You sent an invoice for $500.
Stripe deposited $485.
You stared at the number, shrugged, and moved on.
Most freelancers do. And that's exactly how Stripe fees quietly eat into your income month after month without you ever sitting down to calculate how much you're actually losing.
Let me break it down properly.
The Standard Rate Is Just the Starting Point
Stripe's base rate in the US is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction.
On a $500 invoice that's:
- 2.9% of $500 = $14.50
- Fixed fee = $0.30
- You receive: $485.20
Fine. But this is only true if your client is in the same country, paying in the same currency, with a domestic card.
The moment any of that changes, the fees stack.
How Fees Stack Up
| Scenario | Extra Fee | Effective Rate on $500 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard domestic | 2.9% + $0.30 | $485.20 net |
| International card | +1.5% | $477.70 net |
| Currency conversion | +1.0% | $472.70 net |
| Both + conversion | +2.5% | $472.70 net |
That $500 invoice to an international client paying in a different currency? You might actually receive around $472.
The Refund Problem Nobody Mentions
If your client asks for a refund, Stripe does not return the processing fee.
You refund the full $500 to the client. But the 2.9% + $0.30 you already paid? Gone.
So you lose the money AND the fee. For high-refund-rate work, this is worth building into your pricing.
The Right Way to Invoice
If you want to receive exactly $500, you can't charge $500.
The formula is:
Gross to charge = (Desired net + $0.30) / (1 - 0.029)
To receive $500 net, you need to charge $515.25.
Most freelancers don't know this formula exists. They just charge what they want to earn and silently lose money on every single payment.
A Free Calculator for This
I built a Stripe Fee Calculator as part of ToolsFusion that handles both directions.
Enter what you're charging and see your exact net payout. Or enter what you want to receive and get the exact gross amount to put on the invoice.
It covers:
US, UK, Europe, Australia, Canada
International card fees
Currency conversion fees
Recurring charges
Stripe Invoices
Everything runs in your browser. No account needed.
🔗 thetoolsfusion.com/calculator/stripe-fee-calculator
