Stripe fees in 2026: every rate, and what you actually keep

So, how much does Stripe charge per transaction in 2026? This guide covers the Stripe fees that matter most if you're selling digital products or subscriptions online: the standard rates, rates by country, digital wallets, buy now pay later, and the optional Stripe products that carry their own cost. We also look at the most practical ways to reduce what you pay.

Quick answer: Stripe's fees vary by country. The figures in this guide are US Stripe pricing unless stated otherwise. The standard US rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful online card payment, with no setup or monthly fees on the standard plan. International cards add 1.5%, currency conversion adds 1%, and a dispute costs $15 to receive, plus another $15 if you respond to it, which Stripe returns if you win. In-person payments are 2.7% + 5¢ and ACH Direct Debit is 0.8%, capped at $5. Optional products like Billing (0.7%) and Tax (0.5%) cost extra.

How much is the Stripe fee on $10, $100, $500 and $1,000?

At the standard US rate, Stripe takes 2.9% of the payment plus 30¢. On a $100 sale that's $2.90 plus 30¢, so you pay $3.20 and keep $96.80. The table shows the same sum at other amounts, plus one example of how the fee rises when an international card needs a currency conversion.

US standard pricing, rates checked against Stripe's pricing page on 28 September 2026. International cards add 1.5% and currency conversion adds 1%.

To work out the fee on your own prices, in your country and for each payment method, use the Stripe fee calculator.

What are Stripe's fees?

Stripe's standard US fee is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful online card payment, with no setup, monthly, or hidden fees on the standard plan. Stripe charges a percentage of the payment plus a fixed amount.

That base rate applies to domestic card payments. You pay more for international cards, manual entry, currency conversion, and certain payment methods. Stripe also offers volume discounts and interchange-plus pricing for high-volume businesses.

Beyond card processing, Stripe has optional paid products: Billing for subscriptions, Invoicing, Tax, Sigma for analytics, and others. Each has its own costs, covered later in this guide.

Stripe fees at a glance

The table below shows the core Stripe fees most online sellers will encounter.

How Stripe fees work

Standard online rates

Stripe's base rate for online card payments is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards in the US. This covers Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and most debit cards.

The percentage and the fixed fee together make up Stripe's standard processing charge. It's a blended rate, so the interchange and network costs behind it aren't broken out separately. On a $100 payment, you pay $3.20 in fees.

There are no monthly fees and no minimum transaction volumes on the standard plan, and Stripe doesn't charge its processing fee when a payment fails.

Fees by country

Stripe sets its rates country by country. Your base rate comes from the country your Stripe account is registered in. Where your customer is only affects whether the international card surcharge is added on top. Here are the standard rates for the most common markets.

International cards and currency conversion

When a customer pays with a card issued outside your account's country, Stripe adds an additional 1.5% to your base rate for international cards. If the payment currency differs from your settlement currency, an additional 1% currency conversion fee applies.

Both fees can apply to the same payment. A US business accepting a European card in euros could pay: 2.9% + 30¢ (base) + 1.5% (international) + 1% (conversion) = 5.4% + 30¢.

If you sell primarily to domestic customers, you will rarely see these charges. If you sell globally, it is worth thinking about your settlement currency setup.

Manually entered card payments

If a card number is keyed in manually rather than entered online through a payment form, Stripe adds a 0.5% fee. This covers the higher fraud risk on manually typed card details.

For most online sellers using a checkout form, this does not apply. It mainly affects phone orders or sales via the Stripe Dashboard.

Custom and interchange-plus pricing

For businesses processing large volumes, Stripe offers custom pricing. This can include:

• Interchange-plus pricing, which passes the actual card network cost through to you, plus a fixed Stripe margin
• Volume discounts on the standard percentage
• Multi-product discounts if you use several Stripe products
• Country-specific rate adjustments

To access custom pricing, contact Stripe's sales team. Stripe doesn't publish a qualifying threshold. It says custom pricing is available to businesses with large payment volumes, high-value transactions, or unusual business models.

Digital wallets and buy now, pay later

Digital wallets

Most digital wallets cost the same as a standard card payment. The following all carry the same 2.9% + 30¢ rate: Alipay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, Cash App Pay, Click to Pay, Google Pay, Link, and WeChat Pay.

Link, Stripe's accelerated checkout, also offers Instant Bank Payments at a slightly lower rate of 2.6% + 30¢. This is available when customers connect their bank account through Link.

There is no surcharge for enabling wallets, and you do not need to negotiate separate agreements. If you are on the standard Stripe pricing plan, wallets are included.

