Loan Payment Fee Calculator
Every card payment quietly takes a cut. Pick your processor, enter a charge, and see the fee, what you actually keep, and what your monthly volume really costs — plus the gross-up solve most fee calculators leave out: the exact amount to charge so you net what you intended.
Rates are the processors' published US list rates, retrieved from their pricing pages in November 2026: Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ online and 2.7% + 5¢ in person; PayPal Checkout 3.49% + 49¢ and standard card processing 2.99% + 49¢; Square's Free plan 3.3% + 30¢ online and 2.6% + 15¢ in person (Square Plus plans price in-person lower). Negotiated, interchange-plus and international rates differ — enter yours in the custom fields. Chargebacks, refunds (fees are generally not returned) and currency conversion are not modeled.
How it works
The fee on a charge is amount × percentage + the fixed fee in dollars. What you keep is the charge minus that fee. The gross-up runs the algebra backwards: to net exactly N, charge (N + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage). At Stripe's online rate, netting $100 means charging $103.30 — the extra $3.30 covers the fee on the higher amount. Monthly totals multiply the per-sale fee by your transaction count, which is where the fixed fee stops being small: on a $5 sale, Stripe's 30¢ alone is 6%.
Formula & worked example
Formula: Fee = charge × percentage rate + fixed fee. Net = charge − fee. Gross-up (charge needed to net N) = (N + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − percentage rate). Monthly fees = fee per sale × transactions per month.
Worked example: Stripe online on $100: fee = $100 × 2.9% + $0.30 = $3.20, net $96.80. To net exactly $100: ($100 + $0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029) = $103.30.
When to use this
- You are choosing between Stripe, PayPal and Square for a shop or checkout
- A client asks you to absorb card fees and you need the exact grossed-up invoice amount
- Your monthly processor bill looks wrong and you want an independent estimate
- You sell many small items and suspect the fixed fee is eating your margin
How to use it, step by step
- Pick your processor preset, or enter a custom rate you negotiated.
- Enter a representative charge — then repeat with your smallest common ticket.
- Set monthly transactions to see the channel's real annual cost.
- Use the gross-up field when a client or platform must net you an exact amount.
- Compare the same sale across presets in the results table before switching processors.
- If refunds are common in your business, remember the original fee is kept — price that in.
What the inputs mean
| Input | What it is | Typical values |
|---|---|---|
| Processor preset | Published US list rate for the channel you sell through. | Online and in-person rates differ — pick the right one |
| Charge amount | A representative sale; use your average ticket for planning. | Test your smallest common ticket too — fixed fees bite there |
| Transactions per month | Turns a per-sale fee into the monthly and annual cost of the channel. | Count every swipe, including small ones |
| Target net (gross-up) | What you want to actually receive; the calculator solves the charge. | The mode most fee calculators omit — use it for quotes and invoices |
Another worked example
A coffee cart on Square in person (2.6% + 15¢): a $25 sale loses $0.80 to fees and nets $24.20. At 800 sales a month that is $640 in fees, $7,680 a year — the same as the online example on much smaller tickets, because the fixed fee is charged 800 times. This is why high-frequency, low-ticket businesses fight hardest over the fixed fee, not the percentage.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Stripe take from a $100 sale?
At the standard online rate of 2.9% + 30¢, the fee is $3.20 and you net $96.80. On a $20 sale the fee is $0.88 — 4.4% of the sale, because the fixed 30¢ weighs more as tickets shrink.
How do I charge so I net exactly $100?
Gross it up: ($100 + $0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029) = $103.30 on Stripe online. Charging $103.20 — simply adding the $3.20 fee from a $100 sale — nets only $99.90, because the fee also applies to the amount you added. The solver above does this exactly.
Which is cheaper, Stripe, PayPal or Square?
On a $100 online sale: Stripe $3.20, Square (Free plan) $3.60, PayPal Checkout $3.98. In person the order flips: Square $2.75, Stripe $2.75, and both beat most online rates. At volume, negotiated rates matter more than the list-price gap.
Why do small sales lose so much to fees?
The fixed fee is charged per transaction regardless of size: 30¢ on a $3 sale is 10% before the percentage even applies. Bundling, minimum order sizes or subscription billing (one charge instead of many) are the standard fixes.
Are processing fees tax-deductible?
For a business, yes — card processing fees are an ordinary business expense in the US. Track the annual total (this calculator estimates it from your monthly volume) for your return or bookkeeper.
Does the processor refund the fee when I refund a customer?
Generally no: Stripe, PayPal and Square all keep the original processing fee on refunded transactions under their current standard terms. A $100 sale refunded in full costs you the $3.20 fee with nothing to show for it.
🎬 Selling as a creator?
Fees are one leak; platform revenue share is the other. The Creator ROI Hub gathers the earnings, sponsorship and fee tools in one place.
What is interchange, and is it the same as these fees?
Interchange is the portion of the fee that flows to the cardholder's bank; the flat rates here bundle interchange, network fees and the processor's margin into one published price. Large merchants can buy interchange-plus pricing and sometimes beat the flat rate — small ones usually cannot, once the markup is added.
Do fees apply to the tax and tip portions too?
Yes — the percentage and fixed fee are charged on the total amount swiped, including sales tax and tips. A restaurant's effective fee burden is therefore slightly higher than the rate on its food prices alone suggests.