Stripe
Lowest$175.00
3.50% of revenue · per month
- % fee
- $145.00
- Fixed fees
- $30.00
- Monthly base
- $0.00
Free tool · Boilerlykit
Stripe vs Paddle vs Polar checkout fee calculator
Picking a checkout provider for a digital product is mostly a fee math problem once you've decided whether you want a Merchant of Record handling tax. This calculator does the math. Defaults are ballparks — Stripe's standard US rate, plus typical MoR rates for Paddle and Polar — that you should verify on each pricing page before relying on the output.
Calculator
Estimated monthly fees
Paddle
$300.00
6.00% of revenue · per month
- % fee
- $250.00
- Fixed fees
- $50.00
- Monthly base
- $0.00
Polar
$240.00
4.80% of revenue · per month
- % fee
- $200.00
- Fixed fees
- $40.00
- Monthly base
- $0.00
The math: total = revenue × percent_fee + transactions × fixed_fee + monthly_base. Edit any provider rate above to recompute. This calculator does not include chargeback fees, currency conversion fees, or dispute fees — verify those separately on each provider's pricing page.
Default rates last reviewed 2026-04-29. Provider rates change — verify on each provider's pricing page before relying on the output.
Frequently asked
- Why is Paddle's percentage fee higher than Stripe's?
- Paddle is a Merchant of Record — they collect EU VAT and US sales tax on your behalf, handle chargebacks and refunds, and produce compliant invoices. The higher percentage covers the back-office work you would otherwise do yourself (or pay an accountant for). Stripe is a raw processor: lower fees, but you remain responsible for tax filings and dispute paperwork.
- When does Stripe (raw) beat a Merchant of Record on total cost?
- Roughly: when your volume is high enough that the 2-3% fee delta exceeds the cost of your tax and compliance work, and when you operate in a single tax jurisdiction. For US-only sellers with a CPA, Stripe is usually the cheaper end-to-end answer past low six figures in revenue. For EU/UK or multi-region sellers, the MoR cost is often a wash because compliance is the bigger expense.
- What's missing from this calculator?
- Chargeback fees ($15-$25 per chargeback on Stripe; included in MoR pricing for Paddle/Polar), currency conversion fees on cross-currency settlements, dispute fees, and the optional radar/fraud rates that bigger merchants negotiate. For a quick provider comparison the percentage + fixed fee model captures 90% of the cost; verify the rest on each pricing page.
- Why include Polar alongside Paddle?
- Polar is positioned for digital-product creators and indie SaaS — its checkout flow and developer experience are built for that audience. The fee structure is similar to Paddle's but with a slightly lower percentage at the time of writing. Whether the 1-point delta matters depends on your volume; this calculator surfaces it directly.
- Are the default rates accurate?
- Defaults are ballparks reviewed in April 2026. Provider pricing changes frequently — Stripe has multiple regional rates, Paddle and Polar both list their current percentages on their public pricing pages. Treat the defaults as starting points, then edit to the current published rates before relying on the output.
Want the deeper editorial? Read our Paddle vs Stripe breakdown for when each is the right fit.
Done with the math?
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SaaSForge templates ship Stripe (Core), Polar (template checkout), and the wiring patterns for both. $59 to $259, one-time purchase.