Buy now, pay later

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) methods carry higher fees than card payments, as Stripe absorbs more risk by paying you upfront while the customer pays in installments.

BNPL can increase average order value and conversion for higher-ticket items, but BNPL fees are substantially higher than standard card processing. Whether the extra conversion covers the extra cost depends on your own order values and margins, so it's worth testing on a few products before turning it on across your checkout.

Additional Stripe product fees

Beyond payment processing, Stripe offers a range of optional products with their own fees. Most online sellers will only encounter one or two of these, but it is worth knowing what each costs.

A few of these are worth noting:

Stripe Billing is the one that most online sellers using subscriptions will encounter. The pay-as-you-go plan costs 0.7% of your Billing volume, and one-off invoices are excluded. On a $30/month subscriber paying by US card, the total comes to about $1.38: $1.17 in card processing and $0.21 in Billing.

Radar Lite is included with standard payments pricing at no extra cost, so basic fraud screening runs without you setting anything up. The paid Radar plans, which add custom rules and manual review, start at $10 a month or $0.05 per screened transaction.

Stripe Managed Payments is a merchant-of-record service. On eligible Managed Payments transactions, Stripe takes on indirect tax handling, fraud prevention, dispute management, and customer support, in exchange for an additional 3.5% per transaction. For a US seller on standard pricing, the total is 6.4% + 30¢ per transaction. It makes sense for businesses selling digital products across many countries that want to offload global tax obligations entirely. For most domestic sellers, the added cost is not justified.

Extra Stripe fees on top of the standard rate

The 2.9% + 30¢ rate is where Stripe pricing starts, but it isn't always where it ends. Some fees are added automatically, depending on who pays you and how, and others only apply if you turn on a Stripe product. Together they're the main reason Stripe can feel expensive, because the rate you actually pay can end up well above 2.9%.

Three fees depend on the payment itself. A card issued outside your account's country adds 1.5%, and if the customer pays in a different currency from the one you settle in, conversion adds another 1%. A dispute costs $15 when it comes in, plus a further $15 if you respond to it, which Stripe returns if you win.

The rest come from optional products. Billing adds 0.7% of your subscription volume, and Invoicing adds 0.4% per paid invoice, capped at $2. Tax adds 0.5% on transactions where you're registered to collect tax. Managed Payments adds 3.5% per transaction, in exchange for Stripe acting as your merchant of record.

What this looks like on $3,000 a month

Say you sell a $30 digital product and make 100 sales a month, so $3,000 in total. If 70 of those buyers pay with US cards, the fees on those sales come to $81.90. If the other 30 pay with international cards in another currency, each one costs 5.4% + 30¢, so those sales cost $57.60. Your total is $139.50, an effective rate of about 4.65%, compared with $117 (3.9%) if every buyer had paid with a US card.

Which extra fees you can avoid

Billing, Invoicing, Tax and Managed Payments are all optional, so you only pay them if you choose to use those products. The international card and conversion fees aren't optional when they apply, and dispute fees apply whenever a customer disputes a payment. You can't switch those off, but you can keep them down by knowing where your buyers are and keeping disputes rare, which the tips below cover.

Stripe fees for nonprofits

Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits can apply for discounted processing fees on US card payments. Stripe doesn't publish the discounted rate on its nonprofit support page, so treat any figure quoted elsewhere as unconfirmed and check the rate Stripe offers you when you apply. To qualify, you need to:

• Hold IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) status
• Have at least 80% of your Stripe payment volume come from tax-deductible donations
• Provide your EIN and supporting IRS documentation

Stripe lists membership fees, tuition payments, ticket sales, registration fees, and auction payments as payment types that don't count toward the 80% threshold, and the discount doesn't apply to them. If your nonprofit sells event tickets or memberships through Stripe, those transactions are charged at the standard rate.

The nonprofit discount has no monthly fee.

Stripe fee calculator

Use the Checkout Page Stripe fee calculator to work out exactly what you will pay on any transaction amount, including international card surcharges and currency conversion.

The results will show you your total Stripe fees, net amount after fees, and effective rate.

How to reduce your Stripe fees

You can't negotiate Stripe's standard rate unless you process at high volume, but six practical changes lower your effective fee: sell to domestic customers, use ACH for large invoices, test BNPL before enabling it, ask about custom pricing, reduce disputes, and avoid unnecessary third-party transaction fees.

1. Sell to domestic customers where possible

The 1.5% international card surcharge adds up quickly. If you can focus your marketing on your home market, you will pay less per transaction.

