Stripe Fees Explained: What Stripe Actually Charges in 2026
Everyone knows the 2.9% + 30¢. Almost nobody knows about the 1.5% international surcharge, the 1.5% instant-payout cut, or the $15 dispute fee, until they show up on the statement. Here's the whole picture.
Stripe's Fees at a Glance
Stripe's pitch is refreshingly simple: 2.9% + $0.30 per successful online card charge, no monthly fee, no setup fee, no PCI fee. You pay only when money comes in. For most online businesses that headline rate is genuinely what you'll pay on a typical domestic sale.
The nuance, and the reason statements surprise people, is everything around that base rate. Take an international card, get the money out the same day, lose a dispute, or key a number in by hand, and Stripe quietly charges more. None of it is hidden, exactly; it's just spread across a pricing page most people never finish reading. Below is the version that fits on one screen.
Think of 2.9% + $0.30 as your floor, not your average. Your real (effective) rate creeps up every time an international card, an instant payout, or a keyed transaction enters the mix. Knowing which ones you trigger is half the battle.
The Base Rates (Online, In-Person, Keyed, ACH)
Stripe charges differently depending on how the card reaches it. These are its US standard-pricing rates, checked against Stripe's pricing page in October 2026:
That ACH line is the one worth tattooing on your arm. Because it's capped at $5, a $10,000 invoice paid by bank debit costs you $5.00, versus $290.30 if the same customer pays by card. For any large B2B invoice, that one switch dwarfs every other optimization in this guide.
Plug in your own ticket size to see the exact number:
The Add-On Fees People Miss
These don't show up in the headline rate, but they show up on the statement. None are unreasonable; you just want to know which ones you're triggering.
- International cards: +1.5%.
- When the customer's card was issued outside the US, Stripe adds 1.5%. If you sell globally, watch your effective rate climb: a foreign sale costs 4.4% + $0.30 before conversion.
- Currency conversion: +1%.
- Charging in a currency different from your payout currency adds another 1% on top of the international fee (5.4% + $0.30 in all).
- Instant Payouts: 1.5% (min $0.50).
- Standard payouts in one to two business days are free. Want the money in minutes? You pay 1.5% for the privilege.
- Disputes / chargebacks: $15 each.
- Every disputed charge costs $15, and you pay it regardless of whether you win; countering it costs another $15, refunded only if you win. Keep your dispute rate down; it's both a cost and a risk flag.
- Billing: 0.7% of Billing volume.
- Managing subscriptions through Stripe Billing adds 0.7% of Billing volume on pay-as-you-go pricing. Recurring card payments taken without Billing don't carry it.
- Radar for Fraud Teams: a paid upgrade.
- Basic Radar fraud screening is included on standard pricing; the advanced rules-and-review tier is priced separately on Stripe's pricing page.
Selling internationally is a reason to price Stripe in, not a reason to avoid it. If a meaningful share of your customers pay with foreign cards, build that extra 1.5%–2.5% into your margins rather than discovering it at month-end.
A Real Cost Example
Say you run a small online studio and process $20,000 a month: mostly domestic cards, a handful of international clients, and a few big project invoices. Here's where the money actually goes:
- $14,000 in domestic card sales
- at 2.9% + $0.30 across ~120 charges ≈ $442.
- $3,000 in international card sales
- at 4.4% + $0.30 across ~20 charges ≈ $138.
- $3,000 in project invoices
- , 3 invoices paid by ACH instead of card, capped at $5 each ≈ $15 (versus ~$88 on cards).
Total: about $595 on $20,000, an effective rate near 2.97%. Put those same invoices on cards instead of ACH and you'd add about $73 a month, close to $875 a year, for nothing. That's the whole game in miniature: the base rate is fine, the choices around it are where the money leaks.
