Payment Fee Calculator

Order of the calculation

The calculation follows the order on screen. The fee from the rate is rounded only once.

1. Fee from the rate = rounded (payment amount × fee rate ÷ 100)
2. Total fee = fee from the rate + fixed fee
3. Amount received = payment amount − total fee

All amounts are worked out as whole numbers of the smallest unit (cents, for example), so there is no floating-point error. You can choose to round down, round to nearest (the default) or round up. A real service may round differently; check its terms. The calculator does not assume any currency: enter amounts in whichever currency you use, with up to 2 decimal places.

Working backward (from the amount you want to receive to the amount to charge)

The calculator finds the smallest charge (in the smallest unit of the currency) at which the amount received is at least the amount you want.

• Each time the charge goes up by one unit, the amount received goes up by 0 or 1 unit (when the fee rate is below 100%). So there is always a charge that gives exactly the target amount, and the smallest one can be found reliably. If several charges give the same amount received, the smallest is shown.
• The result is recalculated forward from that charge, so you can check it. The amount received for a charge one unit lower is shown next to it, to confirm that it falls short (that the charge is the smallest).
• If the charge needed is above the largest amount you can enter (9,999,999,999.99), the calculator says it cannot be calculated and gives the reason.
• With a fee rate of 100%, raising the charge does not raise the amount received, so it cannot be worked backward.
• If no charge gives exactly the target, the smallest charge that reaches at least the target is shown next to the one unit lower.

Examples (the rate and fixed fee are made-up numbers for illustration)

• Payment 10,000.00, rate 3.6%, fixed fee 0: fee 360.00, amount received 9,640.00.
• Payment 10,000.00, rate 3.6%, fixed fee 0.30: fee 360.30, amount received 9,639.70.
• Working backward: receive 10,000.00, rate 3.6%, fixed fee 0 (round to nearest): charge 10,373.44 (fee 373.44, amount received exactly 10,000.00).

Edge cases

• Fee rate: 0 to 100%, up to 3 decimal places. At 100%, the amount received is constant, equal to minus the fixed fee.
• When the fee is larger than the payment amount (a small payment with a large fixed fee, for example), the amount received is negative. It is not an error; a notice is shown.
• Payment amount of 0: the fee from the rate is 0. With a fixed fee, the result is negative. The effective fee rate cannot be calculated.
• Amounts are 0 or more, up to 9,999,999,999.99, with up to 2 decimal places. If the charge needed for a backward calculation is above the maximum, the reason is shown.

Things to know

• The fee rates and fixed fees of real payment services differ and can change. They are not listed here, so enter the numbers from the terms or price list.
• If tax applies to the fee, enter the rate including tax.
• Payout timing, transfer fees and the handling of refunds are not included.
• For general percentage work, use the Percentage Calculator; to find an original amount from a result after a percentage change, use the Reverse Percentage Calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Is the fee rounded down or to the nearest unit?

It depends on the service. This calculator rounds to the nearest unit by default, and you can change it to round down or round up. Check the terms of your service for the real method.

How much should I charge to receive 10,000 at a rate of 3.6%?

With no fixed fee and rounding to the nearest cent, 10,373.44 (a fee of 373.44). You can check this with the backward mode.

What is a fixed fee?

A fee charged per transaction regardless of the amount (for example, a set amount per payment).