Compare Payment Gateway Fees,
Then Negotiate From Strength
Free payment processing fee calculators for merchants who want the real math, not the marketing version. No login, no email required.
Payment Gateway Fee Calculator
Enter your volume and payment mix to see what every gateway actually charges, including the ones the mainstream rails won't touch. Fiat and crypto compared side by side.
Run the comparison →Chargeback CostChargeback Cost Calculator
Most merchants only count the network fee. Lost revenue and ops time are usually 5–10× larger. Calculate your true annual chargeback cost across all three components.
Estimate my cost →Payout TimingPayment Settlement Speed Calculator
Compare T+0, T+1, T+2, and weekly payout schedules in real dollars. Money sitting in transit is money you're financing. Quantify the carry cost before it shows up in your books.
See my carry cost →Every processor shown is computed from its published list pricing. We don’t hide any of them, and we don’t tilt the math.
Each tool shows you the breakdown — not just the total. You can see which rail or which cost component is doing the damage.
When the numbers say you can do better, talk to a specialist — a real person who reviews your setup.
Frequently asked questions about payment gateway fees
How do payment gateway fees work?
Payment gateway fees have three layers: interchange (set by card networks like Visa and Mastercard), scheme/assessment fees (a small network charge), and the processor's markup. When Stripe quotes 2.9% + $0.30, that bundled rate covers all three. FeeStack shows the effective rate across each provider so you can compare on a level basis.
What is a good payment processing fee for a merchant?
For standard card-only businesses, an effective rate of 2.5–3.0% is typical for smaller merchants and can drop to 2.0–2.5% at scale with interchange-plus pricing. Merchants who mix cards with crypto payments often see blended effective rates of 1.5–2.5%, depending on their payment mix. Use the fee calculator above to model your specific volume and mix.
Which payment gateways accept high-risk merchants?
Mainstream processors — Stripe, PayPal, Square — exclude certain merchant categories entirely, including iGaming, adult content, forex trading, crypto exchanges, and CBD. High-risk-friendly options include NowPayments (crypto-native), PayRam (cards + crypto), and specialist acquiring banks. The fee calculator flags coverage gaps automatically based on your payment mix.