Card machine fees calculator

Your takings. Monthly fees are spread over everything you take, so they hurt most at low volumes. Percentage fees grow with every pound. That trade-off decides whether a pay-as-you-go reader or a monthly plan works out cheaper, and the chart under your results shows where the lines cross.

Your average sale. Per-transaction fees (a few pence on every sale) are invisible on large sales and significant on small ones. Cafés, market stalls and anyone selling low-priced items should look closely at these. Our break-even sale calculator shows how much of each sale's margin goes on fees.

In person or online. Most providers charge more for online payments and payment links than for tapping a card on a reader. If you send invoices with payment links, set the in-person share below 100%.

Amex and business cards. Some providers charge a higher rate on American Express or commercial cards. If a noticeable share of your customers pay that way, open the advanced options.

The reader. You either buy a reader once or rent one monthly. Over 12 months a cheap reader barely matters, but rental adds up over a long contract. If you already own a reader from one of the providers, tell the calculator and it will leave that cost out.

Contract length. A lower rate with an 18-month contract is not the same as a slightly higher rate you can leave any time. The table shows contract length next to every price. If you're stuck in one already, the contract exit calculator tells you whether leaving early pays off.

Using illustrative rates (not any particular provider): a café takes £3,000 a month on cards at an average of £6 a sale, so about 500 sales.

The plan's lower percentage is wiped out by the 5p per sale on small transactions. Raise the average sale to £30 (100 sales) and the plan costs £55, almost level. At £8,000 a month and £30 a sale (about 267 sales) the plan would cost £113.33 against £140 for pay as you go. Try your own figures above, browse the other calculators, or compare these two structures directly with the flat rate vs monthly plan calculator.