Stripe Fees for Nonprofits: Transaction Cost Per Donation

Nonprofit budgets run tight, where every cent matters. A dollar lost to processing fees isn’t just a dollar; it’s part of a grant, a program cost, or someone’s meal that never gets funded.

That’s exactly why, if you’re managing a nonprofit organization deciding on a payment processor, you can’t treat Stripe nonprofit fees as a footnote.

A half-percent difference feels small on one transaction, but when multiplied across hundreds of donors and dozens of campaigns a year, it adds up to real money your organization either keeps or gives away without noticing.

This guide breaks down exactly what Stripe fees for nonprofits look like in practice, who qualifies for the lower rate, what’s excluded, and how to make sure you’re not quietly losing money on every gift that comes through your donation form.

What are Stripe fees for nonprofits?

Stripe’s standard processing rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. For eligible nonprofits, that drops to a discounted rate of 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction on most card payments.

That 0.7% difference sounds small, but on high-volume campaigns it adds up fast, especially for organizations running recurring giving programs.

This Stripe nonprofit rate isn’t automatic. You have to apply for it, and Stripe reviews your account before approving the lower Stripe nonprofit processing fees.

Once your request is approved, Stripe fees for nonprofits come down to that one number, 2.2% + $0.30.

Who qualifies for the Stripe nonprofit discount?

To get discounted Stripe processing fees for nonprofit accounts, you need to meet three conditions:

• Your organization has recognized nonprofit or charity status (in the US, that means 501(c)(3) status, verified with your EIN or an IRS determination letter)
• Supported region: Your organization operates in one of the eligible regions listed below.
• More than 80% of your total payment volume on the Stripe account comes from tax-deductible donations

That last point trips up a lot of organizations. If your nonprofit also sells event tickets, collects membership dues, or runs a shop alongside donations, that non-donation revenue counts against your 80% threshold.

Some organizations solve this by running donations through one Stripe account and everything else through a separate one, just to protect their eligibility for the Stripe nonprofit pricing.

Also worth knowing: the discount isn’t retroactive. Any donations processed before Stripe approves your application stay at the standard rate, so it’s worth applying before your campaign goes live, not after.

Eligible countries for Stripe’s nonprofit pricing

Stripe’s nonprofit discount isn’t available everywhere. It currently covers organizations in six regions: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand.

If you’re searching for Stripe charity fees for the UK specifically, UK-registered charities qualify for the same style of discount as US nonprofits, though the exact percentage and fixed fee can vary slightly by currency and card type.

It’s worth confirming your region’s exact rate directly with Stripe when you apply, since rates for non-Amex cards and international Visa/Mastercard transactions differ.

If your organization operates outside these six regions, you won’t get the Stripe nonprofit discount rate. So it’s worth checking before you build your fundraising plan around a discount you may not get.

What’s not covered by the Stripe nonprofit rate

Even with the discount active, a few things still get charged at standard or higher rates:

• American Express transactions are excluded from the nonprofit discount and are typically charged around 3.5%.
• Tickets, memberships, tuition, registration fees, and auction payments don’t qualify; only tax-deductible donations do.
• International cards and currency conversion add roughly 1% extra on top of the base rate.

So when you’re calculating your real Stripe transaction fees for a nonprofit, don’t assume every dollar that hits your account gets the 2.2% treatment.

What Stripe fees for nonprofits actually cost you

Percentages are easy to skim past. Here’s what Stripe fees for nonprofits actually mean in dollars, using the US 2.2% + $0.30 nonprofit rate against the 2.9% + $0.30 standard rate.

Donation amount	Standard fee (2.9% + $0.30)	Nonprofit fee (2.2% + $0.30)	You keep more
$25	$1.03	$0.85	$0.18
$50	$1.75	$1.40	$0.35
$100	$3.20	$2.50	$0.70
$300	$8.99	$6.90	$2.09
$500	$14.80	$11.30	$3.50
$1,000	$29.30	$22.30	$7.00

On a single donation, that’s not life-changing. But run a few hundred transactions a month, and the gap becomes a real operating budget you’re either keeping or losing.

The hidden cost of recurring donations

If a donor gives $50 a month, that 2.2% + $0.30 fee applies every single time the card is charged, not once a year. Over 12 months, that’s $16.80 in fees on the nonprofit rate versus $21 on the standard rate, just for one recurring donor.

Multiply that across a monthly giving program with even 200 sustainers, and the difference between qualifying for the discount and not qualifying can be worth thousands of dollars a year.

This is exactly why, when you use Stripe for nonprofits, getting the nonprofit rate approved before you launch a recurring giving campaign matters more than most organizations realize.

