Comparison·5 min read·June 1, 2026

Stripe vs Payment Depot 2026: Which Costs Less

Stripe vs Payment Depot 2026 cost comparison. Break-even volume, effective rate math, hidden fees, and which one wins at $50K, $100K, and $250K monthly.

myPayAdvisor Editorial

Reviewed by Barak Bachar, Global Payments Manager

Stripe vs Payment Depot 2026: Which Costs Less

Key findings

Payment Depot's effective rate beats Stripe above roughly $30,000 in monthly card volume on a typical card mix.
Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 online flat; Payment Depot charges $79 to $199 monthly plus interchange plus $0.05 to $0.15.
At $250K monthly volume, the Stripe to Payment Depot move typically saves $18,000 to $24,000 per year.
Stripe still wins for sub-$25K online businesses, global card acceptance, and API-first software companies.
Payment Depot supports level 2 and level 3 data on standard plans; Stripe gates that to enterprise contracts.

TL;DR

Payment Depot beats Stripe on total cost above roughly $30,000 in monthly card volume. Its $79 to $199 membership plus interchange-plus pricing settles around 2.3 to 2.5 percent effective on a typical U.S. card mix, where Stripe's flat 2.9 percent plus 30 cents stays fixed. Stripe still wins for online businesses under $25,000 monthly, marketplaces, any merchant needing global multi-currency acceptance, and software companies built on its API. The choice tracks volume, not feature lists.

How we ranked

We weighted six criteria. Effective rate at $50,000 and $250,000 monthly volume, modeled against a card mix of 60 percent debit, 30 percent rewards consumer credit, and 10 percent commercial cards, drawn from card usage patterns in the Federal Reserve payments studies. Contract length and early termination fee, sourced from each provider's published terms. Settlement speed in business days. Hardware lock-in. Level 2 and level 3 data support, which matters for B2B card-not-present and can drop interchange on commercial cards by 0.40 to 1.00 percent per Visa's published interchange schedule. Dispute handling and chargeback fee structure.

All pricing came from each company's public pricing page. Interchange figures came from Visa's and Mastercard's published interchange rates and criteria. We did not model promotional credits, custom enterprise contracts, or any sales-negotiated rates.

At a glance

Provider	Headline pricing	Contract	Settlement	Best for	Watch out for
Stripe	2.9% + $0.30 online, 2.7% + $0.05 in person	Month-to-month, no ETF	2 business days	Online-first under $30K/mo, global, developer-led	Margin compounds above $40K monthly
Payment Depot	$79 to $199/mo + IC + $0.05 to $0.15 per txn	Month-to-month, no ETF on base plans	2 business days	$30K to $500K monthly U.S. card volume	Membership eats savings under $20K/mo

Two providers, two pricing models. Stripe pools all costs into a flat percentage. Payment Depot separates the wholesale cost (interchange) from the processor's markup (a flat membership fee plus a small per-transaction charge). The same $250,000 in monthly card volume produces meaningfully different effective rates under the two structures.

Stripe

Stripe's published rate is 2.9 percent plus 30 cents for online card payments and 2.7 percent plus 5 cents in person, per its public pricing page. There is no monthly fee, no PCI fee, and no statement fee on the standard plan. Settlement is 2 business days for most U.S. merchants.

The flat-rate model means Stripe earns more on debit transactions than on premium rewards credit. Debit interchange is capped at 0.05 percent plus 22 cents under the Durbin Amendment for regulated issuers, while Stripe still bills 2.9 percent plus 30 cents. On a $50 debit purchase, true network cost is around 25 cents but Stripe collects $1.75. The math works fine at low volume. It compounds at scale.

Example

A SaaS company at $30,000 in monthly card volume on Stripe pays roughly $930 per month in processing. The same volume on Payment Depot's $99 plan lands around $760 per month, a $170 monthly difference. At $30K the gap is real but small, so most operators stay on Stripe until volume justifies the switch.

What Stripe sells well: same-day onboarding, a developer-first API, broad international card coverage across 135 currencies, and a payments stack you can deploy without negotiating a sales contract. For marketplaces, SaaS, and any online business under roughly $25,000 monthly, the flat rate beats the time cost of a interchange-plus relationship.

What it does not sell well: surcharging, cash discount programs, and level 2 or level 3 data optimization on commercial cards, all of which are gated behind enterprise contracts. There is also no native path to lower per-transaction cost as volume climbs on the standard plan.

Payment Depot

Payment Depot uses a membership model. Per its public pricing page, plans run $79 to $199 per month plus interchange plus a fixed per-transaction markup of $0.05 to $0.15 depending on plan tier. There is no percentage markup over interchange. Standard plans are month-to-month with no early termination fee.

Take a $250 average ticket on a Visa rewards consumer credit card. Interchange on that transaction is roughly 1.65 percent plus 10 cents per Visa's published schedule. Payment Depot's all-in cost lands around 1.65 percent plus 20 to 25 cents in fixed markup, versus Stripe's flat 2.9 percent plus 30 cents. The per-transaction difference is roughly $3.15. On $250,000 in monthly volume with that mix, the annual difference clears $18,000.

