Payment processor fees
Online payment fees add up across a year. Compare Stripe domestic cards, PayPal Checkout, and Square Free online payments at your usual invoice size.
Results
Cheapest for your invoice sizeStripe
- Stripe · fee per invoice
- $43.8 (2.92%)
- you receive
- $1,456.2
- per year
- $2,102
- PayPal · fee per invoice
- $52.84 (3.52%)
- you receive
- $1,447.16
- per year
- $2,536
- Square · fee per invoice
- $49.8 (3.32%)
- you receive
- $1,450.2
- per year
- $2,390
Estimate
workingfigures.com/calculators/payment-processor-fee-calculator
The formula
Fee = invoice × percent + fixed fee. The fixed part punishes small invoices: $0.30-0.49 is nothing on $2,000 and real on $20. Annual = fee × invoices × 12.
What this ignores
ACH/bank transfers (Stripe ACH caps at $5, often the real answer for big invoices), international card surcharges, currency conversion, chargeback fees, and payout timing. For invoices over $1,000, ask about ACH before comparing card rates.
FAQ
- Can I pass card fees on to the client?
- Often, but check your state and the processor's rules; surcharging has legal limits. The cleaner move: price fees into your rate, then offer a small discount for ACH/bank transfer. Same economics, no friction.
- Which processor should a freelancer default to?
- For invoicing, Stripe or Square on rates, with Stripe's invoicing and ACH support usually winning for larger B2B invoices. PayPal's edge is client familiarity: some clients simply pay PayPal invoices faster.
- Why do the small fixed fees matter?
- Because they are regressive. On a $50 invoice, $0.49 plus 3.49% is nearly 4.5% gone; on $5,000 the same terms cost 3.5%. If you bill small amounts often, the fixed fee IS the comparison.