Estimate Stripe-style card processing fees for subscriptions, annual plans, and software sales, then compare Stripe Tax and merchant-of-record tradeoffs.
Stripe often looks strongest when you want direct checkout control, already have a tax workflow, and sell mostly to domestic card customers. It can be especially efficient for higher average order values where fixed per-payment fees are less visible.
The calculator compares payment processing fees, fixed order fees, refunds, chargebacks, and international card assumptions. It does not price every optional Stripe product or every custom contract.
Start with monthly revenue and monthly orders. Those two numbers define average order value, which is the biggest reason a low-ticket SaaS product and a higher-ticket annual SaaS product can have very different effective fee rates.
Stripe is usually evaluated as payment infrastructure, not a full merchant-of-record bundle. Compare the card fees, but also account for tax, invoicing, fraud reviews, disputes, accounting, and support work that your business may still need to own.
Start with a scenario close to your SaaS billing model, then adjust the calculator inputs for your actual revenue, order count, international card mix, refunds, and chargebacks.
| Scenario | Use it when | Calculator inputs |
|---|---|---|
| Low-ticket SaaS subscriptions | You need to see how fixed per-payment fees affect $5 to $15 monthly plans. | $5k revenue, 850 orders, 40% international cards. |
| Annual SaaS plans | You collect fewer, larger payments and want to compare effective fee rate against monthly billing. | $25k revenue, 90 orders, 35% international cards. |
| Global SaaS card mix | You sell internationally and want to see how cross-border cards can narrow the gap versus MoR providers. | $20k revenue, 420 orders, 60% international cards. |
| Early Stripe launch | You are launching with Stripe first and want a simple fee baseline before adding tax or MoR complexity. | $3k revenue, 120 orders, 25% international cards. |
| Checkpoint | Why to verify it |
|---|---|
| Local standard card rate | Stripe's public pricing page changes by country, so confirm the local domestic-card rate before treating the calculator as final. |
| International card and currency conversion fees | Global SaaS can pay extra for international cards or currency conversion, which changes the blended Stripe fee. |
| Dispute and chargeback fees | Chargeback assumptions matter when early SaaS support and buyer-fit risk are still volatile. |
| Stripe Tax and invoicing | Payment processing, tax calculation, filing, invoices, and MoR responsibilities are separate cost lines. |
| Input | Why it matters | What to compare |
|---|---|---|
| Average order value | Fixed fees matter more when each payment is small. | Compare monthly and annual billing scenarios. |
| International card share | Cross-border and international card costs can change the blended fee. | Run domestic-heavy and global-heavy versions of the same revenue. |
| Tax workflow | Stripe processing is separate from the tax and compliance workflow. | Compare Stripe plus tax tooling against merchant-of-record providers. |
| Refund and dispute rates | Early SaaS products can have volatile support and refund patterns. | Stress-test a conservative scenario before committing to a stack. |
If you plan to sell across multiple states or countries, model Stripe processing separately from Stripe Tax. Tax calculation, registration, filing, remittance, and accounting review are different jobs, even when they live near the payment flow.
Compare Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, or Polar when you want more tax, invoice, refund, and buyer support work bundled into the provider fee. Stripe can still win, but the fair comparison includes the work your team keeps.
The main calculator compares Stripe against Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar from one set of assumptions.
Open calculator with Stripe scenarioLast checked: June 19, 2026. Stripe pricing is region-specific; verify the country page and any custom agreement before choosing a provider.
No. Stripe can have lower direct processing costs, while Paddle includes merchant-of-record services. The cheaper business choice depends on customer mix, taxes, support, and operations.
Fixed per-payment fees become more expensive as a percentage of revenue when order values are low. A $9 monthly subscription and a $199 annual plan should be modeled separately.
Yes. Refunds reduce net revenue and can change the apparent winner, especially for early SaaS products still tuning onboarding and buyer fit.
No. Treat Stripe Tax as a separate line item. Use this page for payment-fee planning, then compare tax tooling and compliance workflow separately.
Compare Stripe against a merchant of record when you sell globally, need tax support, want bundled buyer support, or do not yet have finance operations in place.