Worked example · Published July 11, 2026

A $10,000 MRR SaaS payment fee example

Headline pricing is not the same as blended cost. This walkthrough shows how 200 monthly orders, international cards, refunds, and chargebacks change a simple $10,000 revenue comparison.

The scenario

This example uses the editable assumptions that appear in the main calculator. It is deliberately ordinary: a SaaS business at $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue, 200 successful monthly payments, and a $50 average order value. The model then adds the operating conditions that often disappear from a headline fee comparison.

Input	Assumption	Why it matters
Monthly revenue	$10,000	The percentage fee is applied to this amount.
Monthly paid orders	200	Each successful checkout can add a fixed transaction fee.
International cards	35%	Some processor assumptions add a cross-border card uplift.
Refund rate	3%	The model treats refunded revenue as a $300 reduction in the monthly outcome.
Chargeback rate	0.3%	Dispute fees depend on the provider assumptions and order volume.

Open this exact calculator scenario

The modeled result

Using the public pricing assumptions currently stored in the calculator, Stripe produces the highest estimated take-home revenue in this narrow fee model. Creem is about $59 behind, while the remaining options are farther behind. These are planning estimates, not quotes, and the result can change when a provider has custom pricing or different regional rules.

Provider	Modeled cost	Estimated take-home	Modeled drag
Stripe	$711.50	$9,288.50	7.12%
Creem	$770.00	$9,230.00	7.70%
PayPal	$811.50	$9,188.50	8.12%
Paddle	$900.00	$9,100.00	9.00%
Lemon Squeezy	$900.00	$9,100.00	9.00%
Polar	$961.50	$9,038.50	9.62%

The modeled cost includes the shared $300 refund assumption, so it should not be read as a provider invoice. It is a monthly outcome model that combines provider fees with selected payment losses. Read the calculator methodology before comparing these totals with an accounting statement.

Breaking down the Stripe estimate

The Stripe line starts with $290 in percentage fees and $60 in fixed fees. A 35% international card share adds $52.50 under the calculator's current cross-border assumption. The 3% refund input removes $300, and the modeled chargeback count adds $9. Together, those inputs produce the $711.50 monthly cost shown above.

This breakdown is more useful than saying “Stripe is 2.9% plus 30 cents” because it shows which parts of the result depend on this business rather than the provider's headline rate.

Why Creem is close in this scenario

The current Creem model uses a higher percentage rate than Stripe but no international-card uplift in the first-pass assumption. Its fixed fee is also applied to all 200 orders. After adding the same $300 refund input, the result is only $58.50 behind Stripe.

A gap this small should trigger more investigation, not an automatic provider decision. Eligibility, checkout fit, payout setup, merchant-of-record coverage, and support needs can be worth more than the modeled difference.

What the ranking does not include

A direct processor and a merchant of record do not sell the same operating package. A direct processor can offer more checkout control, but the SaaS company generally remains responsible for its tax workflow, invoices, exemptions, refunds, disputes, and customer questions. A merchant-of-record provider can bundle more of that work into its fee.

That is why the table should be interpreted in two passes. The first pass asks which provider has the lowest modeled payment cost. The second asks what the team would need to buy, build, or operate alongside that provider. If Stripe requires separate tax software and meaningful finance or support time, the $58.50 fee advantage over Creem may disappear. If the company already has those operations under control, the direct path may remain attractive.

The calculator intentionally does not invent one universal dollar value for tax and support work. Use the processor vs merchant-of-record decision guide to list the work before assigning your own cost.

Three follow-up scenarios to run

Lower the average order value

Keep revenue at $10,000 but increase the number of orders. Fixed checkout fees then consume a larger share of revenue. This is the stress test that matters for $5 to $15 plans.

Open the low-ticket SaaS calculator

Increase international share

Move international cards from 35% to 60% and compare the result again. Then review currency conversion, local payment methods, tax collection, and payout rules that are not fully represented by one card uplift.

Model international card fees

Test annual billing

Use fewer, larger payments while keeping annualized revenue constant. Fixed fees fall, but refund policy, cash flow, and customer commitment change. The cheapest provider can stay the same while the size of the gap changes.

Compare annual and monthly billing

Use the example as a starting point

Change one input at a time, save the shareable URL, and verify every provider assumption against the dated source page before making a checkout decision.

Run the $10,000 MRR scenario

Sources and next reading

Dated provider pricing sources Calculation methodology Paddle vs Stripe calculator Tax calculator for SaaS