Stripe Fee Calculator (Reverse & Invoice Tool)
Calculate Stripe processing fees, payouts, and client invoices using this free Stripe Fee Calculator.
A Stripe Fee Calculator determines the exact processing costs deducted from a transaction. The standard U.S. domestic Stripe fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge. This tool helps businesses calculate both their net payout and the gross amount they need to invoice to receive a specific sum.
💡 Note on Accuracy: We built this Stripe Fee Calculator using the exact payment processing logic published on the official Stripe pricing page. We update these formulas whenever base rates or international surcharges change. Always verify your final payout amounts in your Stripe Dashboard.
How Stripe Processing Fees Actually Work
If you run a business online, payment processing fees are just a reality you have to deal with. Stripe is arguably the best payment gateway in the world, powering millions of websites. But if you don’t understand how their fee structure eats into your margins, you could be losing thousands of dollars a year without realizing it.
For standard businesses operating in the United States, Stripe uses a “blended” pricing model. They charge you a flat percentage of the transaction size, plus a small fixed fee just for running the card.
The Standard U.S. Stripe Fee is:
- 2.9% of the total transaction value.
- $0.30 fixed fee per successful charge.
This sounds simple on paper. But the way this math impacts your business changes wildly depending on what you sell. If you sell a $5 digital download, that $0.30 fixed fee takes a massive 6% bite out of your profit right out of the gate. On the other hand, if you are a freelance consultant billing a client $5,000, the $0.30 is meaningless, but the 2.9% percentage fee will cost you $145.
Using a Reverse Stripe Fee Calculator
This is where most business owners get stuck. Let’s say you just finished a big web design project, and you agreed with the client that your take-home pay needs to be exactly $1,000.
If you send them an invoice for $1,000 through Stripe, the platform will take its 2.9% + $0.30 cut. A few days later, you will check your bank account and see a deposit for only $970.70. You are suddenly short by almost thirty bucks.
To prevent this, you need to use a Reverse Stripe Fee Calculator. Also known as “grossing up,” this math tells you exactly how much you need to charge the client upfront so that, after Stripe takes its piece, you get your target amount.
The Reverse Calculation Math
You cannot simply add 2.9% to your invoice. If you add 2.9% to $1,000 (which is $1,029) and charge that amount, Stripe will take 2.9% of $1,029. You will still come up short.
The actual formula you need to use looks like this:
Invoice Amount = (Target Net + $0.30) / (1 – 0.029)
Using the tool at the top of this page, you can select the “Reverse” tab, type in $1,000, and it will instantly tell you to invoice the client for $1,030.17. This guarantees the exact payout you need.
Hidden Costs: International and Currency Fees
The 2.9% rate only applies if you and your customer are both based in the same country using the same currency. Once you cross borders, Stripe acts as a middleman between international banks, and they charge you heavily for that service.
You need to watch out for two specific surcharges when doing business globally:
1. The International Card Surcharge (+1.5%)
If your business is located in the United States, but your customer buys your product using a credit card issued in the UK, Stripe adds a 1.5% penalty to the transaction. Your new processing rate immediately jumps to 4.4% + $0.30.
2. The Currency Conversion Surcharge (+1.0%)
Let’s say that same customer in the UK wants to pay in British Pounds (£), but your bank account only accepts US Dollars ($). Stripe has to convert that currency on the fly. They charge an extra 1.0% for this service. If a transaction triggers both the international card fee and the currency fee, your total processing cost skyrockets to 5.4% + $0.30.
| Transaction Type (U.S. Merchant) | Stripe Fee Rate |
|---|---|
| Customer uses a U.S. Card (USD) | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Customer uses a European Card (USD) | 4.4% + $0.30 |
| Customer uses a European Card (Euros) | 5.4% + $0.30 |
If you run a high volume of international sales, you might want to look into opening local bank accounts or using tools like Wise to handle the currency conversion before it hits your Stripe account.
Step-by-Step Examples of Stripe Calculations
If you want to understand how the numbers on your payout dashboard are generated, here are two real-life examples showing how the math breaks down.
Example A: The Low-Ticket Item
You sell an eBook for $15.00 to a local customer.
- Percentage Fee: $15.00 × 0.029 = $0.43
- Fixed Fee: $0.30
- Total Stripe Fee: $0.43 + $0.30 = $0.73
- Your Net Payout: $15.00 – $0.73 = $14.27
Notice how the effective fee rate here is nearly 5%, simply because the $0.30 fixed fee takes such a large chunk of a $15 item.
Example B: The High-Ticket Service
You invoice a client for a $2,500 consulting package.
- Percentage Fee: $2,500 × 0.029 = $72.50
- Fixed Fee: $0.30
- Total Stripe Fee: $72.50 + $0.30 = $72.80
- Your Net Payout: $2,500 – $72.80 = $2,427.20
Here, the $0.30 doesn’t matter, but giving up $72 for a single transaction can hurt your cash flow.
Is it Legal to Pass Stripe Fees to Customers?
When business owners see how much they are losing to processing costs, the very first question they ask is: “Can I just make the customer pay the Stripe fee?”
