See what Stripe really costs you — per transaction, per month, per year, and as a real effective rate.
Fees are only the visible cost — failed payments, declined cards, and silent churn usually cost SaaS businesses far more.
Get the $19 Stripe Billing Audit or try the free MRR Leak CalculatorStripe's standard US pricing is simple on paper: 2.9% of the charge plus a fixed $0.30 per successful card payment. This calculator applies that formula to your numbers. Pick the international card option and it adds 1.5% (4.4% + $0.30 total); pick currency conversion and it adds another 1% on top (5.4% + $0.30 total), which is what you actually pay when a customer's card is issued abroad and settles in a different currency.
The number worth watching is the effective rate — total fees divided by total volume. It is almost never 2.9%, because the fixed $0.30 weighs more on small transactions. On a $10 sale you pay $0.59, a 5.9% effective rate; on a $200 sale you pay $6.10, only 3.05%. That is why raising your average transaction size — for example, pushing annual plans over monthly ones — cuts your processing costs without negotiating anything.
Monthly fees are the per-transaction fee multiplied by your transaction count; yearly fees are that times twelve. If the yearly number surprises you, remember: fees are predictable. Failed payments and involuntary churn are not — and they are usually the bigger leak.
Stripe's standard US pricing is 2.9% of the transaction amount plus a fixed $0.30 per successful card charge. International cards add 1.5%, and if Stripe has to convert the currency, another 1% is added on top — so a converted international payment can cost 5.4% + $0.30.
The fixed $0.30 fee hits small transactions hard. On a $5 charge, $0.30 alone is 6% — so your effective rate is 8.9%, not 2.9%. The smaller your average transaction, the further your real rate drifts above the headline percentage. International cards and currency conversion push it higher still.
Yes. Common levers: increase average transaction size (annual plans instead of monthly), settle in your customer's currency to avoid the 1% conversion fee, use ACH or local payment methods where fees are lower, and at meaningful volume ask Stripe sales for custom pricing. Also audit failed and disputed payments — they often cost more than the fees themselves.