# Stax Fee Calculator

URL: https://www.paydude.io/resources/tools/stax-fee-calculator
Type: Free interactive calculator
Summary: Calculate Stax processing fees at your own volume and ticket size, and see the effective rate rather than the headline interchange + 8¢.

Stax charges a monthly subscription and passes interchange through at cost. Drag both sliders — ticket size changes the answer as much as volume does, because the fixed per-transaction fee is a much bigger share of a small sale.

## Summary

Stax published rate: interchange + 8¢ plus $99.00 a month. The effective rate you pay is always higher than the headline percentage. On small tickets the fixed fee costs more than the percentage does. Compare on effective rate, not on the advertised number.

## How Stax prices card payments

Stax uses subscription pricing: a flat monthly membership fee, then interchange at cost plus a small fixed amount per transaction with no percentage markup. That structure is unusual and becomes compelling only above a volume threshold.

**Stax published rate, September 2026**

| Component | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| Percentage of each transaction | interchange + 8¢ |
| Fixed fee per transaction | 8¢ |
| Monthly platform fee | $99.00 |

> **Verify before you rely on this:** Published rates change, and Stax may quote you something different from its list price. These figures are its advertised standard rate as of September 2026 — check the current rate card before making a decision on it.

## Why your effective rate is higher than the headline

A percentage takes the same share of every sale. A fixed fee does not — 8¢ is the same amount on a $5 charge as on a $500 one, so it costs a hundred times more of the small one proportionally.

**Stax effective rate by ticket size**

| Average transaction | Fee | Effective rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $5 | $.12 | 2.40% |
| $10 | $.16 | 1.60% |
| $25 | $.28 | 1.12% |
| $50 | $.48 | 0.96% |
| $100 | $.88 | 0.88% |
| $250 | $2.08 | 0.83% |

## Who Stax suits

Stax suits higher-volume merchants where a fixed monthly fee spread over large volume beats a percentage markup.

> **Worth knowing:** The break-even is the whole decision. Below roughly $20,000–$30,000 a month, the subscription costs more than the percentage markup it replaces. The estimate here excludes interchange itself, which you pay at cost on top.

## What this does not include

- International card surcharges, typically 1–1.5% on top
- Currency conversion, usually another 1–2%
- Chargeback and dispute fees, which depend on your dispute rate
- Negotiated pricing, which is not publicly listed

For your real blended number across all of those, run one month of statements through the [effective rate calculator](https://www.paydude.io/resources/tools/effective-rate-calculator). To see every provider side by side, use the [payment processor fee comparison](https://www.paydude.io/resources/payment-processor-fee-comparison).

**Paydude starts at 2.6% + 25¢** Published tiers that improve automatically with volume, and no monthly platform fee. — [See the rate card](https://www.paydude.io/pricing)

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does Stax charge per transaction?

Stax advertises interchange + 8¢, plus a $99.00 monthly fee for standard domestic card payments. What you actually pay is higher, because the fixed fee is a larger share of small transactions — at a $10 ticket the effective rate is 1.60%.

### Why is my Stax effective rate higher than interchange + 8¢?

Because of the fixed 8¢ per transaction. The percentage is the same on every sale, but the flat fee is a much bigger proportion of a small one. Divide your total monthly fees by your total volume to see the real figure.

### Does Stax have a monthly fee?

Yes — $99.00 a month on the plan priced here, on top of the per-transaction cost. Factor it in at low volume, where it can outweigh the transaction fees entirely.

### How do I compare this to other processors?

Compare effective rates at your own average ticket size, not headline percentages. A provider with a lower percentage and a higher fixed fee can easily cost more if your transactions are small. The payment processor fee comparison table puts every provider side by side at three ticket sizes.