The same $100 through each app
Each app takes a percent plus, in most cases, a fixed fee. On $100 the difference is small in dollars, and it adds up quickly across hundreds of payments.
| Way of being paid | Fee | Share | You keep | Ask for, to keep $100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venmo, business profile | $2.00 | 2% | $98.00 | $102.04 |
| Venmo, goods and services | $2.99 | 3% | $97.01 | $103.08 |
| Stripe, US domestic card | $3.20 | 3.2% | $96.80 | $103.30 |
| Stripe, US international card | $4.70 | 4.7% | $95.30 | $104.91 |
| Stripe, ACH Direct Debit | $0.80 | 0.8% | $99.20 | $100.81 |
| Square, in person (Free) | $2.75 | 2.8% | $97.25 | $102.82 |
| Square, online or invoice (Free) | $3.60 | 3.6% | $96.40 | $103.72 |
Venmo and Square use their lowest-cost standard route. Stripe uses standard online pricing. The last column is computed by Find price in each calculator.
Square's Plus plan lowers the in-person fee to $2.65 on $100, but costs $49 a month per location.
What changes the fee on each app
- Venmo: a business profile pays 1.9% + $0.10, and a personal account pays 2.99% when the sender marks goods and services. Payments to a business profile of $1 or less carry no fee.
- Stripe: the card matters. An international card costs $4.70 on $100 instead of $3.20, and currency conversion adds 1% more. ACH Direct Debit costs $0.80, capped at $5.00.
- Square: how the customer pays matters, and in the US so does your plan. Online costs $3.60 on $100 on the Free plan. An international card takes in-person from $2.75 to $4.25.
Why small payments cost more
A fixed fee does not shrink with the payment. On $10 it is a large share of the money, and on $1,000 it nearly disappears.
| Way of being paid | $10 | $100 | $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venmo, business profile | 2.9% | 2% | 1.9% |
| Venmo, goods and services | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Stripe, US domestic card | 5.9% | 3.2% | 2.9% |
| Stripe, US international card | 7.4% | 4.7% | 4.4% |
| Stripe, ACH Direct Debit | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
| Square, in person (Free) | 4.1% | 2.8% | 2.6% |
| Square, online or invoice (Free) | 6.3% | 3.6% | 3.3% |
Stripe's ACH fee is capped, so it falls to 0.5% on $1,000.
Getting the money out
Standard transfers to your bank are free on all three and arrive on a standard schedule. Each charges for an instant one.
| Option | Fee | Available | Instant fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venmo Instant Transfer | 1.75%, $0.25 min, $25.00 max | $98.00 | $1.72 | $96.28 |
| Stripe instant payout | 1.5%, $0.50 min | $96.80 | $1.45 | $95.35 |
| Square instant transfer | 1.95% | $97.25 | $1.90 | $95.35 |
The instant fee is charged on what you move out, which here is what is left after the processing fee. The Venmo example is a business profile payment, Stripe a domestic card and Square an in-person payment on Free.
The same $100 in the UK
Venmo is a US service, so the UK comparison is Stripe and Square. Both are cheaper there than in the US for UK cards.
| Way of being paid | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe, standard UK card | £1.70 | £98.30 |
| Stripe, premium UK card | £3.00 | £97.00 |
| Square, in person | £1.75 | £98.25 |
| Square, online, UK card | £1.65 | £98.35 |
Square UK online uses the UK card rate. Cards from other countries cost more on both.
Refunds, disputes and what is left out
- Refunds: Venmo, Stripe and Square all let you refund, and none returns the fee you paid on the original payment. A refunded $100 business profile payment still costs you $2.00.
- Disputes: Stripe charges $15.00 per dispute in the US, which takes the default payment from $96.80 to $81.80. Square charges no chargeback fee.
- Not included: currency conversion on Venmo and Square, Stripe Billing, Tax and Connect, hardware, and custom pricing for large volumes.