Stripe fees in one paragraph
Stripe fees for a standard US account start at 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card payment, with extra percentages for manually entered cards, international cards, and currency conversion, plus separate charges for disputes and optional products such as Billing, Tax, Invoicing, Radar, and Instant Payouts. All figures in this guide are taken from Stripe’s US pricing page and Stripe documentation as of October 2026. Stripe changes pricing and offers custom rates to larger businesses, so check the current page for your country before relying on any number here.
The point of this guide is not only to list Stripe fees but to show how they stack for a typical SaaS or software business, and how they affect the revenue you report.
Stripe payment processing fees (US, as of October 2026)
Stripe’s standard US pricing for cards and wallets is:
- Domestic cards: 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction
- Manually entered cards: +0.5%
- International cards: +1.5%
- Currency conversion required: +1%
Source: Stripe US pricing.
Other payment methods have their own prices. As of October 2026, Stripe lists ACH Direct Debit at 0.8% with a $5.00 cap, and Klarna (buy now, pay later) at 5.99% + 30¢ per successful transaction. Stripe also states that it does not charge setup fees, monthly fees, or closure fees on standard pricing, and that it “offers custom pricing for businesses with large processing volumes” (Stripe US pricing).
How the card surcharges stack
The percentages are additive. A card issued outside the US that also requires currency conversion costs:
2.9% + 1.5% + 1% = 5.4%, plus 30¢
On a $50 payment that is $2.70 + $0.30 = $3.00, compared with $1.75 for the same payment on a domestic card ($1.45 + $0.30). If a meaningful share of your customers are outside the US, model your fee rate on your actual card mix rather than the domestic headline.
Why the fixed 30¢ matters for cheap plans
The fixed component hits low-priced products hardest:
- $5 price: $0.445 fee, an effective rate of 8.9%
- $10 price: $0.59 fee, 5.9%
- $50 price: $1.75 fee, 3.5%
- $200 price: $6.10 fee, 3.05%
These are simple calculations from the 2.9% + 30¢ rate. A $5 monthly plan loses almost three times the share of revenue that a $200 plan does. Annual billing reduces the number of fixed fees per customer, which is one reason many SaaS products push annual plans. The SaaS pricing models guide discusses this trade-off.
Stripe dispute fees
A dispute (chargeback) has two possible fees on standard US pricing as of October 2026 (Stripe US pricing):
- Dispute received fee: $15.00 for each dispute you receive. Stripe notes that “in rare cases, network fees also apply.”
- Dispute countered fee: $15.00 for each dispute you respond to manually. Stripe returns this fee for won disputes but not for lost ones.
Stripe’s support article on the June 2025 change confirms that the countered fee applies to disputes countered after June 17, 2025, and that the received fee did not change (Stripe support). Its documentation adds that, outside Mexico, the dispute received fee is non-refundable (Stripe docs: How disputes work).
So a disputed $50 payment that you counter and lose costs you the $50 (debited when the dispute opens), the original $1.75 processing fee, $15 received fee, and $15 countered fee: $81.75 in total cost against a $50 sale. If you win, the $50 and the $15 countered fee return, but the $15 received fee and processing fee do not.
Stripe also prices optional dispute tools. As of October 2026, Smart Disputes costs 30% of the disputed amount for each dispute won, and dispute-prevention lookups and resolutions are listed at $15.00 per Visa resolution and $29.00 per Mastercard resolution (Stripe US pricing). Whether these are worth it depends on your average order value. See How refunds and chargebacks affect SaaS revenue for the full mechanics.
Do you get Stripe fees back on refunds?
No. Stripe’s pricing FAQ says that for standard pricing there are no fees for issuing refunds on most payment methods, but “the payment processing, Connect and currency conversion fees from the original transaction are not returned” (Stripe US pricing). Stripe’s refund documentation says the same (Stripe docs: Refunds).
One exception worth knowing: a refund issued very shortly after the charge may be processed as a reversal, and Stripe says it “doesn’t withhold any fees for payment reversals” (Stripe docs: Refunds). You do not control whether a refund becomes a reversal, so do not plan around it.
Stripe Billing, Tax, Invoicing, and other product fees
Payments are only one line on the bill. SaaS businesses usually add at least Billing. As of October 2026, Stripe’s US pricing page lists (Stripe US pricing):
- Billing (pay as you go): 0.7% of Billing volume, including Billing transactions processed on and off Stripe, excluding one-off invoices
- Billing (pay monthly): starting at $620.00 per month on a one-year contract
- Invoicing (Starter): 0.4% per paid invoice
- Tax Basic: 0.5% per transaction where you’re registered to collect taxes
- Tax Complete: starting at $90.00 per month, one-year contract
- Radar (pay as you go): starting at $0.05 per screened transaction
- Radar (pay monthly): starting at $10.00 per month
- Instant Payouts: 1.5% of payout volume, 50¢ minimum
- Managed Payments (merchant of record): 3.5% per transaction, in addition to Payments fees
Standard payouts on Stripe’s normal schedule are free; Instant Payouts are optional. The same page describes Radar Lite as AI-powered fraud protection for card payments within the Payments product; the paid Radar plans above are for broader fraud and abuse protection.
