Payment Counts and Fees

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Stripe’s processing-fee guide explains that transaction charges often combine a percentage with a fixed amount. Comparing only percentages can misrank offers.

Hold payment volume constant

Assume fictional quotes covering identical payments: A charges 2% plus $0.30 per payment; B charges 3% plus $0.10. Neither has other charges. These are not provider prices.

For $10,000 processed through 1,000 payments, A costs $200 + $300 = $500. B costs $300 + $100 = $400. A’s lower percentage loses by $100.

For the same $10,000 through 200 payments, A costs $260 and B costs $320. A now costs $60 less.

Find the tie

A saves $100 in percentage charges but costs $0.20 more per payment. The tie is $100 ÷ $0.20 = 500 payments: a $20 average payment and $350 under either quote.

Use comparable payment counts and amounts, not revenue alone. Check actual payment-method pricing, monthly fees and other charges before choosing. This excludes refunds, disputes, minimum fees and rounding differences; it does not recommend splitting or combining customer payments.