2. Use ACH for large B2B payments

ACH Direct Debit charges 0.8%, capped at $5. That works out cheaper than a card payment at any transaction amount, and the cap means the saving grows with the invoice: a $10,000 payment costs $5 on ACH against $290.30 on a card. Not every customer will pay by bank transfer, but offering it for B2B sales makes a real difference.

3. Test BNPL before enabling it

At 6% + 30¢, Affirm and Cash App Afterpay cost noticeably more than a card payment, and Affirm has an enhanced rate of 7.99% + 30¢ for some businesses. Whether the extra conversion covers that depends on your own order values and margins, so test it on a few products before enabling it across your checkout.

4. Ask about custom pricing

Stripe doesn't publish a qualifying threshold, but it does offer custom pricing to businesses with large payment volumes, high-value transactions, or unusual business models. If you're processing at any real scale, it's worth asking.

5. Reduce disputes

The $15 dispute received fee is charged as soon as a dispute comes in, and Stripe doesn't refund it. If you respond to the dispute there's a further $15 dispute countered fee, and Stripe returns the countered fee if you win. Clear product descriptions, accurate delivery information, and simple refund policies can help reduce disputes and stop them becoming chargebacks. Radar Lite, which runs by default on standard payments pricing, also screens for fraudulent transactions before they go through.

6. Avoid unnecessary third-party transaction fees

Stripe Checkout is included with Payments at no additional charge, so using it doesn't lower Stripe's rate. What it can lower is the total cost of your checkout stack, because some third-party platforms add their own transaction fee on top of Stripe's. Checkout Page is a Stripe Verified Partner and charges a flat monthly fee rather than a percentage of each sale, with a free plan for up to $3,000 in monthly sales. You pay Stripe's standard rates and no per-transaction fee to us.

High converting checkouts with Stripe and Checkout Page

Stripe handles the payment processing. What it does not provide is a flexible, customizable checkout experience.

That is where Checkout Page fits in. As a Stripe Verified Partner, Checkout Page connects directly to your Stripe account, enabling you to:

• Add unlimited custom fields to your checkout (Stripe Checkout limits you to three)
• Build multi-step checkout flows for better conversion
• Add order bumps and one-click upsells after payment
• Embed your checkout on your website or open it as a popup
• Connect to Zapier, Mailchimp, and Google Sheets for fulfillment and follow-up

If you are already on Stripe, adding Checkout Page takes minutes.

Start free with Checkout Page today. Sell up to $3,000 a month with no Checkout Page fee, and no credit card required. You still pay Stripe's own processing fees on each payment.

Stripe fees FAQ

What are Stripe's fees?

Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per successful online card payment in the US. There are no setup or monthly fees on the standard plan. Additional fees apply for international cards (+1.5%), currency conversion (+1%), manually entered cards (+0.5%), and disputes ($15 to receive, plus $15 if you respond, returned if you win).

Does Stripe charge a monthly fee?

No. Stripe's standard plan has no monthly fee. You pay only when you process a transaction. Some optional add-on products, including Stripe Billing (high-volume plan), Stripe Sigma, and Stripe Tax (Complete plan), do have monthly costs, but these are separate from the core payment processing fee.

How much does Stripe charge for international payments?

For international cards, Stripe adds a 1.5% surcharge to the base processing fee. If the payment currency differs from your settlement currency, an additional 1% currency conversion fee applies. Both can apply together, so a US merchant accepting a European card paid in euros would pay 2.9% + 1.5% + 1% = 5.4% + 30¢.

Does Stripe have lower fees for nonprofits?

Yes. IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofits can apply for discounted processing fees, though Stripe doesn't publish the rate on its nonprofit support page; it confirms it when your application is approved. To qualify, at least 80% of your Stripe payment volume must come from tax-deductible donations, and you need to provide your EIN and IRS documentation. Membership fees, tuition, ticket sales, registration fees, and auction payments don't count toward that threshold.

How much does Stripe charge per transaction?

Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per successful online card payment in the United States. On a $100 payment, the total fee is $3.20. For international cards, add 1.5%, and if currency conversion applies, add another 1%. The exact amount depends on the customer's card type, country, and payment method.

What are Stripe’s payment processing fees for small businesses?

Stripe's fees are the same regardless of business size: 2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment on the standard plan, with no monthly fees, setup costs, or minimum volume. Small businesses pay the same rate as larger ones unless they qualify for custom pricing, which Stripe offers for large payment volumes but doesn't tie to a published threshold.