Worked example: what a $50/month SaaS plan really costs on Stripe
Assume a $50 monthly subscription, billed through Stripe Billing on pay-as-you-go pricing, with Stripe Tax Basic in a jurisdiction where you are registered. Using October 2026 list prices:
Domestic card customer
- Card processing: 2.9% × $50 + $0.30 = $1.75
- Billing: 0.7% × $50 = $0.35
- Tax Basic: 0.5% × $50 = $0.25
- Total: $2.35, or 4.7% of the price
International card customer paying in a different currency
- Card processing: 5.4% × $50 + $0.30 = $3.00
- Billing: $0.35
- Tax Basic: $0.25
- Total: $3.60, or 7.2% of the price
(For simplicity this ignores sales tax added on top of the price; in practice percentage fees apply to the amount actually charged.) Two lessons follow. First, a “2.9%” processor is rarely 2.9% once you add billing and tax. Second, the gap between Stripe and a merchant of record narrows for international-heavy businesses; Stripe Managed Payments, for example, adds 3.5% on top of payments fees but includes indirect tax handling. Compare options in the merchant of record guide and in Stripe vs Lemon Squeezy or Stripe vs Paddle.
To run your own numbers, use the Stripe fee calculator or the multi-provider payment processor fee calculator.
How Stripe fees affect the revenue you report
Founders often mix up three different numbers when they talk about “Stripe revenue”:
- Gross charges: what customers paid, including any tax you collected.
- Net of refunds and disputes: gross charges minus refunded and disputed amounts.
- Net of fees: the amount that lands in your Stripe balance after Stripe’s fees.
Stripe creates balance transactions “for every type of transaction that enters or leaves your Stripe account balance,” which is what lets you reconcile charges, refunds, disputes, and fees as separate lines rather than one blended total.
RevenueBug’s headline metric is trailing 30-day revenue calculated from your connected provider: successful payment principal minus refunds and disputes, before provider fees. That is the second definition above. The methodology explains the details. It is a provider-verified number, not an audit, and it is not the same as cash received after fees. If you are preparing a business for sale, show both the revenue figure and the fee line so a buyer can see your effective processing rate. The gross vs net revenue guide covers the vocabulary, and you can connect Stripe to publish a verified profile.
Ways to reduce Stripe fees legitimately
- Encourage annual billing. Fewer transactions means fewer fixed 30¢ charges.
- Price in your customers’ currency where practical. The 1% conversion charge applies only when conversion is required.
- Offer ACH Direct Debit for larger B2B invoices. At 0.8% capped at $5.00 as of October 2026, it is much cheaper than cards for big payments.
- Reduce disputes. Clear statement descriptors, easy cancellation, and fast refunds for confused customers cost less than $15–$30 per dispute plus the lost sale.
- Avoid paying for products you do not use. Check whether you actually need Instant Payouts, the monthly Radar plan, or Invoicing.
- Ask about custom pricing once volume is significant. Stripe says it offers custom pricing for large processing volumes.
Frequently asked questions
What is Stripe’s standard fee in the US?
As of October 2026, 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction, according to Stripe’s US pricing page. Manually entered cards add 0.5%, international cards add 1.5%, and currency conversion adds 1%.
Does Stripe charge a monthly fee?
Not for standard payments. Stripe states it does not charge setup fees, monthly fees, or closure fees on standard pricing. Some optional products, such as Tax Complete or the pay-monthly Billing plan, have monthly or contract pricing.
How much is a Stripe chargeback fee?
As of October 2026 in the US, $15.00 for each dispute received, plus a further $15.00 if you counter the dispute. The countered fee is returned if you win; the received fee is not.
Does Stripe refund its fees when I refund a customer?
No. Stripe states that the processing, Connect, and currency conversion fees from the original transaction are not returned when you issue a refund on standard pricing.
Is Stripe cheaper than a merchant of record?
On headline processing rates, yes. But a merchant of record also handles indirect tax and some compliance work. Once you add Stripe Billing, Stripe Tax, and international surcharges, the gap can be smaller than it looks.
Are Stripe fees included in RevenueBug’s revenue figure?
No. RevenueBug’s trailing 30-day revenue is calculated before provider fees. It subtracts refunds and disputes but not Stripe’s processing fees.