Tip

Ask Payment Depot for a side-by-side analysis using your last 3 months of Stripe statements. The membership tier you qualify for depends on volume and average ticket, and a real comparison usually moves you down one plan tier and saves another $40 to $60 per month.

Payment Depot supports level 2 and level 3 data on standard plans, which can shave another 0.40 to 1.00 percent off commercial card interchange for B2B merchants. Settlement runs 2 business days. Support is U.S.-based but limited to Monday through Friday business hours.

What it does not do well: no native multi-currency support, no developer-first API, and account setup takes 1 to 2 business days against Stripe's same-day account. The membership structure also means below roughly $20,000 monthly, the fixed monthly fee swamps any interchange-plus savings.

Watch out

Read the merchant services agreement, not just the pricing page. Check for PCI compliance fees, monthly minimum processing requirements, gateway transaction fees if you use a third-party gateway, and any annual fee separate from the monthly membership. Hardware leases are a separate contract with their own terms.

Verdict

For merchants processing more than $30,000 per month in U.S. card volume, Payment Depot costs less. The membership model converts what Stripe charges as percentage markup into a fixed monthly fee, and the gap at $100,000 to $500,000 monthly is meaningful. A merchant at $250,000 monthly typically saves $1,500 to $2,000 per month moving from Stripe's flat rate to Payment Depot's interchange-plus structure, modeled against a standard U.S. card mix.

Stripe wins three specific cases. Online businesses under $25,000 monthly volume, where the membership fee outweighs the markup savings. Any merchant needing global multi-currency acceptance, where Stripe's 135-currency coverage has no equivalent at Payment Depot. And software companies that need Stripe's API, billing primitives, and developer infrastructure, where switching cost is operational rather than financial. For everyone else processing meaningful U.S. card volume, the wholesale-style membership model is the cheaper path.

Effective rate comparison: Stripe flat-rate versus Payment Depot membership at $50K, $100K, and $250K monthly volume.

Frequently asked questions

At what monthly volume does Payment Depot beat Stripe?

The break-even point sits between $25,000 and $40,000 in monthly card volume, depending on average ticket size and card mix. Below that, Payment Depot's $79 to $199 monthly fee outweighs the savings on per-transaction cost. Above $40,000 monthly, the interchange-plus structure pulls ahead by 0.30 to 0.60 percent in effective rate on a typical U.S. card mix. At $100,000 monthly, the gap is roughly $300 to $600 per month. At $500,000 monthly, annual savings typically clear $18,000. Higher average tickets shift the break-even lower because Stripe's 30 cent per-transaction fee matters less.

Does Stripe offer interchange-plus pricing?

Stripe offers interchange-plus pricing on its enterprise plan, which is gated by a sales conversation and is not available on the public pricing page. The interchange-plus markup is not publicly disclosed and varies by card mix, volume, contract length, and product mix. If you process under roughly $80,000 per month and want interchange-plus pricing without a multi-quarter sales cycle, Payment Depot, Helcim, and Stax all publish standard interchange-plus terms that you can sign up for the same week. The volume threshold for Stripe enterprise is set during contract negotiation, not on the public site.

Are Payment Depot contracts month-to-month?

Yes, Payment Depot's standard membership plans are month-to-month with no early termination fee on the base tiers, per the company's published pricing page. Read the merchant services agreement carefully before signing. Hardware leases, gateway add-ons, or higher-tier enterprise contracts may carry separate terms with their own commitment lengths. The underlying processing relationship may also bring its own underwriting and reserve terms. The membership itself can be cancelled with notice, but processing relationships, terminal leases, and gateway commitments should each be confirmed in writing.

What hidden fees should I check for with either provider?

On Stripe, watch for the 1 percent international card surcharge, the 1 percent currency conversion fee, the $15 chargeback fee, and the 1.5 percent instant payout fee. On Payment Depot, check for the PCI compliance fee, the monthly minimum processing requirement, the gateway transaction fee if you use a third-party gateway, and any annual fee separate from the monthly membership. Both providers pass interchange downgrades through to the merchant, so non-qualified surcharges on rewards or corporate cards can add 0.50 to 1.20 percent if your transaction data quality is poor or you batch settle late.

Which one is better for B2B card-not-present payments?

Payment Depot. B2B merchants accepting commercial and corporate cards benefit from level 2 and level 3 data optimization, which can drop interchange on those transactions by 0.40 to 1.00 percent per Visa's published commercial card interchange schedule. Payment Depot supports level 2 and level 3 data on standard plans. Stripe supports level 2 and level 3 data only on enterprise contracts. For a B2B merchant running $100,000 per month with a 40 percent commercial card mix, the level 2 and level 3 data difference alone can save $4,000 to $9,000 per year before factoring in the markup difference.

Will I lose features by moving from Stripe to Payment Depot?

Yes, in three areas. You lose the Stripe API, billing primitives, and webhook infrastructure that software companies depend on. You lose native multi-currency processing across 135 currencies, which matters for any merchant taking international cards or selling in non-USD prices. You lose Stripe's instant payout product. For a U.S. retail, restaurant, professional services, or B2B merchant processing domestic cards, none of these matter. For a SaaS company with global subscribers or a marketplace with cross-border sellers, the API and currency coverage usually keep you on Stripe regardless of markup.