Credit Card Processing Fee Calculator
Effective rate, not the headline rate.
Processor pricing varies by country, card type and whatever you negotiated, and it changes without much notice. Take the real figures from your own statement — these defaults are a starting point, not your account.
Effective rate
3.36%
$1,346 a month on $40,000
Your effective rate is 3.36%, not the headline 2.9%. The fixed fee is what moves it — at a $64.52 average order it adds 0.46%, and it would add 1.5% on a $20 order. Low-value baskets are punished hardest by per-transaction pricing.
How the Credit Card Processing Fee Calculator works
The rate on the marketing page is never the rate you pay. Fixed per-transaction fees, monthly account charges and compliance fees all land on the same volume, and the smaller your average order, the more the fixed component distorts the result.
Not financial advice. Marketplace fees change, and they vary by country, plan and seller status. Every rate here is an editable default, not a quoted price — check the platform's current fee schedule before you price a product against it. This is not tax or business advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is an effective rate?
Total fees divided by total card volume, expressed as a percentage. It is the only figure worth comparing between processors, because it includes everything rather than just the advertised percentage.
Why does average order value matter so much?
Because a 30 cent fixed fee is 1.5% of a $20 order and 0.3% of a $100 one. Two merchants on identical pricing can have effective rates a full point apart purely because of basket size.
What hidden fees should I look for?
PCI compliance fees, monthly minimums, statement fees, batch fees, gateway fees and non-qualified surcharges. On tiered pricing especially, the advertised rate often applies to a minority of transactions.
What is the cheapest pricing model?
Interchange plus plus is usually cheapest at volume and hardest to forecast. Flat rate is more expensive on average but predictable. Tiered pricing is the one to avoid, because the tier definitions are set by the processor.