How do I compare payment-processing quotes?

Run the same payment record through each complete quote. Include the charge amount, number of charged transactions, fixed and percentage fees, monthly charges and the stated treatment of refunds. Compare service requirements separately before deciding that the cheaper calculation describes an acceptable option.

Published payment pricing can contain both a percentage and a fixed amount per transaction; Stripe's pricing page provides one real example of that structure. The two quotes below are entirely fictional and do not describe Stripe or another provider's offer.

Hold the payment record constant

Consider a business comparing one month's domestic card payments. Both invented quotes cover the same required service and have no setup, hardware, minimum-volume, cancellation, payout or other charges. There are no international cards, currency conversions, disputes, failed authorizations or additional taxes in the model.

• Quote A: 2.4 percent of each successful payment plus $0.25, with no monthly charge.
• Quote B: 1.8 percent of each successful payment plus $0.40, plus $30 for the month.

Start with 400 successful single-payment orders, each exactly $50. Gross payments total $20,000. Every successful charge incurs its specified percentage and fixed fee. All amounts use US dollars.

A costs $480 in percentage fees plus $100 in fixed fees: $580. B costs $360 plus $160 plus $30: $550. B is $30 lower for this precise record. The entire difference is much smaller than the $120 difference between the percentage-fee components.

Change the ticket size, not the sales total

Now supply a different record with the same $20,000 gross payments but 1,000 successful charges of $20 each. A's percentage fees remain $480, while fixed fees become $250, totaling $730. B's percentage fees remain $360, while fixed fees become $400; with the $30 monthly charge, B totals $790.

A is now $60 lower. B's lower percentage has not changed. The number of times its larger fixed fee is charged has changed.

This distinction matters when one order can involve several payments. If an accepted arrangement takes two installments, the fee record may contain two successful charges for one order. Do not use a session or customer count where the quote charges per payment. The counting-unit guide explains why those units need separate names.

Read refund treatment explicitly

Return to the first 400-charge record. Suppose two of its $50 orders are fully refunded: $100 in total. Under both fictional quotes, the original processing fees remain charged, but there is no additional refund fee. No other refund, return or adjustment occurs.

A therefore still costs $580, leaving $19,320 after the $100 customer refunds and processing. B still costs $550, leaving $19,350. Subtracting the original fees only from the unrefunded $19,900 would contradict these supplied terms.

All payments, refunds and fee deductions settle at the month's closing time in this limited comparison, with the monthly charge included. No holds or reserves delay the money here. Real quotes may have a different settlement schedule or fee treatment; use those actual terms rather than carrying this simplified timing into a payroll plan.

Compare the complete offer

1. Use a consistent period and actual or explicitly assumed payment mix.
2. Count the transaction type to which each fee applies, including installments where relevant.
3. Add monthly and other committed charges, without counting the same fee twice.
4. Price refunds and other relevant events using each quote's stated rules.
5. Check required features, service, settlement timing, commitments and any unresolved terms before choosing.

If different payment types or extra events matter to your business, extend the record. An unknown fee is not zero. At low volume, a monthly minimum can matter; at small ticket sizes, a fixed fee can dominate the apparent rate difference. Neither observation establishes that one actual provider is best.

The remainder here excludes the cost of winning and fulfilling the orders. The customer-acquisition comparison follows that separate work. Do not call a net payment deposit profit.