Payment processing fee comparison
The percentages look small until you multiply them by a year of revenue. See what a payment solution really costs you.
| Provider | Cost per month | % of revenue | Cost per year |
|---|
Basis of the calculation (public price lists as of 18.07.2026, excl. VAT): Maksekeskus - bank payments 0.9% + 0.05 €, card payments 1.35% + 0.15 € + a monthly fee of 10 €; Montonio - Starter 11.99 €/month, bank payment 0.20 €, card 1.49% + 0.25 €; Core 14.99 €/month, bank payment 0.05 €, card 1.29% + 0.20 €; Stripe - no monthly fee, European cards 1.5% + 0.25 €. Stripe does not offer Estonian bank links, so its row is calculated as if every payment went through a card. Prices change - always check the provider's price list before deciding.
What makes up a payment fee?
- The transaction fee percentage of revenue - the largest component, especially on card payments.
- A fixed fee per transaction - hits stores with a small average order hardest: a 0.25 € fee is 2.5% of a 10 € order but 0.25% of a 100 € order.
- The monthly fee - at low revenue the monthly fee can cost more than all transaction fees together.
That is why there is no single right answer: a low-revenue store is often better off with a fee-free monthly plan even at a higher percentage, while for a high-revenue store a monthly fee quickly pays for itself through a lower percentage.
Bank link, payment initiation and card payment
In Estonia most customers pay through a bank link, which is considerably cheaper for the merchant than a card payment. Newer solutions use a payment initiation service (open banking payment) instead of the bank link; it looks the same to the customer but is cheaper still. Card payments cost more but are necessary for foreign customers and for some regulars - the share you actually need shows up in your own payment statistics.
VAT is added to the fees. For a VAT-registered business it is deductible as input VAT, so compare providers on prices excluding VAT - as this calculator does.
Payment fees are a cost you can see. A wrong price is a cost you cannot.
Shaving a couple of euros off payment fees does not help if a competitor sells the same product 5% cheaper and you do not know about it. Look360 keeps an eye on the price picture every night.