12. Stripe fee ≈ $18.12; you net $1,000.
Freelancers invoicing clients, charities collecting donations, and sellers on their own Shopify stores use gross-up regularly. Do not simply add 1.75% to your target — the percentage applies to the gross amount, so the correction must be algebraic.
Domestic vs International Cards
Stripe charges a higher rate when the customer's card was issued in a different country than your Stripe account. For Australian merchants, domestic cards are typically 1.75% + $0.30; international cards are 3.5% + $0.30. If a meaningful share of your customers are overseas, model international rates or blend both in your margin planning.
Compare with the PayPal Fee Calculatorif you offer both payment methods — PayPal's international and currency conversion surcharges differ from Stripe's structure.
Stripe Fees vs Marketplace Fees
Stripe fees apply when you run your own checkout — Shopify, WooCommerce, custom apps, invoicing tools. Selling on Etsy, eBay, or Amazon adds platform fees on top of payment processing (though some marketplaces bundle processing into their rate). Stack both when modelling true profit:
- Calculate marketplace fee with the Etsy, eBay, or Amazon FBA calculator.
- If you also use Stripe on your own site, model processing separately.
- Feed net revenue into the Profit Margin Calculator and Markup vs Margin Calculator.
Regional Rate Overview
| Region | Domestic rate | International rate |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (AUD) | 1.75% + $0.30 | 3.5% + $0.30 |
| United States (USD) | 2.9% + $0.30 | 3.9% + $0.30 |
| United Kingdom (GBP) | 1.5% + £0.20 | 3.25% + £0.20 |
Stripe offers volume discounts, custom pricing for large merchants, and different rates for in-person Terminal, BNPL, and international payment methods. These presets reflect standard online card rates — edit the fields in the calculator if your dashboard shows negotiated pricing.
Pricing Products to Absorb Stripe Fees
Two approaches: absorb fees into your margin (simpler checkout, you earn slightly less) or pass fees to customers via surcharging where legally permitted. In Australia, surcharging is allowed up to the reasonable cost of acceptance — typically the Stripe fee itself. Either way, model the net you actually receive before setting prices; a 30% gross margin on paper becomes 28% after 1.75% + fixed on every card sale.