How Stripe Compares
On standard online card payments, Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) matches Square's online API rate (2.9% + $0.30): $3.20 on a $100 sale, against $3.60 at Square's Free-plan online rate (3.3% + $0.30) and $3.98 through PayPal Checkout (3.49% + $0.49). The differences show up at the edges:
- vs PayPal:
- Stripe costs less online at every amount; PayPal's in-person Zettle rate (2.29% + $0.09) costs less than Stripe Terminal on sales above about $9.76.
- vs Square:
- Stripe matches Square's API and paid-plan online rate and is below its Free-plan online rate; in person, Square's 2.6% + $0.15 costs less than Stripe Terminal on sales above about $100, and Square's Free plan includes its POS software.
- Where Stripe wins:
- developer tooling, subscriptions, global coverage, and cheap ACH, which is why software and SaaS businesses gravitate to it.
If you want the full mechanics behind any of these numbers (interchange, assessments, and processor markup) start with our pillar guide:
How to Lower Your Stripe Fees
- Route big invoices through ACH.
- The $5 cap turns a $290 card fee into a rounding error on five-figure invoices. This is the single biggest lever.
- Stop keying cards by hand.
- Manual entry costs 3.4% + $0.30 versus 2.9% + $0.30 online and 2.7% + $0.05 in person. Send a payment link instead.
- Skip Instant Payouts unless you need them.
- Standard payouts are free and arrive in a day or two; 1.5% adds up fast if you cash out daily out of habit.
- Tune Radar to cut disputes.
- Every chargeback is $15 plus the lost sale. Good fraud rules pay for themselves quickly.
- Ask about custom pricing at volume.
- Once you're processing six figures a month, Stripe will discuss volume discounts and interchange-plus deals. The list price isn't the only price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Stripe charge per transaction?
In the US, Stripe's standard rate is 2.9% + $0.30 online, 2.7% + $0.05 in person through Terminal, and 3.4% + $0.30 for manually keyed cards. There's no monthly fee on standard pricing: you only pay when you get paid.
Does Stripe charge extra for international cards?
Yes: 1.5% when the card was issued outside the US, plus 1% more if a currency conversion is needed. An international sale costs 4.4% + $0.30, or 5.4% + $0.30 with a conversion, versus 2.9% + $0.30 for a domestic card.
Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal?
For standard online card payments, yes: 2.9% + $0.30 versus PayPal Checkout's 3.49% + $0.49, $3.20 versus $3.98 on a $100 sale. In person, PayPal's Zettle rate (2.29% + $0.09) undercuts Stripe Terminal (2.7% + $0.05) on sales above about $9.76.
How can I reduce my Stripe fees?
Use ACH (0.8%, capped at $5) for large invoices, avoid keying cards by hand, skip Instant Payouts unless you need same-day cash, keep disputes low, and ask Stripe about volume or interchange-plus pricing once you're at six figures a month.
Does Stripe have monthly or setup fees?
No. Standard pricing has no monthly fee, no setup fee, and no PCI fee. Add-on products like Billing, Radar for Fraud Teams, or Connect carry their own separate fees if you turn them on.
Key Takeaways
- Stripe's base is 2.9% + $0.30 online, with no monthly, setup, or PCI fees.
- The base rate is a floor: international (+1.5%), conversion (+1%), keyed (3.4%), and instant payouts (1.5%) push it up.
- ACH (0.8%, capped $5) is the killer feature for large invoices, at $5 instead of hundreds.
- Online: $3.20 on $100 against PayPal Checkout's $3.98 and Square Free's $3.60; ask for custom pricing at six-figure volume.
Run Your Own Numbers
Stripe's pricing is honest, but "2.9% + 30¢" is only the start of the story. Drop your real transaction sizes into the calculator, factor in how many cards are international, and route big invoices through ACH. You'll keep a noticeable slice of every month's revenue.
Calculate Your Exact Stripe Fee
See precisely what Stripe keeps on any transaction amount.
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Sources & References
Provider pricing and exchange rates are set by the companies named and can change. Figures in this guide are checked against these official sources. Always confirm the live rate before you transact.