What does a card payment really cost?
At US list rates, a $50 sale through Stripe costs $1.75. On Shopify Basic with Stripe, the platform adds 2% and the total rises to $2.75. With Shopify Payments it costs $1.75, but you are then tied to Shopify’s own processor.
Your numbers
| Route | Rate | Platform fee | Per sale | A month | % of the sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments (Basic) | 2.9% + 30¢ | 0% | $1.75 | $350.00 | 3.5% |
| Stripe on Shopify | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2% | $2.75 | $550.00 | 5.5% |
| PayPal, paying by card, on Shopify | 2.99% + 49¢ | 2% | $2.99 | $597.00 | 5.97% |
| PayPal wallet on Shopify | 3.49% + 49¢ | 2% | $3.24 | $647.00 | 6.47% |
| Stripe on Waise | 2.9% + 30¢ | 0% | $1.75 | $350.00 | 3.5% |
| PayPal, paying by card, on Waise | 2.99% + 49¢ | 0% | $1.99 | $397.00 | 3.97% |
| PayPal wallet on Waise | 3.49% + 49¢ | 0% | $2.24 | $447.00 | 4.47% |
The PayPal routes on Shopify assume Shopify Payments is not active. If Shopify Payments is your primary provider, PayPal payments are exempt from Shopify’s fee.
How it’s calculated
Cost per sale = amount × rate % + fixed fee + amount × platform fee. Monthly cost = cost per sale × orders.
What this calculator leaves out
Your platform subscription, international cards and Amex, currency conversion, manually entered cards, refunds, chargebacks and disputes, and special rates such as Shop Pay Installments. These are standard US list rates, not negotiated ones. In Israel the rate is set in your agreement with the processor, so it isn’t here.
Who this suits, and who it doesn’t
A good fit
- US stores comparing processors before choosing a platform or payment company.
Pick something else
- Stores selling mostly on international cards. The base rate here is lower than what you’ll actually pay.
- Anyone staying on Shopify with Shopify Payments: you pay no platform fee, and may have no reason to switch.
Questions
Why does Shopify charge a fee when I already pay Stripe?
Shopify charges a fee on payments through a third-party provider, on top of what that provider charges: 2%, 1% or 0.6% by plan. Payments through Shopify Payments don’t carry it.
Does Shopify’s fee apply to PayPal too?
Yes, unless Shopify Payments is your primary provider, in which case PayPal payments are exempt. In countries where Shopify Payments isn’t available, such as Israel, that exemption doesn’t help.
Does Waise add a fee on top of processing?
No. Waise has no fee on orders on any plan. You pay a flat subscription, and the processing fee goes directly to the processor you connect.
Are these the rates I will pay?
These are the published US rates. International cards, currency conversion and some card types cost more, and larger businesses can negotiate different rates.
The online store that runs itself, with brakes
- AI that acts, with brakes. Pulse changes orders, prices, discounts and content from one conversation. A sensitive change first shows a before-and-after card and waits for your approval, and almost any change can be undone.
- Your money is protected on the server, not by a promise. Anything touching money needs a confirmation tied to the exact values you saw, and the margin guard blocks a price below your minimum, even when an outside AI asks for it.
- Profit, not just sales. An order counts only once your payment provider confirms the money, and profit is worked out after fees, shipping, cost of goods and refunds.
- Open to your own AI. Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini connect to your store over MCP and pass through exactly the same brakes.
- Five ways to build, one system behind them. A ready theme, designing by chat with Pulse, your own code, outside builders like Lovable or Webflow, or your own AI. Checkout, orders, customers and money stay in one place.
- 0% of your sales. One flat monthly plan. When your store grows, our cut doesn’t, because there isn’t one.
- Built by someone who sold. Or Avrahami, a practical electronics and computer engineer, ran an online store on Shopify and built what that store needed. That became Waise.
Sources
Every rate was checked on the date beside its source. We could read PayPal’s page only as a search engine’s stored copy, because PayPal blocks automated loading. Confirm it before you rely on it.
- stripe.com/pricing US standard: 2.9% + 30¢. International card +1.5%, currency conversion +1%. Checked 2026-11-08
- www.paypal.com/us/business/paypal-business-fees US: PayPal and Venmo wallet 3.49% + 49¢, cards through PayPal Checkout 2.99% + 49¢. Read from a search engine’s copy. Checked 2026-11-08
- www.shopify.com/blog/credit-card-processing-fees Shopify Payments US: 2.9%, 2.7% and 2.5% + 30¢. Checked 2026-11-08
- www.shopify.com/pricing Fee with a third-party provider: 2%, 1% and 0.6%. Checked 2026-11-08
- help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/billing-charges/types-of-charges/third-party-charges/third-party-transaction-fees When the fee applies, and the PayPal exemption. Checked 2026-11-08
Updated
Written and checked by Or Avrahami, Founder of Waise ·
Open your store free See all pricing
14 free days with up to 5 real orders · No credit card to start · Cancel anytime