Translate the fee into a percentage of the sale
A payment fee has two useful descriptions: the dollars deducted and the effective percentage of the payment. Effective fee rate = total fee ÷ gross payment × 100. It answers how much of this particular payment is consumed by fees. It does not include every cost of running the business.
For a hypothetical 3% plus $0.30 schedule, a $10 payment costs $0.60, or 6%. A $100 payment costs $3.30, or 3.3%. A $1,000 payment costs $30.30, or 3.03%. The published percentage has not changed. The fixed component simply occupies a much larger share of the smaller payment.
Find where two schedules cross
Suppose plan A charges 3% plus $0.30, while plan B charges 4% plus $0.10. These are invented schedules for comparison, not offers from named providers. At $10, A costs $0.60 and B costs $0.50. At $50, A costs $1.80 and B costs $2.10.
To find the crossover, solve 0.03 × payment + 0.30 = 0.04 × payment + 0.10. The answer is $20. Both cost $0.90 at that amount. Below $20, B is cheaper within this simplified model; above $20, A is cheaper. Monthly charges, minimum fees and different payment methods can change the comparison.
Model your order mix
An average payment can conceal how often fixed charges occur. If 100 customers each pay $10, the sample 3% plus $0.30 schedule costs $60 in total. One $1,000 payment costs $30.30. Both produce $1,000 gross revenue, but they are different collections of transactions.
Build a small list of typical payment sizes and counts. Calculate fees for each size, multiply by the number of payments, and add the totals. Include separate deposit and balance payments if that is how clients actually pay. Avoid using a single monthly revenue number as though it were one transaction.
Apply the comparison to a real account
Stripe’s US standard online domestic-card headline price is 2.9% plus $0.30 at the source review date. That is a specific product and market, not a global rate. Use your own agreement for negotiated pricing, international cards or other payment methods.
Enter each typical amount in the freelance calculator and inspect the dollar deduction. Compare services only after confirming they meet the same needs, including payment method and customer access. A small fee saving may be outweighed by other operational differences that this arithmetic cannot measure.
Sources
Official sources checked October 29, 2026. Confirm current terms for your account before using a published rate.