Card payment fee calculator: what card acceptance really costs you in the UK
A headline percentage tells you nothing. What matters is the cost over a year, and that depends on your turnover, your average basket and the fixed fee per transaction. This calculator works it out across 15 published tariffs from 10 providers for the United Kingdom.
A tariff at 0.80% + 10p looks cheaper than one at 1.69%. At a basket of £50 it is. At a basket of £6 — a coffee, a market stall, a barber — the first tariff costs 2.47% and is far more expensive. The fixed fee per transaction is the most consistently overlooked cost driver in card acceptance.
That is roughly 0 card payments a month.
All tariffs, ranked by first-year cost (15)
| # | Provider and tariff | 1st year | per month | of which transactions | monthly fee/year | one-off | Notes |
|---|
Not fully calculable
These tariffs cannot be priced in advance — either the provider publishes no rate for the card type in question, or the price is interchange++ and the final cost depends on fees set by the card schemes. They sit outside the ranking rather than inside it with a guessed number.
What the calculator counts — and what it does not
Counted
- Transaction fee as a percentage, per card type where the provider splits them
- Fixed fee per transaction, where one is charged
- Minimum fee per transaction — at small baskets the item that flips the ranking
- Monthly fee over twelve months
- One-off activation, app or licence costs
Not counted
- Hardware purchase prices — none arise with phone-based solutions, terminals are extra
- Surcharges for commercial, Amex and non-EEA cards
- Refund and chargeback fees
- VAT — few providers state whether their rate is net or gross
- The cost of a till system or a business account
Frequently asked questions
Why is the lowest percentage not automatically the cheapest tariff?
Because three things add up: the percentage, a possible fixed fee per transaction and the monthly fee. A £19 monthly plan at 0.99% only beats a no-monthly-fee tariff at 1.69% above a certain turnover. Move the turnover slider and the calculator shows you exactly where that point is.
Why is there no debit/credit split?
Because UK providers do not price one. Not a single provider on this page publishes separate debit and credit rates — they quote one blended rate for all cards. The lines that do move the price in the UK are consumer versus commercial cards and UK versus non-EEA cards, and those are noted per tariff.
Are these rates net or gross?
Inconsistent, and most providers do not say. Assume net and add VAT where it applies to your business.
How often is this updated?
Every tariff carries the date it was checked. Rates on this page were read from the providers' own pricing pages on 2026-09-01. Promotional rates with an end date are noted in the tariff line. Always confirm with the provider before signing.