The short answer is yes, but you have to be incredibly careful. Doing this incorrectly can violate Stripe’s terms of service, anger your customers, and in some states, break the law.
Adding a fee to a customer’s bill to cover credit card processing is called a surcharge. Visa and Mastercard have strict rules regarding surcharges. You generally cannot charge the customer more than what it actually costs you to process the card (usually capped at 4%). You must also clearly display signage or a notice on your checkout page letting the customer know a fee will be applied if they choose to pay by credit card.
More importantly, you need to check your local laws. Several U.S. states have historically banned credit card surcharges, including Massachusetts and Connecticut. Other states, like New York and California, require you to display the total price (including the surcharge) upfront, rather than sneaking it in at the final checkout screen.
Instead of dealing with legal headaches, the smartest move is usually to use our calculator to figure out your average processing costs, and simply raise your base prices by 3% to cover it silently.
Tax Implications: Are Stripe Fees Deductible?
Here is some good news. The money Stripe takes out of your transactions is considered an ordinary and necessary business expense by the IRS. That means every single penny you pay in Stripe fees is 100% tax-deductible.
If you are a freelancer, independent contractor, or sole proprietor, you will report these fees on Schedule C of your tax return under “Commissions and Fees” or “Office Expenses.” By deducting these fees, you lower your taxable business income, which directly lowers your self-employment tax burden.
At the end of the year, Stripe will usually issue you a Form 1099-K if you meet certain transaction thresholds. This form shows the Gross amount you collected. You must report that gross amount to the IRS, and then manually deduct the fees Stripe took out. If you need help estimating what you owe the IRS after your expenses, run your numbers through our free 1099 Tax Calculator or our Freelance Tax Calculator.
How to Lower Your Stripe Processing Costs
Nobody wants to pay 2.9% forever. If you are doing serious volume, there are a few built-in ways to drastically reduce the amount of money you give to Stripe every month.
1. Use ACH Bank Transfers
If you are invoicing B2B clients for large amounts (like $5,000 web builds or $10,000 retainer fees), you should stop accepting credit cards entirely. Stripe allows you to accept ACH direct bank transfers. The fee for an ACH transfer is only 0.8%, and it is firmly capped at a maximum of $5.00.
If a client pays a $10,000 invoice via credit card, Stripe takes $290. If they pay via ACH, Stripe takes $5. That is a massive savings.
2. Request a Custom Volume Rate
Stripe’s 2.9% rate is their “pay-as-you-go” retail price. If your business processes more than $100,000 per month consistently, you have leverage. You can contact Stripe’s sales team and negotiate a custom interchange-plus pricing model. Many high-volume businesses get their rates knocked down closer to 2.2% or even 1.9% depending on their risk profile.
3. Are You a Non-Profit?
If you operate a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, do not pay the standard rate. Stripe offers a dedicated non-profit discount. Once you submit your paperwork to their support team, they will lower your base rate to roughly 2.2% + $0.30 for most card transactions.
(Tip: You can change the “Base Percentage” input field in our calculator above to 2.2 to see your exact non-profit savings).
Connecting This to Your Overall Financial Health
Managing payment fees is just one piece of running a profitable business. Once the money hits your bank account, you still need to account for self-employment taxes, state taxes, and personal income tax.
If you are trying to figure out what your actual take-home pay is after merchant fees and IRS taxes, use our Take-Home Pay Calculator. Or, if you need to know how many days are actually in the billing month to calculate a prorated invoice, check our US Business Days Calculator.
By keeping a close eye on these metrics—and using the right calculator—you protect your cash flow and ensure you actually get to keep the money you worked so hard to earn.
Reverse Stripe Fee Calculator (Gross Up Tool)
If you need a specific amount of money to land in your bank account, you cannot simply add 2.9% to your invoice. If you need exactly $1,000 and charge $1,029, Stripe takes their percentage out of the $1,029, leaving you short. Our Reverse Stripe Fee Calculator (also known as a gross-up calculator) uses algebraic formulas to determine the exact gross invoice amount. Simply switch the tool to “Reverse,” enter your target take-home pay, and it will give you the exact dollar amount to bill your client.
Stripe International & Currency Conversion Fee Calculator
Doing business globally triggers hidden surcharges that can severely eat into your margins. If your customer uses a credit card issued outside the United States, Stripe adds a 1.5% international card fee. If they pay in a different currency (like Euros or GBP) and Stripe has to convert it to USD, you are hit with an additional 1.0% currency conversion fee. By toggling these options in our tool, the calculator automatically adjusts your base rate so you are never caught off guard by cross-border expenses.
Stripe Invoice Calculator – How Much Should I Charge?
When sending invoices through Stripe Billing, it is critical to account for fees before finalizing your pricing. If you are a freelancer or agency, a single $5,000 invoice could cost you nearly $150 in processing fees. Use this Stripe Invoice Calculator to forecast your exact net payout before you send the contract. If the fees are too high, consider asking the client to pay via ACH Bank Transfer, which Stripe caps at a maximum fee of just $5.00.