Why can I not just add the fee percentage to my price?

Because the fee then applies to the higher price too. To net $100 at 2.9% + $0.30 you need to charge $103.40, not $103.20 — divide by (1 − rate) and add the flat fee, do not multiply by (1 + rate).

Are these rates current?

Each schedule carries the month it was checked, shown under the results. Platforms change pricing regularly and rates vary by country, category and plan, so confirm against the platform's own pricing page before pricing a product around these numbers.

Do fees apply to shipping and tax?

It depends on the platform, which is why the calculator states the basis. Etsy charges its transaction fee on item price plus shipping; eBay charges its final value fee on the total including tax; Stripe charges on whatever you charge the card.

How do I reduce platform fees?

Raise average order value so the flat component matters less, negotiate volume rates once you are large enough, and move repeat customers to a direct channel. Chasing a 0.2% processing difference is rarely worth the migration.

Platform Fee Calculator

Fees Are Not a Rounding Error

On a $30 sale, a 2.9% + $0.30 processor takes 3.9%. On a $5 sale it takes 8.9%. The flat component is what makes small transactions expensive, and it is the part most sellers leave out of their spreadsheet.

Sale	Percentage fee	Flat fee	Total	Effective rate
$5	$0.15	$0.30	$0.45	9.0%
$20	$0.58	$0.30	$0.88	4.4%
$50	$1.45	$0.30	$1.75	3.5%
$200	$5.80	$0.30	$6.10	3.1%

The Gross-Up Formula

To receive a target amount after fees:

``charge = (target + flat fee) ÷ (1 − percentage rate)`

To net $100 through Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30:

`charge = (100 + 0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029) = $103.30`

Adding 2.9% to $100 gives $102.90, which nets $99.68 — you are $0.32 short on every order.

`Marketplace Stacking`

Marketplaces charge several fees at once, and they compound differently than a single processor. A $50 Etsy sale with $8 shipping:

Fee	Basis	Amount
Listing	Flat	$0.20
Transaction 6.5%	Item + shipping ($58)	$3.77
Payment 3% + $0.25	Total	$2.00
Total		$5.97 (10.3%)


Add Offsite Ads at 15% when it triggers and the same order costs $14.67 — nearly 30%.

`Comparing Channels`

Channel	Typical take	Notes
Stripe / Square direct	2.9% + $0.30	You supply the traffic
Shopify + Shopify Payments	2.9% + $0.30	Plus monthly plan
Gumroad	10% + processing	No storefront work
Etsy	~10%	Marketplace traffic included
eBay	~13.6%	Marketplace traffic included
Amazon FBA	15% + fulfilment	Traffic and logistics included
Fiverr	20%	Traffic and escrow included


The higher takes buy demand. The question is not which fee is lowest but which channel
delivers customers you would not otherwise reach at a cost below its cut.

`Every Platform Charges the Same Two Shapes`

Under the branding, almost every fee schedule is a percentage plus a flat amount:

`fee = (amount × percentage) + flat`

The flat component is what makes the effective rate depend on order size. At 2.9% + 30¢:

Sale	Fee	Effective rate
$5	$0.45	9.0%
$20	$0.88	4.4%
$50	$1.75	3.5%
$200	$6.10	3.1%
$1,000	$29.30	2.9%


A business selling $5 items pays three times the headline rate. Raising average order value
is usually a larger lever on payment costs than negotiating the percentage, and it is
entirely within your control.

`What the Percentage Applies To`

The number people compare is the rate. The number that decides the bill is the basis — and platforms differ:

Etsy charges its transaction fee on the item price *plus shipping*.


eBay charges the final value fee on the total *including sales tax*.
Stripe and most processors charge on the total charge amount.
Airbnb charges on the booking subtotal, excluding its own guest fee.


A 6.5% fee on a base that includes $8 of shipping costs more than a 7% fee on the item
alone. Comparing rates without comparing bases produces the wrong answer regularly.
Charging to Receive a Specific Amount
To net a target, you divide — you do not add the percentage:

`charge = (target + flat) ÷ (1 − rate)``

Adding 2.9% to $100 gives $102.90, which after fees leaves $99.68. The correct figure is $103.40. The error is small on one sale and systematic across thousands, and it is the most common arithmetic mistake in pricing.

Where the Costs Fall Into Groups

Reading across the thirty-odd platforms here, the categories behave differently:

Category	Typical total	Examples
Payment processors	2.6–3.5% + flat	[Stripe](/finance/stripe-fee-calculator), [Square](/finance/square-fee-calculator), [PayPal](/finance/paypal-fee-calculator)
Merchants of record	~5% + flat	[Paddle](/finance/fee-calculator/paddle-fee-calculator), [Lemon Squeezy](/finance/fee-calculator/lemon-squeezy-fee-calculator)
Creator platforms	5–10% + processing	[Ko-fi](/finance/fee-calculator/ko-fi-fee-calculator), [Substack](/finance/fee-calculator/substack-fee-calculator), [Patreon](/finance/patreon-fee-calculator)
Marketplaces	8–20%	[Etsy](/finance/etsy-fee-calculator), [eBay](/finance/ebay-fee-calculator), [Mercari](/finance/fee-calculator/mercari-fee-calculator), [Poshmark](/finance/fee-calculator/poshmark-fee-calculator)
Gig platforms	10–20%	[Upwork](/finance/upwork-fee-calculator), [Fiverr](/finance/fiverr-fee-calculator)
Delivery marketplaces	15–30%	[DoorDash](/finance/fee-calculator/doordash-commission-calculator)

A higher rate is not automatically a worse deal. A processor charges 2.9% and sends you no customers; a marketplace charges 15% and is the reason the sale happened at all. The question is whether those buyers would have found you otherwise — and for most sellers on most marketplaces, the honest answer is no.

What a Fee Calculator Cannot Tell You

Fees are rarely the largest line in a seller's P&L. Before concluding a channel is unprofitable, add:

Cost of goods, and the unsold inventory amortised across what does sell
Shipping and packaging, including what you absorb to offer free delivery
Returns, at your actual rate rather than the one you hope for
Chargebacks — typically $15 each and not returned even when you win
Advertising, on platforms where organic reach has effectively gone
Your time, at a real hourly rate

A 13% marketplace fee on a product with a 20% gross margin is not a 7% profit. It usually is not a profit at all.

Platform Fee Calculator

Fee breakdown

What should I charge?