Stop Losing 3% to 9% to Hidden Payment Gateway, MoR & FX Fees
Headline rates like "2.9% + 30¢" ignore +1.5% international card surcharges, 1%–3.5% currency conversion spreads, +0.7% subscription billing, and global VAT compliance. Slide your numbers below to see your true net take-home pay and exact break-even point.
Interactive Fee, FX & Payout Simulator
Adjust sliders or toggle billing cadence, refund rates, and VAT mode to recalculate all 16 platforms in real time.
Processing $5,000/mo on Patreon (Standard) (15.69% take rate) costs you $6,269/year ($18,807 over 3 years) more than Stan Store ($29/mo) (5.24%).
Switch to Stan Store ($29/mo) & Recover +$6,269/yr vs Patreon
Creators, coaches, and solo educators selling digital downloads, templates, and calendar bookings from social traffic.
Stop Losing $516/yr to Hidden USD FX Spreads
Direct free ACH payouts in USD; US Economic Nexus rules require sales tax registration or a Merchant of Record once state thresholds are crossed.
Visual Take-Home vs. Fee Bleed Comparison ($5,000/mo Gross)
Green bar = Net Take-Home Pay kept by you • Red bar = Total Gateway, Fixed Cent, FX & Tax Bleed
Complete Ranked Net Payout Matrix (United States • USD)
Ranked from #1 Highest Monthly Net Take-Home to Lowest for $5,000/mo at $49 average ticket (monthly billing).
| Rank | Platform | MoR Tax? | SaaS Base | Proc + Fixed | Intl + FX | Total Fees/Mo | Effective Rate | Net Payout/Mo | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payout | Cross-Border & FX | Self / Addon | $0 | $0.00 | $8.00 | -$8.00 | 0.16% | $4,992.00 | Try Wise Business → |
| #1 | Payment Gateway | Self / Addon | $0 | $151.12 | $35.00 | -$186.12 | 3.72% | $4,813.88 | Not available in United States |
| #2 ★ | Creator & Community | Self / Addon | $29 | $175.61 | $57.50 | -$262.11 | 5.24% | $4,737.89 | Try Stan Store → |
| #3 | E-Commerce | Self / Addon | $25 | $175.61 | $72.50 | -$273.11 | 5.46% | $4,726.89 | Try Shopify → |
| #4 | Payment Gateway | Self / Addon | $0 | $235.61 | $57.50 | -$293.11 | 5.86% | $4,706.89 | Try Stripe → |
| #5 | Creator & Community | Yes (MoR) | $99 | $175.61 | $20.00 | -$294.61 | 5.89% | $4,705.39 | Try Skool Pro → |
| #6 | Merchant of Record | Yes (MoR) | $0 | $265.82 | $37.50 | -$303.32 | 6.07% | $4,696.68 | Try Dodo Payments → |
| #7 | Payment Gateway | Self / Addon | $0 | $224.50 | $107.50 | -$332.00 | 6.64% | $4,668.00 | Try PayPal → |
| #8 | Merchant of Record | Yes (MoR) | $0 | $301.02 | $40.00 | -$341.02 | 6.82% | $4,658.98 | Try Paddle → |
| #9 | Merchant of Record | Yes (MoR) | $0 | $326.02 | $37.50 | -$363.52 | 7.27% | $4,636.48 | Try Lemon Squeezy → |
| #10 | Merchant of Record | Yes (MoR) | $0 | $301.02 | $71.35 | -$372.37 | 7.45% | $4,627.63 | Try Polar.sh → |
| #11 | Creator & Community | Yes (MoR) | $0 | $315.61 | $57.50 | -$373.11 | 7.46% | $4,626.89 | Try Whop → |
| #12 | Creator & Community | Self / Addon | $179 | $175.61 | $57.50 | -$412.11 | 8.24% | $4,587.89 | Try Kajabi → |
| #13 | Creator & Community | Yes (MoR) | $9 | $530.61 | $20.00 | -$559.61 | 11.19% | $4,440.39 | Try Skool Hobby → |
| #14 | Merchant of Record | Yes (MoR) | $0 | $726.63 | $57.50 | -$784.13 | 15.68% | $4,215.87 | Try Gumroad → |
| #15 | Creator & Community | Yes (MoR) | $0 | $675.61 | $108.93 | -$784.55 | 15.69% | $4,215.45 | Try Patreon → |
Complete 12-Month Margin, Tax/VAT & Pricing Sensitivity Audit Pack
Presenting to a co-founder, client, or accountant—or modeling how your net margin scales from $1k to $50k/mo? Generate a custom-branded 2-Page Executive PDF Audit Report plus a 4-Section Excel / Google Sheets Sensitivity Model pre-populated with your exact slider settings (united-states, $5,000/mo).
