Free payment processing fee calculator
Use this transaction fee calculator to see the fee, effective rate, and amount you receive. You can also start with a take-home goal and find out how much to charge. Enter the current rate from your payment processor, marketplace, or freelance platform for a clear USD estimate.
Calculate the fee—or reverse it to protect your take-home amount
Most fee questions come down to one of two decisions: How much will I receive after fees? or How much should I charge to receive a specific amount? Enter one amount and the calculator answers both questions at the same time.
Use the calculator for a client invoice, online sale, marketplace listing, donation, or another USD payment. It can combine percentage and fixed fees. If you already know the amount you need to keep, use the reverse fee calculator. For a simpler percentage-only calculation, use the percentage fee calculator.
Rates differ by provider and transaction type. You enter the fee terms yourself instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all platform preset.
Calculate fees and take-home
Enter the amount the customer pays. The result shows the total fee and effective fee rate. It also shows the net amount left after each fee line.
Find how much to charge
Enter the amount you want to keep. The reverse fee calculator finds the lowest charge that meets your goal after fees. It works at one-cent precision.
How transaction fees are calculated
The calculator keeps every charge visible instead of collapsing everything into one unexplained number. It first adds the percentage fee, the fixed fee multiplied by quantity, and any one-time additional fee. If tax on fees applies, that tax is calculated from the fee subtotal.
In short: percentage fee + (fixed fee × quantity) + additional fee = fee subtotal. Then fee subtotal + tax on fees = total fee. The total fee is subtracted from the customer’s payment to show what you receive.
| Line item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Customer pays | Starting transaction | $100.00 |
| Percentage fee | 2.9% × $100.00 | $2.90 |
| Fixed fee | $0.30 × 1 item | $0.30 |
| Total transaction fees | $2.90 + $0.30 | $3.20 |
| You receive | $100.00 − $3.20 | $96.80 |
Match each field to the fees on your pricing page
Payment processors and selling platforms use different labels, but many fee schedules share the same building blocks. Check the pricing for your account, country, payment method, and sales channel. Then place each charge in the matching field.
For provider-specific estimates based on published US pricing, use the PayPal fee calculator, Stripe fee calculator, Square fee calculator, or eBay fee calculator.
Percentage fee
Use this for any charge based on a share of the payment. Examples include a processing rate, transaction fee, seller commission, or final value fee.
Fixed fee per item
Use this for a per-item or per-unit charge. Quantity multiplies this field only, so three items at $0.30 each add $0.90.
Other flat fee
Use this for one additional flat charge applied to the entire transaction. It is added once and is not multiplied by quantity.
Tax on fees
Use this only when tax is charged on the provider’s fee subtotal. It does not represent sales tax on the customer’s purchase.
One calculator for invoices, online sales, and platform fees
A general fee calculator works best when you know the rate and need a fast, clear answer. The goal is simple: see what will be taken out and what will be left.
Freelancers and client invoices
Use the “Ask for” result when you need to keep a set amount after payment processing fees. It shows how much to add to the invoice. Before you change a client’s total, confirm that your agreement allows you to pass on the fee.
Online sellers and marketplaces
Estimate the payout from a listing when the platform charges a percentage plus per-item or order fees. This is a fee estimate, not a full profit calculator. It does not include product cost, shipping, ads, refunds, or income tax.
Small businesses and creators
Test a processor’s published rate on a typical payment. A fixed fee often makes a small payment cost more as a percentage of the sale.
Which payment processor has the lowest fees?
No payment processor is cheapest for every transaction. The answer changes with the payment amount, sales channel, card origin, payment method, account terms, and extra charges. Compare the same transaction on each provider instead of choosing from a headline percentage alone.
For estimates based on published US pricing, compare the PayPal fee calculator, Stripe fee calculator, and Square fee calculator. Each page identifies the transaction type and source it models. Your merchant agreement takes priority if you have custom pricing.
Fixed fees matter most on small payments. Percentage rates have more influence as the transaction amount grows. The effective fee rate shown by each calculator puts both parts on the same scale.
Use the rate for the transaction you are actually processing
Processing fees are not the same everywhere. Your rate may change with your provider, account, country, currency, payment method, sales channel, or transaction type.
Check the terms for your transaction on the official PayPal Merchant Fees, Stripe Pricing, Square Pricing, or eBay Selling Fees page. Your merchant agreement is the final source if your account has custom pricing.
This calculator models one USD transaction. You can enter one percentage rate and one fixed fee per item. You can also add one flat fee and tax on the fee subtotal.
The calculator does not apply tiered pricing or provider rules. Currency conversion, international card fees, refunds, disputes, chargebacks, withholding, and payout timing are not included. If you know a flat surcharge, enter it as an additional fee. Use Payment Processing Fees Explained to identify other costs, then track them separately.
The worked table uses a sample rate of 2.9% plus $0.30. It shows how the same fixed fee affects small and large payments; it is not a quote from a provider.
| Customer pays | Percentage fee | Fixed fee | Total fee | Effective rate | You receive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$5.00 | $0.15 | $0.30 | $0.45 | 9.00% | $4.55 |
$25.00 | $0.73 | $0.30 | $1.03 | 4.12% | $23.97 |
$100.00 | $2.90 | $0.30 | $3.20 | 3.20% | $96.80 |
$500.00 | $14.50 | $0.30 | $14.80 | 2.96% | $485.20 |
$1,000.00 | $29.00 | $0.30 | $29.30 | 2.93% | $970.70 |
Do not treat a headline rate as the whole cost
A percentage such as 2.9% may be only one line in the fee schedule. Look for fixed charges and any extra costs tied to the payment method or location.
Use the effective fee rate to check the impact
The result expresses the total fee as a percentage of the transaction amount. That can reveal how strongly a fixed charge affects a small payment.
Cent-level rounding, private inputs, and clear limits
Money is calculated in US cents. Each percentage-based fee is rounded half up to the nearest cent. The displayed total adds those rounded fee lines.
In reverse mode, the calculator tests charges one cent at a time. It returns the lowest charge that meets your goal. A provider may round in a different order, so its statement may still differ by a cent or more.
Your entries are calculated locally in your browser. They are not added to the URL, saved to an account, or sent to a calculation server. See the Privacy Policy for information about ordinary hosting, analytics, and advertising data. Results are estimates, not quotes, billing statements, tax advice, or legal advice.
Methodology, sources, and review date
The Fee Calculators Rate Review Team checked the displayed formula, field limits, worked examples, source links, and disclosures. Automated tests cover percentage, fixed, additional, and tax-on-fee charges, plus forward and reverse results.
The calculator uses the values you enter and does not silently apply a provider rate. Provider pricing pages are included to show why rates vary, not as presets for this general calculator.
If an estimate differs from a statement, check the provider’s transaction record. Your merchant agreement is the final source for your rate.