Fiserv vs Stripe: Cost and Fees Calculator
Enter your volumes to compare estimated monthly costs and fees for Fiserv and Stripe across the selling types both offer, using published US pricing.
In-person card payments
Estimates combine processing fees and monthly subscriptions on the plans noted above. One-time hardware, setup, and add-ons are excluded. Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and may have changed.
How the Fiserv vs Stripe calculator works, and how the two compare
Fiserv is one of the largest US merchant acquirers, selling small-business payments primarily through its Clover platform. Fiserv's small-business pricing runs through Clover: 2.6% + $0.10 in person, software from $14.95 per month, and hardware from $99, with custom interchange-based pricing for larger merchants. Stripe is a developer-focused online payments infrastructure company that also sells Terminal card readers for in-person sales. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 for online card payments and 2.7% + $0.05 in person via Stripe Terminal (Reader M2 $59), with no monthly fee and volume discounts on request.
How they are similar: Where they overlap: both Fiserv and Stripe cover taking card payments in person with a card reader or terminal, which is what this calculator compares. They also share the same commercial model: both operate as flat-rate card processing with published per-transaction fees. In both cases the bill is driven by a percentage of each sale plus any fixed per-transaction fee, which is why your average transaction size changes the effective rate as much as the headline percentage does.
How they differ: Only Fiserv offers a full POS system, so that side of the business is not part of this comparison. Only Stripe offers online selling, so that side of the business is not part of this comparison. Fiserv is enterprise-scale acquiring infrastructure; small businesses experience it through Clover hardware and reseller-quoted rates rather than one published price sheet. Stripe is built API-first: it has no storefront or POS software of its own, but offers unmatched flexibility, 135+ currencies, and dozens of payment methods for businesses that build their own checkout.
Assumptions used in this calculator
- Fiserv is modeled on: Via Clover: 2.6% + $0.10 in person, software from $14.95 per month.
- Stripe is modeled on: 2.7% + $0.05 in person via Stripe Terminal, Reader M2 $59.
- Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and change often; quote-based providers are modeled at representative rates. Always confirm current pricing with the provider.
- One-time hardware, setup, add-on apps, keyed-in transactions, international cards, and chargeback fees are excluded from the monthly figures.