Live October 1st. Join waitlist, get early-bird rate for 6 months.Claim yours today →
Work out exactly what Lemon Squeezy costs you at your volume and average transaction size.
Lemon Squeezy is a merchant of record, so its rate covers far more than processing. 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.
Ticket size matters as much as volume: the fixed per-transaction fee is what makes small payments expensive.
At $25, the flat $0.50 adds 2.00% on top of the 5.00% headline rate — which is why the effective rate is 7.00%, not 5.00%.
Lemon Squeezy effective rate by ticket size
For comparison
Lemon Squeezy acts as the merchant of record: it sells to your customer on your behalf and takes on sales tax and VAT compliance, invoicing and fraud liability. The headline rate is therefore not comparable to a pure processor — it bundles a compliance service that would otherwise cost you separately.
| Component | Cost |
|---|---|
| Percentage of each transaction | 5% |
| Fixed fee per transaction | 50¢ |
A percentage takes the same share of every sale. A fixed fee does not — 50¢ 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.
| Average transaction | Fee | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $5 | $.75 | 15.00% |
| $10 | $1.00 | 10.00% |
| $25 | $1.75 | 7.00% |
| $50 | $3.00 | 6.00% |
| $100 | $5.50 | 5.50% |
| $250 | $13.00 | 5.20% |
Lemon Squeezy suits solo founders and small teams selling digital products internationally, where handling global sales tax yourself would cost more than the rate difference.
For your real blended number across all of those, run one month of statements through the effective rate calculator. To see every provider side by side, use the payment processor fee comparison.
GOOD QUESTIONS
Lemon Squeezy advertises 5% 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 10.00%.
Because of the fixed 50¢ 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.
Not on the standard plan priced here. Some Lemon Squeezy products and add-ons carry their own monthly costs, so check the plan you are actually on.
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.