Lemon Squeezy fee calculator
The 5% + $0.50 rate is genuinely all-in on card processing. What most calculators skip is what happens when something goes wrong — the flat $15 dispute fee, and how it differs from what Gumroad does on a chargeback.
5% + $0.50, all-in — card processing is already included, unlike Gumroad.
Lemon Squeezy handles disputes differently than Gumroad
Lemon Squeezy fights chargebacks with the card network on your behalf, so you never deal with the network's own dispute fee directly.
But it deducts the refunded amount plus a flat $15 dispute fee from your next payout — and that $15 is not returned, whether the dispute is contested or not. Gumroad, by contrast, actually returns its platform fee on a chargeback. Don't assume every merchant-of-record platform treats disputes the same way.
Lemon Squeezy fees at scale
Monthly totals on the Domestic card rate at your $25.00 price.
The facts behind this calculator
The base rate is 5% + $0.50 per transaction, all-in — card processing is already included, unlike Gumroad's direct-sale fee.
Source: Lemon Squeezy — Fees ↗International cards add 1.5%. PayPal adds 1.5%, even on an otherwise domestic sale. Subscriptions add 0.5% per renewal.
Source: Lemon Squeezy — Fees ↗Abandoned cart recovery adds 5% on any sale recovered through Lemon Squeezy's own recovery feature (10% + $0.50 total on a recovered sale). Affiliate referrals add 3% on any sale an affiliate drove.
Source: Lemon Squeezy — Fees ↗Lemon Squeezy is a Merchant of Record: it collects and remits VAT, GST, and sales tax worldwide at no extra charge, on every sale.
Source: Lemon Squeezy — Fees ↗On a chargeback, Lemon Squeezy fights the dispute with the card network for you, but deducts the refunded amount plus a flat $15 dispute fee from your next payout. That $15 is not returned. This is different from Gumroad, which actually returns its platform fee on a chargeback.
Source: Lemon Squeezy — Refunds and Chargebacks ↗Common questions
Does Lemon Squeezy's 5% + $0.50 fee include card processing?
Yes — unlike Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy's headline rate is genuinely all-in for domestic card sales. There is no separate processing charge to add on top.
How much does Lemon Squeezy charge for international or PayPal sales?
Both add 1.5% on top of the base rate. An international card runs 6.5% + $0.50; a PayPal payment runs 6.5% + $0.50 even if the buyer is domestic. Combine international with PayPal and Lemon Squeezy stacks both surcharges.
What happens to Lemon Squeezy's fee on a chargeback?
Lemon Squeezy deducts the refunded amount plus a flat $15 dispute fee from your next payout — and the $15 is not returned, contested or not. This is notably different from Gumroad, which returns its platform fee on a chargeback. Don't assume merchant-of-record platforms all handle disputes the same way.
Does Lemon Squeezy charge extra for abandoned cart recovery or affiliates?
Yes. Cart recovery adds 5% on any sale recovered through the feature (10% + $0.50 total). Affiliate-driven sales add 3% on top of the base rate, on top of whatever commission you're paying the affiliate directly.
Is Lemon Squeezy cheaper than Gumroad?
On a domestic card sale, yes — 5% + $0.50 versus Gumroad's roughly 12.9% + $0.80 once processing is added. The gap narrows on international or PayPal sales, where both platforms add surcharges, and disappears entirely if you're driving traffic through Gumroad Discover's flat 30% versus your own audience on Lemon Squeezy.
For the full breakdown including payout timing and every surcharge, read Lemon Squeezy fees: every surcharge that stacks on the 5%.
This calculator shows one sale at a time. Owelet reads your actual Lemon Squeezy transactions and shows real net income across every platform you sell on, automatically.
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