Stax fee record · PW-MF/STAX

Stax fees (2026): what you really pay on card processing.

The short answer

Stax uses a membership model: you pay direct interchange with 0% percentage markup, plus a flat monthly fee (about $99–$199/mo) and a small per-transaction fee (8–15¢), as read June 2026. It typically beats flat-rate only above a break-even of roughly $7,000–$9,000/mo, depending on your average ticket and card mix.

Reported by reputable third parties (Stax’s pricing page is not machine-readable). US, as read June 24, 2026. Pricing model: Subscription / membership — interchange at cost + a flat monthly fee. These are list rates — verify against your own statement.

These are published rates, recorded and dated — not "what others actually pay" (that comes only from verified invoices, of which we hold none yet). The number that tells you whether you're overpaying is your processor markup above interchange.

Published rates · as read 2026-06-24

Stax's published processing rates

Processing rates — Subscription / membership — interchange at cost + a flat monthly fee
Transaction type	Published rate
Markup over interchange	0% + 8¢ (in person) / 15¢ (keyed/online)
You pay	interchange + the per-transaction cents + the monthly subscription

Monthly software / plan fee

Up to ~$150K/yr$99/mo
~$150K–$250K/yr$139/mo
Above ~$250K/yr$199+/mo

Add-on lines to watch

No long-term contract / no early-termination fee
30 days’ notice required to cancel
Optional paid add-ons (faster funding, ACH, integrations)

Read this first: Stax’s pricing page is not machine-readable, so subscription tiers are corroborated from reputable third parties (NerdWallet, Business.com) and may have changed — confirm current tiers with Stax.

The forensic read

What the headline rate hides

Stax · the mechanism

The "0% markup" headline reflects that the markup has moved into the fixed monthly fee rather than a per-transaction percent. The model pays off above a break-even of roughly $7,000–$9,000/mo in processing (depending on average ticket and card mix); below that, the $99+/mo subscription tends to make the effective rate higher than flat-rate Square. Per-transaction cents still apply on top of interchange.

The benchmark · a fair markup

For contrast, a fair small-business processor markup is roughly 0.25%–0.50% (25–50 bps) plus about 5–10¢ per transaction above interchange, fully disclosed on the statement. It is a range with a disclosure rule, not a universal threshold — markup fairly varies by industry risk, volume, and card-present vs. online mix. What is not transparent is a rate that hides the interchange/markup split.

Find your own effective rate & markup Published rates are a starting point. Your statement’s effective rate (total fees ÷ total card volume) — and the processor markup hidden inside it — is what tells you whether you’re overpaying. See the forensic method (free; no processor commission or affiliate links, ever).

Common questions

Stax fees — questions

Is Stax worth it?

Stax’s membership model tends to pay off above a break-even of roughly $7,000–$9,000/mo in card volume (depending on average ticket and card mix), where paying interchange-at-cost plus a flat ~$99–$199/mo fee beats a flat-rate percentage. Below that volume, the monthly fee usually makes the effective rate higher than Square or a no-monthly interchange-plus processor. Run the break-even on your own numbers.

Are Stax’s fees negotiable?

The interchange pass-through is at cost (0% percentage markup), so the negotiable elements are the monthly subscription tier and any optional add-ons. The bigger decision is structural: whether your volume clears the break-even versus a flat-rate processor.

Compare other processors

Rates on this page are Stax's published / advertised rates, US, read June 24, 2026 — point-in-time list figures, not a live feed, and not "what others actually pay" (we hold no verified Stax invoices). Confidence in this capture: Medium — third-party sourced; account-specific. Nothing here is financial advice. Rates change and vary by account — confirm with Stax and your own statement before acting.

Sources (Medium — third-party sourced; account-specific): NerdWallet — Stax (Fattmerchant) review (read 2026-06-24) · Business.com — Stax review (read 2026-06-24)