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Credit card processing fee calculator

Put in three numbers from your last statement. See your real rate, and what the same month would cost at each provider's published price.

Prices checked October 19, 2026 From providers' own sites

Grab last month’s statement. You need three numbers: total card sales, how many card payments you took, and the total fees you paid.

Your numbers

From last month's statement. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.

The same month at published rates

Estimate from each provider's in-person rate and listed monthly cost. Your real cost depends on your card mix and contract.

Interchange-plus providers

These publish only their markup on top of the card networks' own fees (interchange), so the total depends on which cards your customers use. They often beat flat rates for larger, steady businesses. Ask for a quote and compare it to your real rate above.

  • Helcim: interchange + 0.4% + 8¢ in person
  • Stax: interchange + 0% + 8¢ in person

Published rates, but the monthly cost depends on the plan or hardware you choose: Clover (2.3% + 10¢ in person), Toast (2.49% in person), SpotOn (2.45% + 15¢ in person), Chase (2.6% + 10¢ in person), Vagaro (2.6% + 10¢ in person), GlossGenius (2.4% + 15¢ in person), Fresha (2.29% + 20¢ in person), Mangomint (2.45% + 15¢ in person). See each provider's page for its plans.

Quote only (no published rates): Heartland, Boulevard, TouchBistro. Use your real rate above as the number to beat.

How to find your numbers on a statement

Every provider lays out its statement differently, but you’re looking for the same three things.

  1. Card sales. The total value of card payments for the month. It may be called “gross sales,” “total volume” or “amount processed.” Use the total before fees come off.
  2. Number of card payments. Sometimes called “transactions,” “count” or “items.” This matters because most providers charge a fixed fee per payment, like Stripe’s 5¢ or Square’s 15¢ in person.
  3. Total fees. Add up every fee, not only the processing rate. Include plan fees, monthly fees, chargebacks, instant payout fees and anything labelled “other.” Some statements call the main processing charge the “discount” or “discount rate.” If your provider takes fees out of each deposit, you may need to add them up from your deposit reports.

If you can’t find one of these, call your provider and ask for “total fees and total volume for last month.” They should be able to tell you.

How to read your result

Your real rate is total fees divided by card sales. If you paid $640 on $20,000 in card sales, that’s 3.2%. This is the number to compare, because it includes everything.

For context, here are published in-person card rates from the flat-rate providers we compare: PayPal POS 2.29% + 9¢, Square 2.6% + 15¢ (Free plan), Shopify 2.6% + 10¢ (Basic plan), Lightspeed 2.6% + 10¢, Chase 2.6% + 10¢ and Stripe 2.7% + 5¢. If you take most of your payments in person and your real rate is well above these, look closely at your monthly, plan and per-payment fees.

The comparison list shows what your same month would cost at each provider’s published in-person rate, plus its listed monthly fee. For example, Shopify includes its $39 Basic plan (billed monthly) and Lightspeed includes its $89 Retail Basic plan (billed yearly; $109 billed monthly). Square is priced on its Free plan. Stripe and PayPal POS list no monthly fee.

“Less than now” means the estimate is lower than the fees you entered. It’s a starting point, not a promise. Your actual cost depends on your mix of cards and payment types.

What the calculator doesn’t include

So you know where the estimate could be off:

  • Online and keyed-in payments. These cost more. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ online. Square charges 3.3% + 30¢ online on its Free plan, and 3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in payments on every plan.
  • International cards. Stripe adds 1.5% for international cards, plus 1% if currency conversion is needed.
  • Faster payouts. Square charges 1.95% per instant transfer. Stripe and PayPal charge 1.5%, with a 50¢ minimum.
  • Chargebacks and hardware. One-off costs aren’t counted, such as Stripe’s $15 dispute fee or a $59 card reader.

The plan-based caveat

Some providers publish a card rate, but your monthly cost depends on the plan or hardware you pick. The calculator lists their rates without a monthly total:

  • Clover: 2.3% + 10¢ in person on its Growth plans, 2.6% + 10¢ on its cheapest retail bundle. Monthly costs depend on the bundle, such as $84.95 a month for Retail Standard software on top of $1,899 in hardware.
  • Toast: 2.49% with traditional pricing, where restaurant plans start at $69 a month. Or 3.09% on the pay-as-you-go Starter Kit.
  • SpotOn: 2.45% + 15¢ on POS Essentials, at $55 per station per month.
  • Chase: 2.6% + 10¢. Chase says “monthly fees may apply to certain products and pricing plans,” but doesn’t publish them.

Square works the same way if you pay for a plan. Plus ($49 a month per location) and Premium ($149) lower the in-person rate to 2.5% + 15¢ and 2.4% + 15¢. Our Square fee calculator shows when a plan pays for itself.

Heartland publishes only “starting at” prices (2.6% + 10¢ in person), so it’s listed as quote only.

The markup-only caveat

Helcim and Stax use interchange-plus pricing. You pay the card networks’ fee (interchange) plus a published markup. The calculator can’t total these honestly without knowing your card mix, so it lists their markups instead:

  • Helcim: interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ in person, for up to $50,000 a month, with lower markups above that. No monthly fee.
  • Stax: interchange + 8¢ per in-person sale (0% markup on the rate), plus a subscription of $99 a month for up to $150,000 a year in processing, $139 for $150,000 to $250,000, and $199 and up above that. The calculator doesn’t add the subscription.

Don’t compare those markups to a flat rate. They’re only part of the price. Helcim says that “for most merchants,” its total in-person effective rate is “near or below 2%.” That’s Helcim’s claim, not ours. The fair test is to send a recent statement to an interchange-plus provider, ask for a written quote, and compare it to your real rate above.

Next steps

Common questions

How do I calculate my credit card processing rate?

Add up every fee on your monthly statement, then divide by your total card sales for the same month. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage. If you paid $640 in fees on $20,000 in card sales, your effective rate is 3.2%. That one number lets you compare any provider, however its statement is laid out.

Why doesn't the calculator show a total for Helcim or Stax?

They use interchange-plus pricing and publish only their markup, such as Helcim's 0.40% + 8¢ in person or Stax's 8¢ per in-person sale plus a subscription. Your total also includes interchange, which depends on the cards your customers use. Without your card mix we can't give an honest total, so we show the markup instead.

Is the calculator's estimate what I'll actually pay?

No, it's an estimate. It prices every payment at each provider's published in-person card rate and adds the listed monthly fee. It doesn't separate online, keyed-in or international cards, chargebacks, instant payouts or hardware. Treat it as a fair first comparison, then check a written quote or the provider's full pricing page.

Where do the calculator's rates come from?

From each provider's own US pricing page, checked on the date shown at the top of this page. We don't use sales quotes, other review sites or memory. Providers that publish only "starting at" prices, like Heartland, are listed as quote only instead of being given a guessed rate. Our verification page explains the method.