# The real cost of a chargeback, by processor

Title: The real cost of a chargeback, by processor

Description: The published fee is the small line. The disputed amount and the ratio are the bill. Read November 9, 2026. Source pages linked. Compared with Stripe.

Take a $40 charge that is disputed and lost, and that you countered. On Stripe, you are out the $40, the goods or the service, the $15 received fee, and the $15 counter fee that is not returned on a loss.

## What does Stripe charge when you lose?

On **Stripe**, you are out the $40, the goods or the service, the **$15** received fee, and the **$15** counter fee that is not returned on a loss. If you had won, you would still be out the $15 received fee. That structure is on Stripe's pricing page.

## What do the other published dispute fees say?

On **Braintree**, the published chargeback fee is **$15**. On **PayPal** checkout disputes, the standard USD dispute fee is **$15**, and a card chargeback outside a PayPal account is **$20**. On **Helcim**, the fee is **$15** and the pricing page says it is refunded if you win. On **Square**, the published dispute-management fee is **zero**, and the $40 is still held until the case ends. On **Frame**, the published fee is **$25**.

## Why is the fee the small number?

The $40 dominates every one of those fees. A processor comparison that stops at the fee is a comparison of the small number. The large number is how many of these you have, because Visa's VAMP ratio counts disputes and fraud in the numerator. Ten lost disputes on a small book can be a monitoring event. The fee difference between $0 and $25 cannot repair it.

## When is a pre-dispute tool worth paying for?

Pre-dispute programs and Compelling Evidence are worth pricing only if your acquirer says Visa will exclude those counts. The VAMP fact sheet says exclusions depend on the timing of the extract. "We bought a tool" is not an exclusion.

Refund faster when you are wrong. Fight when you have the evidence and the amount justifies the labor. Do not pick a processor because its dispute fee flatters a broken fulfillment process.

## Questions

### What does Stripe charge when you lose?

On Stripe, you are out the $40, the goods or the service, the $15 received fee, and the $15 counter fee that is not returned on a loss. If you had won, you would still be out the $15 received fee. That structure is on Stripe's pricing page.

### What do the other published dispute fees say?

On Braintree, the published chargeback fee is $15. On PayPal checkout disputes, the standard USD dispute fee is $15, and a card chargeback outside a PayPal account is $20. On Helcim, the fee is $15 and the pricing page says it is refunded if you win. On Square, the published dispute-management fee is zero, and the $40 is still held until the case ends. On Frame, the published fee is $25.

### Why is the fee the small number?

The $40 dominates every one of those fees. A processor comparison that stops at the fee is a comparison of the small number. The large number is how many of these you have, because Visa's VAMP ratio counts disputes and fraud in the numerator. Ten lost disputes on a small book can be a monitoring event. The fee difference between $0 and $25 cannot repair it.

### When is a pre-dispute tool worth paying for?

Pre-dispute programs and Compelling Evidence are worth pricing only if your acquirer says Visa will exclude those counts. The VAMP fact sheet says exclusions depend on the timing of the extract. "We bought a tool" is not an exclusion.

### Where were the figures on this page read?

The sources list names the pages. This edition was read on November 9, 2026. Stripe's US domestic card rate in that reading is 2.9% + $0.30, and a dispute received is $15.

## Sources

Last verified November 9, 2026.

- Stripe pricing: https://stripe.com/pricing?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stripealternatives.com

## Related

- [What we found verifying processors' pricing pages](/blog/verifying-processor-pricing.md)
- [Monthly pricing and policy changes](/blog/monthly-changes.md)
- [Payfac, gateway, acquirer, or merchant of record](/blog/payfac-gateway-acquirer-merchant-of-record.md)
- [Why processors close accounts after you start processing](/blog/why-processors-close-accounts.md)
- [Flat rate versus interchange-plus](/blog/flat-rate-vs-interchange-plus.md)
- [Payments explainers](/blog.md)
- [Stripe alternatives directory](/index.md)
- [Stripe pricing and US card fees](/alternatives/stripe.md)