What Stripe's Own Pricing Page Says It Charges
Stripe platform fees, in plain words: the pay-as-you-go card rates for online, in-person and keyed-in sales, plus the add-ons that cost extra.
A shop owner typing "stripe platform fees" into a search box usually wants one thing. She wants to know what a sale will cost her before she signs up. Stripe's own pricing page lays this out, and this article walks through what that page states. Every figure below comes from Stripe's page, and published prices change, so confirm each one there before you commit.
What "Stripe platform fees" means
Stripe's pricing page describes its standard pricing as pay-as-you-go. There is no monthly bill to plan around. Stripe's page says it does not charge setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees like closure fees. It also says all fees for standard pricing are listed on its website.
The word "platform" in the search phrase is shorthand. It covers the fee Stripe takes on each sale. It also covers add-ons like Instant Payouts and products priced separately. Those are three different kinds of charges, and it helps to keep them apart.
The standard online card rate
Stripe's pricing page says its standard online rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards. That is the number most online sales will carry.
Two things push that rate up. Stripe's page says manually entered cards add 0.5% to the online card rate. So a card typed in by hand during a phone order costs more than one entered by the customer on a checkout page. Stripe's page also says international cards add 1.5%. Currency conversion adds another 1%. A sale from a foreign card in a foreign currency can carry both additions at once.
The in-person card rate
Stripe's pricing page says in-person card payments cost 2.7% + 5¢ per successful transaction for domestic cards. Compare that with the online rate above and the pattern is plain. The percentage is lower at the counter, and the flat part is far lower. A shop that sells mostly in person pays a smaller cut than the same shop selling through a website. If you want to see how that plays out on a real ticket, a forty dollar sale at the counter works the math.
Other payment methods
Cards are not the only way customers pay. Stripe's pricing page says ACH Direct Debit costs 0.8% with a $5.00 cap. That cap matters on large invoices, where a percentage fee with no ceiling would climb fast.
Stripe's page also says Stripe charges a per-transaction fee depending on the payment method the end customer uses. In plain words, the fee follows the method. Read the line on Stripe's page for each method your customers actually use before you estimate your costs.
Payout timing and what speed costs
Stripe's pricing page says payouts on its standard schedule are free. You can choose to receive transfers on a rolling basis, weekly, or monthly. You can see upcoming payouts, expected deposit dates, and payout history in the Dashboard. The wait is at least easy to track.
Skipping the wait costs money. Stripe's pricing page says Instant Payouts cost 1.5% of Instant Payouts volume with a minimum fee of 50¢. If pressing that button becomes a habit, it raises your effective rate month after month. Paying to be paid tonight covers how to judge whether that fee is worth it.
Refunds and taxes
Refunds are where money does not come back the way you might expect. Stripe's pricing page says the payment processing, Connect and currency conversion fees from the original transaction are not returned. You refund the customer's full amount, but the cut Stripe kept on that sale stays with Stripe.
There is one wrinkle. Stripe's page says refunds may carry fees when bank transfers are used. For all other payment methods, there are no fees for issuing refunds. Businesses on custom pricing may face fees for issuing refunds depending on their fee schedule with Stripe.
Stripe's page also says Stripe must charge tax on certain products and services. The tax depends on your location or your business or tax status. So the fee you see on the page may not be the final line on your bill.
Products priced separately
Standard card processing is not the whole catalog. Stripe's pricing page says Stripe Radar for Fraud Teams and Stripe Connect with platform-controlled pricing are priced separately. If your business needs Radar for Fraud Teams or Connect with platform-controlled pricing, Stripe's page prices those separately.
Stripe's page says its sales team can design a custom package. It can include Payments, Radar, Connect, Invoicing, Billing and more. Those packages can include IC+ pricing, discounted flat rates, subscriptions, and buy-rates for platforms.
Custom pricing for larger volumes
Stripe's pricing page says it offers custom pricing for businesses with large processing volumes. Eligibility varies by market. What qualifies in one country may not qualify in another. Stripe's page also says it offers volume-based discounts. Those depend on volume tiers, commitments, and product usage. Stripe's page says its dashboards, tools, and APIs show you your costs either way.
Check your own numbers before signing up
Every figure in this article came from Stripe's pricing page, and that page can change without notice. Read it on the day you sign up, not the day you read this.
Then run your own sales through the rates. Pull last month's numbers and sort them. Split online sales from in-person sales. Split domestic cards from international ones. Split keyed-in cards from tapped ones. Each bucket carries a different rate on Stripe's page. Your true cost is a blend of all of them, weighted by where your money actually comes from. Two shops can earn the same amount and still pay very different totals. One sells at a counter. The other sells through a website.
Stripe's standard plan has no setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees, so the per-transaction rates are the main thing to check. Weigh them against your own sales mix. Then check what other processors publish on their own pages before you decide.