- ✓ Branded Executive PDF Audit Report tailored to your exact revenue, ticket size & country
- ✓ 12-Month Excel / Google Sheets Sensitivity Model across 6 revenue milestones ($1k to $50k/mo)
- ✓ All 16 Payment Gateways, MoRs & Creator Platforms ranked with exact break-even thresholds
- ✓ Cross-Border FX & International Card Surcharge stress-test matrix
- ✓ Instant client-side download — zero waiting, lifetime browser unlock
Head-to-Head Platform Fee & Break-Even Calculators
Select any pair to view the exact monthly revenue break-even threshold and 7-tier scaling curve.
2026 Founder, SaaS & Creator Revenue Benchmarks
Pre-configured fee audits for specific MRR stages, ticket sizes, and cross-border setups.
Skool Hobby ($9/mo) vs Skool Pro ($99/mo) Break-Even Calculator
At $1,268/month in community membership sales, upgrading from Skool Hobby (10% fee) to Skool Pro (2.9% fee) pays for itself.
Best Payment Gateway & MoR for a $1,000 MRR Micro-SaaS ($19/mo Plan)
Comparing Stripe + Tax vs Polar.sh, Dodo Payments, Lemon Squeezy, and Paddle for early-stage indie hackers.
$10,000 MRR Global SaaS Fee & FX Audit ($49/mo Subscription)
See how international cards (+1.5%), currency conversion, and Stripe Billing/Tax impact a $120k ARR SaaS.
$5,000/mo Paid Community & Course Platform Fee Comparison ($99/mo Membership)
Skool Pro vs Kajabi vs Patreon vs Whop vs Gumroad for a 50-member community.
South African SaaS & Digital Creator Global Payout Calculator (USD to ZAR)
Compare Paystack, Lemon Squeezy, Polar.sh, Dodo Payments, PayPal FNB, and Wise Business for SA founders.
Swedish SaaS & Creator Global Fee Calculator (USD/EUR to SEK)
How Swedish Aktiebolag and solo founders minimize 25% Moms compliance and SEK FX conversion bleed.
Best Storefront for Selling $29 Notion Templates, Ebooks & Digital Packs ($2,000/mo)
Gumroad vs Stan Store vs Lemon Squeezy vs Polar.sh vs Whop for $29 one-time digital products.
High-Ticket Coaching & Agency Retainer Fee Calculator ($15,000/mo at $1,500 Ticket)
Comparing Wise Business invoicing, Stripe, Skool Pro, Kajabi, and PayPal on $1,500 coaching packages.
$25,000/mo Online Course Academy: Kajabi vs Skool Pro vs Whop vs Teachable
At $25k/mo ($299 course price), fixed-fee platforms crush percentage-based platforms.
The $9 Micro-Subscription Trap: Why Fixed Per-Transaction Cents Destroy Low-Ticket Margins
Comparing $0.30 vs $0.50 vs $0.80 fixed per-transaction fees on $9/month subscriptions ($3,000 MRR).
$6,000/mo Cross-Border Freelancer & Consultant Payout Calculator (Wise vs PayPal vs Stripe)
How much international freelancers in UK, Europe, South Africa, and Canada lose to hidden FX spreads.
$5,000 MRR AI App & Wrapper Payment Stack Calculator ($29/mo Plan)
When LLM token costs already eat 20% of revenue, choosing between Stripe, Polar.sh, Dodo, and Lemon Squeezy is critical.
Patreon to Skool Migration ROI Calculator ($3,500/mo Creator Membership)
Calculate exactly how much a creator with 175 members at $20/mo saves by moving from Patreon (10%+) to Skool Pro.
Gumroad Migration Calculator: How Much You Save Moving to Polar.sh, Lemon Squeezy, or Stan Store
See the real dollar impact of Gumroad’s 10% + $0.50 + credit card processing fee on a $4,000/mo digital product store.
Shopify Basic ($25/mo) vs Stan Store ($29/mo) vs Whop ($0/mo) for Creator Brands
Which storefront leaves you with the highest net profit at $3,000/month in $49 product sales?
Annual vs Monthly Subscription Billing Calculator: Slashing Fixed Cent Fees by 91%
See how shifting $19/mo SaaS or community subscribers to annual billing eliminates 11 out of 12 per-transaction cent fees.
2026 Merchant of Record Showdown: Dodo Payments vs Polar.sh vs Lemon Squeezy vs Paddle
Head-to-head MoR take-home comparison for a $6,000 MRR global SaaS with 75% international buyers.
Kajabi Basic ($179/mo) vs Skool Pro ($99/mo) vs Whop for $10,000/mo Course Creators
Comparing net payout, high-ticket $900+ processing rules, and recurring community retention at $10k/mo.
UK & EU VAT-Inclusive Pricing Margin Calculator (20%–25% VAT Impact on SaaS & Creators)
What happens to your net payout when you absorb 20% UK VAT or 25% Swedish Moms inside your sticker price?
Refund & Chargeback Fee Retention Calculator: The Hidden Cost of Non-Refundable Gateway Fees
Stripe, PayPal, Gumroad, and MoRs do not return processing fees when you refund a customer. Calculate your real bleed.
Global Cross-Border Payout & FX Calculators by Country
Explore localized currency settlement, VAT/GST rules, and international card surcharges across 25 jurisdictions.