Payment Processor Fee Calculator
Calculate the real fee you pay to PayPal, Stripe, Wise, Payoneer, or a bank wire on an invoice. See net received, effective fee rate, and a smarter recommendation based on your invoice size.
Why Payment Processor Fees Destroy Freelance Margins
International freelancers lose 2-8% of every invoice to payment processor fees, currency conversion markups, and receiving bank charges. Over a year, that is one to two entire months of income disappearing before you touch the money. A $50,000/year freelancer on PayPal with currency conversion loses roughly $3,500-4,000 annually — more than a typical month of rent. Choosing the right processor for each invoice size is one of the highest-leverage financial decisions a freelancer makes.
This calculator takes the real fee structure of each major processor (PayPal, PayPal Business, Stripe, Wise, Payoneer, bank wire, Revolut) and tells you exactly how much you lose on a given invoice, what you net, and which processor would minimise the loss for that invoice size. Small invoices favour processors with low percentage fees; large invoices favour flat-fee bank wires; cross-currency invoices favour Wise and Revolut, which use the mid-market rate rather than hidden FX markups.
Real Processor Fee Structures (2026)
PayPal Business: ~3.49% + $0.49 + ~3.0% FX markup
Stripe: 2.9% + $0.30 (domestic) or +1% international
Wise (Business): ~0.43% average + small fixed fee (mid-market FX)
Payoneer: ~3% local collection + ~2% FX markup
Bank Wire: $15-45 flat sending + $15-30 receiving + ~2% FX markup
Revolut (Business): ~0.5% above monthly free allowance (mid-market FX)
These rates are published on each provider's fee schedule. Wise and Revolut use the real mid-market FX rate, which is why they come out 2-3% cheaper than PayPal/Payoneer/banks on any currency-conversion transaction — the conversion markup is where the biggest hidden fees live. For US-to-US domestic transfers without currency conversion, ACH bank transfer (free) or Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) are usually the cheapest options.
Choosing the Right Processor by Invoice Size
Rules of thumb. For invoices under $500 with no FX: Stripe or PayPal Business (percent fees are small on small amounts, and the flat fee dominates wire transfers). For invoices $500-5,000 with FX: Wise is usually the winner because the percentage fee is under 1% and the mid-market FX saves you 2-3%. For invoices over $5,000 with FX: bank wire or Wise, depending on speed needs — the $40 flat wire fee is a small percent of a $10,000 invoice. For domestic US: ACH (free) or Stripe. For EU-to-EU: SEPA (usually free or ~1 EUR).
Check the recommendation panel in the calculator output: it runs the same invoice through all processors and identifies the cheapest one. For recurring invoices with the same client, set up the cheapest processor once and save 2-5% on every payment forever. That single optimisation is often worth $1,000-3,000/year for a mid-career freelancer.
How to Reduce Fees Further
Three tactics. First, pass the fee to the client when possible: many B2B contracts include a "client pays processor fees" clause that eliminates the cost entirely — worth asking for. Second, bundle smaller invoices: sending one $5,000 invoice costs less in percentage terms than ten $500 invoices because the flat fees stack. Third, hold a multi-currency account (Wise Business, Revolut Business, or a local business account in your client's country) so you receive in the local currency and convert on your schedule at mid-market rates, not at the processor's marked-up rate.
Estimates for planning only. Rates and terms may vary by jurisdiction and contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which payment processor has the lowest fees for international freelancers?
For international freelancers receiving payment with currency conversion, Wise Business is consistently the cheapest, with ~0.4-0.8% average total fees and the real mid-market exchange rate. Revolut Business is similar. PayPal and Payoneer bundle a 2-3% FX markup on top of their stated percentage fees, making them 3-5x more expensive than Wise on cross-currency transactions. Bank wires are cheap for very large invoices (>$10,000) because the $15-45 flat fee becomes a small percentage, but they also apply ~2% FX markup unless you use a multi-currency account. For domestic US payments without currency conversion, ACH transfer (free) or Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) are usually the best options.
Why does PayPal charge so much more than Wise for the same transaction?
PayPal profits two ways: a visible percentage-plus-fixed fee (3.49-4.4% + $0.30-0.49 depending on account type and whether the payment is cross-border) plus an invisible ~3% markup on the currency exchange rate. Wise, by contrast, uses the real mid-market rate that you see on Google Finance and charges a transparent ~0.4% fee. On a $1,000 cross-border payment with currency conversion, PayPal typically costs $70-80 in combined fees and FX markup, while Wise costs $8-12. Multiplied across a year of invoices, this gap often exceeds $3,000 for a mid-career freelancer.
Can I legally pass processor fees to my clients?
Yes, in most jurisdictions, as long as it is disclosed in the contract. Many B2B contracts include a "client pays processor fees" clause that adds the fee on top of the invoice amount. Some jurisdictions (parts of the EU, a few US states) restrict "surcharging" for credit card payments specifically, but fees for bank wire, PayPal, or Stripe ACH are almost always passable. Always check your contract and local rules. A common approach is to quote one price for bank wire/ACH and a higher price (fee-inclusive) for credit card payments.
What about cryptocurrency as a payment option for freelancers?
Cryptocurrency can have very low transaction fees but comes with significant drawbacks: price volatility means the USD value of payment can swing 5-20% in the days between invoice and settlement, most clients cannot easily pay in crypto, tax reporting is more complex (each crypto transaction is a taxable event in most jurisdictions), and stablecoin conversions back to fiat still involve exchange fees. For now, crypto makes sense only for a small subset of tech-native freelancers whose clients are already crypto-native. Wise, Revolut, and multi-currency bank accounts cover the international freelance case more reliably.
How much do payment fees cost a typical $60,000/year freelancer?
A freelancer invoicing $60,000/year through PayPal with currency conversion loses approximately $3,000-4,500/year to fees and FX markups (5-7.5% effective total). The same freelancer using Wise Business for cross-border invoices loses approximately $300-600/year (0.5-1%). That is a $2,500-4,000 annual difference — roughly one month of living expenses for many freelancers. Switching processors is typically a 30-minute setup task that pays back forever, making it one of the highest-ROI optimisations available.
Do clients have to also pay fees to send through Wise or PayPal?
It depends on the direction. On PayPal, both the sender and the recipient may pay fees depending on payment type (Friends & Family is usually free for the sender but not allowed for business). On Wise, the sender typically pays a small fee (0.4-1%) and the recipient pays nothing; the mid-market rate applies with no hidden markup. Stripe, ACH, and bank wires usually charge the sender only. For freelancers receiving money, Wise and ACH result in you netting the full invoice amount; PayPal and Payoneer eat into the invoice amount before it reaches you.