Gym revenue is recurring, low-value and domestic, which makes it a failed-payment problem far more than a rate problem.
Comparisons
Every major processor's published rate in one table, with the effective rate at three ticket sizes.
What Payment Processing Costs Gyms and Studios
Starting from a $89 average transaction and the card mix typical for gyms and studios.
%
Paydude surcharges Amex at +0.3%
%
Excluding Amex, counted above
%
Stripe surcharges these; Paydude does not
Take these shares from a real statement rather than estimating. Card mix moves the answer more than the headline rate does, which is the entire reason this calculator asks for it.
You would save$1,761a year versus Stripe, on this card mix
- Stripe
- $1,4703.27%
- Paydude (Starter)
- $1,3232.94%
- Difference per month
- $147
- Surcharged share
- 20%Amex + premium
Paydude is cheaper here at any card mix — even if every single transaction were on a surcharged card, the base rate difference would still cover it.
Annual saving at other Amex + premium shares
0% surcharged$2,085
10% surcharged$1,923
25% surcharged$1,680
50% surcharged$1,275
75% surcharged$870
Excludes chargeback and dispute fees, where Paydude charges $12 against a $15–$25 norm. Those depend on your dispute rate rather than your volume, so they are left out of the comparison above.
What a membership payment really costs
At $89 a month the fixed fee is around 0.34% — meaningful, but dwarfed by what a lapsed membership costs.
| Fee | Effective rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ | $2.88 | 3.24% |
| Paydude 2.6% + 25¢ | $2.56 | 2.88% |
Failed payments cost more than fees
A member whose card expires and who is never recovered costs you their remaining lifetime value, not 30¢. At 8% monthly failure and 60% recovery, a gym at $45,000 MRR loses roughly $17,000 a year to payments that simply stopped working.
What to check on your own statement
- Your real average transaction. Total volume divided by transaction count.
- Your Amex and corporate card share. In this industry it is usually higher than people expect, and it moves the answer.
- Whether you are being charged for keyed entry. Manually entered card details cost more at most providers.
- Monthly, gateway and PCI fees, divided by your volume.
Card account updater addresses the largest category of these automatically — see what is account updater.
GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
What does payment processing cost for gyms and studios?+
At a typical $89 transaction, a standard 2.9% + 30¢ rate works out at 3.24%. At that ticket the fixed fee is almost irrelevant — the percentage and your card mix decide the bill. Corporate and Amex cards, which are common in this industry, cost more to accept everywhere.
What is the best payment processor for gyms and studios?+
Prioritise recurring billing quality and failed-payment recovery over rate. If you also take payment at the desk, you need card-present support, which API-first providers including Paydude do not offer.
Why do business and corporate cards cost more?+
Because their interchange is higher — the rewards and expense-management features those cards offer are funded from the fee the merchant pays. Some providers surcharge them explicitly; others fold the cost into a higher base rate that every merchant pays regardless of card mix.
Is it cheaper to take ACH or bank transfer instead?+
Frequently, at this ticket size. ACH is typically a flat fee of under a dollar rather than a percentage, so on a $89 payment it can cost a fraction of card processing. The trade is settlement speed and a longer dispute window.