Methodology & editorial policy

I store every fee schedule in one versioned data file with a source URL and last-verified date. Calculators use a transparent percent-plus-fixed formula with a documented reverse equation. Current data version: 2026.11.07 (updated 2026-11-07).

How calculations work

Forward: fee = charge × percent + fixed, net = charge − fee. Reverse: charge = (desiredNet + fixed) ÷ (1 − percent), rounded to cents. Unit tests cover every schedule.

Sourcing

• Prefer the provider’s official pricing or fee policy page.
• Record currency, percent, fixed fee, and notes for regional caveats.
• When processing varies (Patreon, Ko-fi), label figures as blended estimates.
• On each tool, rates are phrased like RealFeeCalc: “Checked <date> on <provider> pricing page.”

Per-tool sources

Every calculator lists official URLs and last-verified dates in its Sources block. Open each tool:

• Stripe fee calculator — sources
• PayPal fee calculator — sources
• Square fee calculator — sources
• Shopify Payments — sources
• Venmo — sources
• Cash App — sources
• Zelle — sources
• Patreon — sources
• Ko-fi — sources
• Buy Me a Coffee — sources
• Gumroad — sources
• Wise — sources
• Compare payment fees
• Fee changelog (dated schedule diffs)

What the calculators leave out

• Custom negotiated rates, volume discounts, and unpublished enterprise pricing.
• Chargeback fees, monthly software fees, and hardware costs unless noted.
• Sales tax, VAT, and income tax.
• FX spreads beyond the published conversion add-ons we model as percent schedules.

AI / automation disclosure

Drafts may be written with AI assistance; every formula, rate and reference is checked by Hammad Iqbal against the sources listed on each page.

Update cadence

Fees change often. When a published rate changes, I update src/data/fees.ts, refresh last-verified dates, bump FEE_DATA_VERSION / FEE_DATA_UPDATED when material, run npm test, and only then change on-page “Last reviewed” dates. Dates do not change for cosmetic edits alone.

1. Open the official pricing URL for the schedule.
2. Update percent, fixed, currency, notes, sourceUrl, lastVerified.
3. Bump version fields when material.
4. Run tests and build.

Changelog

Fee schedule changes are generated from feeChangelog in the data file. Full table: Fee changelog.

• 2026-11-07 — Re-verified published list rates against official pricing pages. Replaced incorrect PayPal India “domestic approximate” (2.3%, unverified) with official India international receiving rate (4.40% + ₹3.00). Fixed Stripe EU source URL (en-eu 404 → en-de) and Zelle FAQ URL. Refreshed lastVerified stamps. Wise corridors remain unverified (JS-rendered quotes).
• 2026-10-24 — Corrected stale schedules against official pricing pages (PayPal G&S vs Checkout, Stripe intl/AU, Square Free/online/UK/AU, Patreon 10% plan, Ko-fi tip fees, BMAC blended, Cash App Business, Venmo G&S, Shopify Grow rename). Wise left unverified (JS-rendered).
• 2026-10-19 — Initial public fee data version published.
• 2026-10-20 — Mobile SEO audit fixes; named maintainer (Hammad Iqbal); TrustBlock sources; favicon/manifest set; Consent Mode GA4; guide slug fixes.

Correction log

Confirmed mistakes and fixes. Empty means none reported yet since launch.

• 2026-10-20 — Removed anonymous “Team” authorship that could not be supported (same honesty fix RealFeeCalc documented). Replaced with named maintainer Hammad Iqbal.

Corrections

Email hammadiqbal117@gmail.com with evidence. I prioritize corrections that include an official URL.

Independence

No payment brand sponsors default rankings. Comparison sorts are by calculated fee for the selected amount.