Donation fee calculator
Move the sliders to your own numbers and see what fees actually take — Stripe's real 2.9% + 30¢ per donation, and how a flat $20/mo compares to a platform that skims a percentage. No sign-up, nothing stored; the math runs right in your browser.
On platform fees, CrowdCreate's flat $20 saves you $5/mo versus a 5% platform at this volume — and the donation happens on your own site.
After Stripe and platform fees, you keep about $459.50 with CrowdCreate vs $454.50 on a 5% platform.
Stripe's standard US fee (2.9% + 30¢ per charge) applies on virtually every platform, including CrowdCreate — your donations run on your own Stripe account, and we add nothing on top. The smaller your average gift, the more that fixed 30¢ matters. Percentages shown are examples (e.g. 5% Buy Me a Coffee, 8% Patreon); check each platform for its current terms. Estimates only.
How donation fees actually work
Almost every way of taking a card donation runs on a payment processor, and Stripe is the most common. Its standard US fee is 2.9% + 30¢ per charge. The percentage is easy to reason about; the fixed 30¢ is the part people miss. On a $5 gift, that 30¢ alone is 6% before the percentage even applies — which is why high-volume, small-gift fundraisers feel fees the most.
On top of that processing fee, many donation platforms also take a cut of what you raise — often 5% to 12%. That cut scales with your success: the more you raise, the more it takes. A flat monthly fee doesn't. Neither model is always cheaper — a percentage can win at low volume — so the calculator shows the honest crossover for your numbers.
Where CrowdCreate fits
CrowdCreate is $20/mo flat with no cut of what you raise. Donations go straight to your own Stripe account — you pay Stripe's processing fee (the same one you'd pay anywhere), and we add nothing on top. The widget embeds on your own site, so funders give under your name, not on a third-party profile page.
Common questions
How much does Stripe take from a donation?
Stripe's standard US online card fee is 2.9% + 30¢ per charge. On a $10 gift that's about 59¢ (roughly 6%); on a $100 gift it's about $3.20 (roughly 3.2%). The fixed 30¢ is why small donations lose a larger share to fees. This fee applies on virtually every donation platform, including CrowdCreate — your money runs through your own Stripe account.
Is a flat monthly fee cheaper than a percentage cut?
It depends on volume. A percentage platform can be cheaper when you're raising a little; a flat $20/mo wins once your volume grows, because it never scales with what you raise. The calculator shows the crossover for your own numbers — honestly, both directions.
Does CrowdCreate take a cut of donations?
No. CrowdCreate is $20/mo flat with no percentage of what you raise. Donations go straight to your own Stripe account; you still pay Stripe's processing fee (as you would anywhere), and we add nothing on top.
Keep more of what you raise
Add a donation widget to your own site, on your own Stripe, for a flat $20/mo — no cut of your donations.
Start your fundOr read how Stripe fees work for donations, compare the alternatives, or see pricing.