Stripe Fees 2026 – Overview
| Payment method | Percentage | Fixed fee | At €50 | At €500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cards from the EEA | 1.5% | €0.25 | €1.00 | €7.75 |
| Premium cards from the EEA | 2.8% | €0.25 | €1.65 | €14.25 |
| Cards from the UK | 2.5% | €0.25 | €1.50 | €12.75 |
| International cards | 3.15% | €0.25 | €1.83 | €16.00 |
| SEPA Direct Debit | — | €0.35 | €0.35 | €0.35 |
As of October 2026, according to stripe.com/de/pricing (standard rate for Germany). No monthly base fee. Plus currency conversion (2%, if applicable). Payment dispute (chargeback): €20 per case. EEA = European Economic Area (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Premium cards include many business and credit cards with a bonus programme.
Stripe Fees 2026: Transparent and Affordable
Stripe is a leading payment provider for online businesses and offers a transparent pay-as-you-go model with no monthly base fee. For card payments from within the EEA in particular, Stripe is considerably cheaper than PayPal.
Stripe vs. PayPal: which is cheaper?
For standard cards from the EEA, Stripe at 1.5% + €0.25 is considerably cheaper than PayPal Checkout (2.99% + €0.39). On a €100 sale you pay €1.75 with Stripe instead of €3.38 – roughly 48% less. For premium cards (2.8%) and international cards (3.15%) the gap narrows considerably.
SEPA Direct Debit: the insider tip
The cheapest option at Stripe is SEPA Direct Debit (the euro-area bank direct debit scheme) at just €0.35 per transaction – regardless of the amount. On a €500 sale that is only 0.07% instead of 1.5%. Ideal for subscription models and recurring payments.
No hidden costs
Stripe charges no monthly base fee, no set-up fees and has no minimum contract term. You only pay on successful transactions. That makes Stripe particularly attractive for start-ups and small businesses that don't yet have steady revenue.
Worked examples: what is left at €10, €100 and €500?
Stripe's fee formula is simple, but its effect depends heavily on the basket size. On a standard card from the EEA (1.5% + €0.25), €10 of revenue costs €0.40, which is 4.0% of the amount. At €100 it is €1.75 (1.75%), and at €500 exactly €7.75 (1.55%). The fixed €0.25 therefore weighs mainly on small amounts, while the effective rate approaches the percentage as orders get larger.
With premium cards from the EEA (2.8% + €0.25) the cost at €100 is €3.05, and with international cards (3.15% + €0.25) it is €3.40. The same order can therefore cost the merchant almost twice as much depending on which card the customer uses. Do not plan with a single rate but with a mix: the calculator above shows the exact fee per payment method, and the field “Transactions per month” scales it up to a monthly total.
SEPA Direct Debit or card: when does which pay off?
SEPA Direct Debit costs a flat €0.35 per payment at Stripe. It becomes cheaper than a standard card from an amount of about €6.67, because at that amount 1.5% + €0.25 also comes to €0.35. Against premium cards the threshold is already about €3.57. On an €80 basket you pay €0.35 by direct debit and €1.45 by standard card.
An example for a subscription model: 200 payments of €50 a month cost €200 by standard card (€1.00 each) but only €70 by SEPA Direct Debit. That is a saving of €130 a month, or €1,560 a year. There are drawbacks, however: customers can have direct debits returned within the permitted period, and the payment is only final after a few days. For merchants with a high fraud risk, or those delivering digital goods instantly, the card is therefore often the safer choice even though it costs more.
Extra costs the calculator can include
Two items can noticeably change the result. Currency conversion adds 2% of the amount when you receive payments in a currency other than your account currency. On €100 of revenue with a standard card, the cost rises from €1.75 to €3.75, i.e. 3.75%. If you sell internationally, offer prices in your account currency where possible, or deliberately build the conversion cost into your pricing.
Instant payout costs 1% of the amount, with a minimum of €0.50. The regular payout to your bank account is free. On a €30 payment the instant payout therefore costs not €0.30 but €0.50 because of the minimum. It is only worthwhile when liquidity is genuinely tight. You can switch both options on and off individually in the calculator to see their effect on your net payout.
Legal framework: the surcharging ban and strong customer authentication
In Germany, merchants may not charge consumers an extra fee for SEPA credit transfers, SEPA direct debits and most common consumer cards. This is governed by section 270a of the German Civil Code (BGB), which rests on the European Payment Services Directive and the Interchange Fee Regulation (EU) 2015/751. You must therefore build Stripe's fees into your prices rather than passing them on to customers as a surcharge. Breaches can lead to warning letters from competitors, so have your pricing checked legally if in doubt.
That regulation also caps interchange fees for consumer debit and credit cards in the EEA. This is the main reason standard cards from the EEA are charged at lower rates than premium, corporate or non-EEA cards. In addition, the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requires strong customer authentication for many online card payments, for example via 3-D Secure. Stripe handles this technically, but customers occasionally abandon the purchase as a result, which you should factor into your revenue planning.
Step by step: how to estimate your payment costs
First work out your average basket and the number of payments per month. Then estimate what share goes to standard cards, premium cards, international cards and direct debit, and run each group through the calculator separately. Add up the results and divide by your total revenue to get your average fee rate. Finally, check stripe.com/de/pricing for any changes to the rates, and include refunds in your calculation: according to Stripe, fees are not returned when a payment is refunded.
Frequently asked questions about Stripe fees
No. Stripe has no monthly base fee, no set-up costs and no minimum contract term. You only pay transaction fees on successful payments.
For standard cards from the EEA: 1.5% + €0.25, premium cards from the EEA 2.8% + €0.25, cards from the UK 2.5% + €0.25, international cards 3.15% + €0.25. SEPA Direct Debit costs just a flat €0.35, regardless of the amount.
Yes, considerably so for card payments from within the EU. Stripe charges 1.5% + €0.25 for standard cards, whereas PayPal Checkout charges 2.99% + €0.39. On a €100 sale you save about €1.63 per transaction with Stripe – which adds up quickly across many transactions.
Yes. Businesses with high payment volumes can negotiate custom pricing with Stripe. Contact Stripe's sales team to do so. The standard prices apply to most businesses.
Not as a matter of course in Germany. Under section 270a BGB, surcharges for SEPA credit transfers, SEPA direct debits and most consumer cards are not permitted. Build the fees into your prices instead. Other payment methods are subject to their own rules, which you should have checked legally if in doubt.
According to Stripe, the original fees are not returned when a payment is refunded. If you refund €100 paid by standard card, you therefore lose the €1.75 fee. If you have many returns, include these costs in your calculation and check the current terms at stripe.com/de/pricing.
For direct debit, Stripe charges a fixed fee of €0.35 regardless of the amount. Card payments add a percentage that also reflects the costs of the card networks and banks. In return, direct debits have return periods during which the customer can reverse the payment. It is particularly suited to recurring payments from known customers.