How to set up a Stripe account for a nonprofit and apply for the discount

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll first need to set up a Stripe account for nonprofit use (standard signup, no different from a business account), then apply separately for the discount. Here’s the process:

1. Create or log in to your Stripe account
2. Gather your EIN or IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter (or your country’s equivalent, like a charity registry entry for UK and EU organizations)
3. Confirm that more than 80% of your Stripe payment volume is tax-deductible donations
4. Submit your request through Stripe’s nonprofit support channel with your account email, EIN, or nonprofit documentation, and confirmation of your donation volume
5. Wait for Stripe’s review; approval typically takes a few business days

Once approved, the discounted rate applies automatically to eligible transactions going forward. 

Getting this approval right the first time is the single biggest lever you have for keeping Stripe fees for nonprofits as low as possible.

Here is a step-by-step guide for using Stripe for nonprofits.

Stripe nonprofit fees vs PayPal

Both processors offer a discounted rate for verified nonprofits, but the fee structure, checkout experience, and donor experience differ enough to matter for your decision.

Here’s how Stripe nonprofit fees stack up against PayPal’s charity rate on the factors that actually affect your fundraising.

	Stripe (nonprofit rate)	PayPal (charity rate)
Discounted fee	2.2% + $0.30 per transaction	1.99% + $0.49 per transaction
Fee on a $25 donation	$0.85	$0.99
Checkout experience	Stays on your branded donation page throughout	Often redirects donors to an external PayPal page
Recurring donations	Fully supported, discount applies to every recurring charge	Supported through the donate button, but more limited in flexibility
International donations	Roughly 1% extra for international cards	1.50% international surcharge on top of the base rate

PayPal’s percentage looks lower on paper, but its higher fixed fee ($0.49 vs $0.30) actually costs you more on smaller gifts, exactly the kind most individual donors give.

On a $15 donation, PayPal takes about 5.3% while Stripe takes closer to 4.2%. The gap narrows on larger donations and widens in PayPal’s favor at very high transaction volumes, with mostly big gifts.

Where Stripe tends to win for most nonprofits is in the checkout experience. Keeping donors on your own branded page instead of bouncing them to an external site tends to reduce drop-off, and that’s often worth more to your total revenue than the fractional difference in fees.

PayPal’s name recognition still counts for something too, especially with donors who already trust it and don’t want to enter card details on an unfamiliar form.

Should your nonprofit ask donors to cover the processing fee?

Once you understand Stripe fees for nonprofits and how they hit each transaction, you have a choice: absorb them out of every gift, or give donors the option to cover the processing fee on top of their donation.

Many donors are happy to add a small amount so 100% of their intended gift reaches your mission, especially when the option is presented clearly in the donation form rather than buried in fine print.

This is where your donation plugin and form setup matter.

Like Paymattic, a donation plugin for WordPress, includes fee coverage as a built-in option, so you can create donation forms that let your donors choose to cover the Stripe nonprofit fees, right next to their donation amount. 

It tends to recover a meaningful share of what you’d otherwise lose to processing costs. It’s a small design choice with a real impact on how much of each gift you actually keep.

Wrapping up

Every cent matters when you’re running a nonprofit, and processing fees are one of the few costs you actually have some control over.

Getting approved for the discounted rate, knowing what’s excluded, and giving donors the option to cover the fee are three simple moves that keep more of every gift working toward your mission instead of disappearing into a percentage.

If you haven’t applied for the Stripe nonprofit fees yet, that’s the first thing to fix; it costs nothing and takes a few days.

FAQs on Stripe nonprofit fees

Ques. What are Stripe fees for nonprofits?

Ans: Stripe fees for nonprofits come out to 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction in the US for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations, once approved, down from the standard 2.9% + $0.30.

Ques. Do all nonprofits automatically get the Stripe discount?

Ans: No. You need to apply and be approved. Eligibility requires proof of nonprofit status and confirmation that over 80% of your payment volume is from tax-deductible donations.

Ques. Are American Express donations included in the nonprofit discount?

Ans: No. AmEx transactions are excluded from the discount and are charged at a higher rate, typically around 3.5%.

Ques. Which countries offer Stripe’s nonprofit discount?

Ans: Currently, the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia, and New Zealand.

Ques. Does the nonprofit rate apply to recurring donations?

Ans: Yes. The discounted rate applies to every recurring charge on an approved account, not just one-time gifts.

Ques. Can I get the discount applied retroactively?

Ans: No. Stripe only applies the discount from the approval date forward, so it’s best to apply before launching a campaign.