Fee Guide
Your Processing Rate Is Not What You Think
Rates verified August 2026
Almost every restaurant owner can quote their rate. Almost none has worked out what they actually pay. The two numbers are usually far apart, and the gap hides in the per-transaction fee — small enough to ignore, charged on every single sale.
One formula settles it: total fees divided by total volume equals your effective rate.
A Worked Example
A barbecue restaurant is on PayPal standard card payments — 2.99% + 49 cents — with a $25 average ticket. What sticks in memory is "2.99%".
The percentage
2.99%
$0.75
The fixed fee
+1.96%
$0.49
Effective rate
4.95%
$1.24
On $50,000 a month in card volume, the difference between 2.99% and 4.95% is about $980 a month — roughly $11,760 a year. Same business, same quoted rate.
The Smaller the Ticket, the Higher the Rate
A fixed fee does not scale, so it takes a far bigger bite out of a small check. Here is one published rate — Square Free plan, 2.6% + 15 cents — across four ticket sizes:
| Average ticket | Typical of | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | Boba, coffee counter | 4.10% |
| $25.00 | Quick service, BBQ | 3.20% |
| $50.00 | Casual dining | 2.90% |
| $100.00 | Steakhouse, group dining | 2.75% |
One rate, ranging from 4.10% to 2.75% — a 1.35-point spread produced entirely by 15 cents. It is also why "we are on the same rate" tells you very little.
Published Card-Present Rates, 2026
| Provider / plan | Published rate | At a $10 ticket | At a $25 ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ginger (via partners) | ~2% + 5c | 2.50% | 2.20% |
| PayPal Zettle, in person | 2.29% + 9c | 3.19% | 2.65% |
| Toast Point of Sale ($69/mo) | 2.49% + 15c | 3.99% | 3.09% |
| Square Free plan, in person | 2.6% + 15c | 4.10% | 3.20% |
| PayPal standard card | 2.99% + 49c | 7.89% | 4.95% |
| Toast Starter (no monthly fee) | 3.09% + 15c | 4.59% | 3.69% |
Note PayPal appearing twice: Zettle in person at 2.29% + 9c, standard card payments at 2.99% + 49c. If you take cards at a counter and your statement shows the latter, the problem may not be a high rate but the wrong product. Ginger’s ~2% + 5c is a partner rate and depends on volume.
What to Look For on Your Statement
Is the passthrough identical every month?
Genuine interchange moves with your card mix — credit, debit and commercial cards all cost differently. If that figure is identical month after month, you are most likely looking at a blended rate rather than your actual cost.
Are fees deducted per batch or once a month?
Per-batch deductions take the money a little at a time and never present you with one large number. That is precisely why owners underestimate their costs — add a full month together and the total is usually bigger than the impression.
Which fixed monthly items are there?
Gateway, PCI compliance, statement and minimum-volume charges never appear in a quoted rate, yet every cent counts toward the effective one. Put them all in the numerator.
Rather not do the arithmetic? The effective rate calculator works it out from your volume and average ticket.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 2.99% processing rate high for a restaurant?
It is at the high end of published card-present pricing, and the percentage is only half the story. PayPal's standard card rate of 2.99% carries a 49-cent per-transaction fee, which on a $25 ticket adds another 1.96% — an effective rate near 4.95%. By comparison, PayPal's own in-person product, Zettle, publishes 2.29% + 9 cents. If you take cards at a counter and see 2.99% + 49 cents on your statement, the first question is not whether the rate is high but whether you are on the right product.
How do I calculate my effective rate?
Add every card-related charge on one full monthly statement — percentage fees, per-transaction fees, monthly or gateway fees, PCI charges, batch fees — and divide the total by that month's card volume. That percentage is your effective rate. Use a whole month rather than a single day, and if fees are deducted per batch rather than in one monthly debit, be careful to catch all of them; per-batch deductions are the most common reason owners underestimate what they pay.
Why do two restaurants on the same rate pay different amounts?
Average ticket size. The per-transaction fee is fixed, so it consumes a larger share of a small check. At 2.6% + 15 cents, a $10 ticket costs an effective 4.10% while a $100 ticket costs 2.75% — the same published rate, a 1.35-point spread. Quick-service restaurants, boba shops and coffee counters are hit hardest; steakhouses barely notice. Always compare rates using your own average ticket.
What is the difference between flat-rate and interchange-plus?
Flat rate means you pay one advertised percentage on every card, regardless of what that card actually costs to run. Interchange-plus passes through the card network's own interchange cost and adds a stated markup on top, so the line items move with your actual card mix. Flat rate is simpler to read; interchange-plus is usually cheaper at volume and always more transparent, because you can see what is cost and what is margin. Neither is automatically better — but only one lets you verify the markup.
What should I look for on my processing statement?
Three things. First, whether the same passthrough figure appears every single month — genuine interchange varies with your card mix, so an identical number month after month suggests a blended rate rather than your true cost. Second, whether fees are deducted per batch or once monthly; per-batch deductions make the total easy to miss. Third, the list of fixed monthly items — gateway, PCI, statement, minimum-volume charges — which never appear in a quoted rate but always appear in the effective one.
Can I negotiate my processing rate?
Often yes, and the effective-rate calculation is the leverage. Walking in with a statement and the sentence 'I pay 3.1% all-in on a $22 average ticket' is a very different conversation from 'my rate feels high.' Ask specifically for the markup over interchange rather than a new headline percentage, and get any offer in writing — including the per-transaction fee, which is where a quote can look better than it is.
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We will work out your effective rate exactly the way this page does, then put a quote in writing. No contracts, and hardware included for eligible restaurants.
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