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Payment fee calculator: what Stripe, PayPal, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Polar take

At list prices, Stripe takes 1.5% + 20p on a standard UK card and 2.9% + 30¢ on a US card. PayPal's standard UK rate is 2.90% + 30p. Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Polar (on its free Starter plan) each list 5% + 50¢, but as merchants of record they also collect and pay the sales tax. Enter a price below to see the fee and what you keep.

Pick where your account is, where the buyer's card is from, and whether the sale is a subscription. Every number comes from the provider's own pricing page.

Your sale

Seller region (where your account is)
Card or PayPal account country
Buyer pays with
Sale type

What each provider takes

  1. StripeChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Payment processor

    You keep $9.41

    Fee $0.59 · Effective rate 5.90%

    Keeps the most
  2. PayPal CheckoutChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Payment processor

    You keep $9.16

    Fee $0.84 · Effective rate 8.40%

  3. Lemon SqueezyChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Merchant of record

    You keep $9.00

    Fee $1.00 · Effective rate 10.00%

  4. PaddleChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Merchant of record

    You keep $9.00

    Fee $1.00 · Effective rate 10.00%

  5. PolarChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Merchant of record

    You keep $9.00

    Fee $1.00 · Effective rate 10.00%

Fees on a $10.00 sale by a US seller to a US card, one-off, no tax
ProviderTypeYou keepFeeEffective rateBreakdown
StripeChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Keeps the mostPayment processor$9.41$0.595.90%
PayPal CheckoutChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Payment processor$9.16$0.848.40%
Lemon SqueezyChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Merchant of record$9.00$1.0010.00%
PaddleChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Merchant of record$9.00$1.0010.00%
PolarChecked 22 Oct 2026 · Rates (opens provider page in new tab)Merchant of record$9.00$1.0010.00%

These are list prices for new accounts, checked on 19 October 2026. Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Polar offer custom pricing to large or high-volume sellers, Lemon Squeezy and Paddle also invite sellers of products under $10 to ask, and PayPal UK offers an opt-in tiered plan. Your own provider dashboard is the final word.

Want every vendor's published fees in one table? See the payment processor fee dataset, with a CSV download.

Selling a monthly plan? The ramen profitability calculator uses these same fees to work out how many customers cover your monthly costs.

If a sale is refunded or disputed

Stripe, PayPal, Lemon Squeezy and Polar keep their fee when you refund a sale. Disputes add a separate fee: Stripe lists £20, €20 or $15 per dispute, PayPal 12 GBP for a standard dispute in the UK, Lemon Squeezy and Polar $15, and Paddle up to 20 in the sale currency.

Embed this calculator

You can put the payment fee calculator on your own site or blog for free. Paste this code where you want it to appear. It loads the same calculator in a frame, with a link back to this page. Where your site allows scripts, the frame resizes itself to fit.

<iframe src="https://zeroraised.com/embed/payment-fee-calculator" title="Payment fee calculator by ZeroRaised" width="100%" height="2400" loading="lazy" style="border:0" data-zeroraised-embed="payment-fee-calculator"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://zeroraised.com/tools/payment-fee-calculator">Payment fee calculator by ZeroRaised</a></p>
<script>addEventListener("message",function(e){var d=e.data,h=d&&d.height;if(e.origin!=="https://zeroraised.com"||!d||d.type!=="zeroraised-embed-height"||d.slug!=="payment-fee-calculator"||typeof h!=="number"||!isFinite(h)||h<=0||h>10000)return;document.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-zeroraised-embed="payment-fee-calculator"]').forEach(function(f){if(f.contentWindow===e.source)f.style.height=Math.ceil(h)+"px"})})</script>

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Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper for a small sale, Stripe or a merchant of record?
On a $10.00 sale by a US seller to a US card, Stripe's fee is $0.59 and PayPal Checkout's is $0.84, while at their standard list rates (Polar's free Starter plan) Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Polar each take $1.00. The merchant of record fee is higher because it also covers collecting and paying sales tax and VAT, which you handle yourself with Stripe or PayPal.
Do Stripe and PayPal refund their fees when I refund a customer?
No. Stripe says the processing fees from the original transaction are not returned, and PayPal says the fees you originally paid to receive the payment are not returned. Lemon Squeezy and Polar also keep their fee on refunds.
What does a merchant of record do for VAT and sales tax?
A merchant of record is the legal seller, so it adds or extracts the buyer's tax at checkout, files the returns and pays you the rest. Lemon Squeezy and Polar calculate their percentage on the checkout total including tax, so this calculator does the same when you add a tax rate.
Why can I only use US dollars for Lemon Squeezy, Paddle and Polar?
Each of them publishes its 50 cent fixed fee in US dollars only. Rather than guess a pound or euro amount, the calculator shows those three providers in USD.
How often are these fees checked?
The figures were last checked on 19 October 2026 against each provider's official pricing pages, and they are rechecked monthly. Providers change prices, so confirm on the linked source before you choose.

Related guides

Related tools: When does my launch go live?, Launch sites directory

Sources

Last checked 19 October 2026. Each result links to the provider page it comes from.

Payment Fee Calculator: Stripe, PayPal, Paddle and More · ZeroRaised