How a card fee is built
Most card fees have two parts:
- A percentage of the order total. It grows with the order.
- A fixed fee per transaction. It stays the same whether the order is $10 or $1,000.
This guide uses an example rate of 2.9% + $0.30, common for US card payments. Your rate may differ, so treat it as a sample.
Payment fee = order total × percentage + fixed feeThe fee is usually charged on the total the customer paid, including tax and shipping.
Why the fixed part hurts small orders
The percentage costs every order the same share. The fixed fee doesn’t. On a small order, $0.30 is a big slice of the total. Here are three orders at the example rate:
| Order total | Fee | Fee as % of order |
|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | −$0.74 | 4.9% |
| $40.00 | −$1.46 | 3.7% |
| $120.00 | −$3.78 | 3.2% |
On the $15 order, the fee is $0.435 plus $0.30, or $0.74 rounded. The fixed $0.30 is about 40% of that fee. If you sell cheap items one at a time, you pay close to 5% in fees, not 2.9%.
This adds up. A thousand $15 orders a month pay about $735 in fees. The same revenue in $120 orders pays about $473. Bundles and free-shipping thresholds that raise the order size also lower your fee share.
What changes your rate
The rate on your pricing page is often the best case. Several things can move it:
- Where the card comes from. Rates differ by country, and a card issued abroad often costs more than a local one.
- Currency conversion. If the customer pays in a currency other than your payout currency, a conversion fee may apply on top.
- Card type. Business cards, premium cards and some card brands can cost more.
- Payment method. Wallets, bank payments and pay-later options each have their own pricing.
- Your plan. Some providers offer lower rates at higher volume or on custom plans.
Check your provider’s pricing page for your country. Don’t use a rate you read in a forum or a guide, this one included.
Refunds can cost you the fee twice
When you refund an order, you give back the money. You may not get back the fee. Some providers keep the original fee on a refund, and some return part of it. Check whether your provider returns the fee when you refund. If it doesn’t, a refunded order still costs you the fee, with no revenue to cover it.
Disputes and chargebacks usually carry their own fee as well. Look for it in your provider’s pricing.
Where to see the fee you paid
The exact fee is better than any rate. Here’s where to find it:
- On the WooCommerce order. Stripe, WooPayments and PayPal Payments record the fee on the order in many setups. Open an order and look near the totals or in the order notes.
- In your provider’s dashboard. Each payment shows the amount, the fee and what you received.
- In payout reports. These list the fees taken from each payout, which is useful for checking a month at a time.
Compare a few recorded fees with your rate. If they don’t match, your card mix or currency is costing more than you assumed.
How to count fees in profit
Take the fee off each order, the same way you take off product cost and shipping. Use the recorded fee when the order has one. If it doesn’t, use your rate: the percentage times the order total, plus the fixed fee. If you run more than one gateway, use the right rate for each.
Keep a date on your rates. When a provider changes its pricing, old orders should keep the old rate, so last year’s profit doesn’t change after the fact.
For the full picture of what each order leaves, see profit per order in WooCommerce.
A short checklist
- Find your rate on your provider’s pricing page for your country.
- Open five recent orders and compare the recorded fee with that rate.
- Work out your fee as a share of your average order.
- Check whether your provider returns the fee when you refund.
- Take the fee off every order when you calculate profit.