Payment Processing Fee Comparison
Enter order value, orders per month, international and FX share. The table ranks Stripe, PayPal Checkout, Paddle and Lemon Squeezy (and optionally Stripe + Tax + Billing) by fee per order, monthly fees, effective rate and the price to charge for a target net. Paddle and Lemon Squeezy are Merchants of Record that include sales tax and chargebacks. Estimates only; provider pages prevail.
Math runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
| Provider | Fee / order | Monthly | Effective | Charge for net | Math |
|---|
—
Stripe cards 2.9% + $0.30 (+1.5% intl, +1% FX); PayPal Checkout 3.49% + $0.49 (+1.5% intl); Paddle 5% + $0.50; Lemon Squeezy 5% + $0.50 (+1.5% international, +1.5% PayPal, +0.5% subscriptions — per official docs). Paddle and Lemon Squeezy are Merchant of Record: sales tax/VAT calculation and remittance, fraud and chargebacks are included. With Stripe or PayPal you are the merchant — Stripe Tax (0.5%) calculates tax but you still register and file, and Billing adds 0.7% for subscriptions. Example at $49 domestic: Stripe $1.72, PayPal $2.20, Paddle $2.95, Lemon Squeezy $2.95.
Reverse formula: charge = (desired net + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − effective % rate). Example: to net $49 on Stripe cards, charge (49 + 0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029) = $50.77.
Estimates only. Official US list prices as of 2026-11-02 (Asia/Shanghai); the provider's pricing page prevails. Sources: Stripe pricing · PayPal fees · Paddle pricing · Lemon Squeezy fees
Stripe Fee Calculator · PayPal Fee Calculator · Etsy Fee Calculator · Auth Provider Cost Comparison
More in this group
- Stripe Fee Calculator Stripe fees per order + reverse “what to charge”.
- PayPal Fee Calculator PayPal fees per order + reverse “what to charge”.
- Etsy Fee Calculator Estimate listing, transaction, and processing fees.
- Auth Provider Cost Comparison Clerk vs WorkOS vs Supabase Auth monthly cost.
- Markup Calculator Cost to selling price with markup or margin.
How it works
- Which payment processor is cheapest?
- For a $49 US domestic card order on list price: Stripe $1.72, PayPal Checkout $2.20, Paddle $2.95, Lemon Squeezy $2.95. Stripe is usually cheapest on raw fees.
- Why would anyone pay 5% for Paddle or Lemon Squeezy?
- They are Merchants of Record: they calculate, collect and remit sales tax/VAT worldwide and handle fraud and chargebacks. With Stripe or PayPal you remain the merchant and must register and file taxes yourself.
- What are Lemon Squeezy's add-on fees?
- Base 5% + $0.50, plus +1.5% for buyers outside the US, +1.5% for PayPal transactions and +0.5% for subscription payments (official docs). Example: $24 international order → $0.50 + 6.5% = $2.06.
- How do I compare Stripe with tax and billing included?
- Enable the Stripe + Tax + Billing row: cards 2.9% + $0.30 plus Stripe Tax 0.5% and Billing 0.7%. It is still not MoR — tax filing remains yours.
- How does the reverse column work?
- It shows the price to charge so that after each provider's fees you receive your target net: charge = (net + fixed) ÷ (1 − effective rate).