Compare Payment Gateway Fees
Evaluate payment processing costs across 25+ gateways based on your transfer volume, invoice frequency, and target payout amounts.
Payment Gateway Comparison Calculator
Enter your target payout parameters to generate live comparative fee estimates across providers.
Comparative Provider Cost Matrix (Sorted Lowest Fee First)
For non-USD payouts, all gateways in this comparison use the same estimated currency conversion spread (1.5%) — actual FX markups vary by provider and are not yet individually modeled. This affects the relative accuracy of cross-border comparisons specifically.
See How Payment Fees Affect Your Costs
When processing transactions across international borders, payment gateway fees operate under vastly different pricing structures. Credit card processors (Stripe, Square, Braintree) charge a percentage of the total payment volume plus a fixed transaction fee. International money transfer platforms (Wise, Payoneer) use lower percentage spreads with fixed bank wire charges. Merchant of Record (MoR) platforms (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy) charge higher flat percentages (typically 5.0% + $0.50) because they handle global sales tax compliance and chargeback liability.
This comparison matrix evaluates provider cost variations by applying each gateway's published base rate structure to your specific invoice parameters. It helps freelancers, agencies, IT exporters, and SaaS businesses determine how different payment processing models impact net cash flow before issuing client invoices.
Compare Payment Processing Costs by Volume
Evaluating payment providers requires examining both per-transaction fees and cumulative annual processing costs. RemitScale calculates expected provider costs by taking your target payout amount, billing currency, fee model (gross-up invoice total vs. net deduction), and recurring invoice frequency.
How Annual Fee Leakage is Derived: Annual fee leakage represents the total cumulative amount deducted by payment providers across a full year of billing. It is calculated by taking the estimated per-transaction fee (processing percentage + fixed fee + FX conversion spread) and multiplying it by your selected yearly payout frequency:
Annual Fee Leakage = (Per-Transaction Fee) × (Yearly Invoice Frequency)
For example, processing a $1,000 monthly payout (12 invoices/year) through a provider charging 3.49% + $0.49 results in $36.65 in monthly fees — totaling $439.80 in annual fee leakage. Comparing these cumulative totals reveals how minor percentage variations significantly impact annual earnings.
Choose Based on Your Payment Volume
While processing costs are a critical consideration, choosing the right payment gateway requires balancing total transaction costs with operational functionality, client convenience, and regional currency support:
- Low-Volume / High-Value Invoices: Fixed transaction fees ($0.30 to $0.50) represent a tiny fraction of large amounts. Percentage fees and FX spreads are the primary cost drivers.
- High-Volume / Low-Value Transactions: Fixed per-transaction fees make up a much larger percentage of micro-payments. Providers with zero or minimal fixed charges (e.g. Wise or Revolut Business) preserve higher margins.
- International Cross-Border Billing: Direct bank transfer providers (Wise) offer live market exchange rates, avoiding the 1.5% to 4.0% FX markups charged by traditional card networks and digital wallets.
- Global Tax & MoR Compliance: Platforms like Paddle and Lemon Squeezy carry higher percentage rates but remove the overhead of managing EU VAT, US sales tax, and global compliance manually.
Assumptions & Limitations Note: Payment gateway fee rates vary by account region, merchant volume tier, payment issuing country, and contract terms. Results generated by this comparison tool are mathematical estimates based on published default rate structures and reference market FX data. Final transaction charges depend on your specific provider account agreement and client card type.