What does moving money actually cost?
Pick a country and a transaction amount. See what each rail — Stripe card, BECS direct debit, GoCardless — takes per payment. Then see what PATO takes on top.
Payment fee calculator
What a single payment actually costs to process — before any platform adds a commission on top.
— domestic card2.65% + $0.30
— BECS direct debit1% + $0.40 (cap $4.00)Lowest Fee
— direct debit1% + $0.40 (cap $4.00)Lowest Fee
PATO platform commission
No percentage on top of your processor — ever
Rates are each processor’s published standard pricing, read on 2026-10-02. Direct-debit rails show their per-transaction cap. The processor’s fee is the real cost of moving money; a platform commission is a separate percentage on top — PATO charges none of it. Processor fees change — check the linked pricing page before relying on a figure. For guidance only, not a quote.
The two fees most gym owners have never separated
There are two costs to collecting a membership payment. Most platforms hide that one of them is optional.
The first is the processing fee — what Stripe or GoCardless charges to move money. It's published, it's small, and it's the same for every business using that processor. There is no gym software that removes it.
The second is a platform commission — a percentage your gym software charges on top of the processing fee, simply for being the place you manage memberships. It doesn't appear on a bill. It appears as the difference between what your members pay and what arrives in your account.
On a gym billing $9,900/month in memberships (100 members at $99), a 1% platform commission takes $99 every month — $1,188 a year. At 2%, that’s $2,376. The processing fee alone is unavoidable. The commission is the one someone chose to charge you.
PATO charges a flat subscription. No commission, on anything, ever. The calculator above shows only the processing fee — which is all you should be paying on top of your software subscription.
How we got these numbers
Every rate is from the processor's own pricing page, so you can check it yourself. We record the date we read it so you know when to look again.
Published standard rates only
These are each processor's own published standard pricing — not negotiated rates, not volume discounts. A gym starting out pays these rates. If you've negotiated a custom rate, your actual fees will be lower.
One transaction, not a month
The calculator shows what one payment costs. For a monthly picture — your total processing bill across every member — multiply the fee on your typical membership amount by your active member count.
The cap is the point for direct debit
Direct debit rails cap their fee per transaction. A $299/month PT package at GoCardless's NZ rate (1% + $0.40, cap $4.00) costs $3.39 — less than a card payment at any percentage. The cap is why direct debit wins on larger amounts.
Platform commission is not included
These numbers are processor fees only. What your gym software charges on top varies by platform — some publish it, some don't. PATO charges none.
Rates are dated, not live
Processor rates change. We record when we read them — currently 2026-10-02 — so you know the freshness. Re-verify at the sourceUrl shown on each card before making a business decision.
International card surcharges not shown
Stripe adds a surcharge for cards issued outside the selected country. The calculator shows domestic card rates only — the rate most gym members will hit.
Questions people ask
It's what the payment processor — Stripe, GoCardless — charges to move money from your member's account to yours. It's unavoidable, it's small, and every business using those processors pays it at the same published rate.
The processing fee is what moves the money. The platform commission is what your gym software takes on top of that — a percentage of every payment your members make, for the privilege of using the software to collect it. PATO charges the first. PATO charges none of the second.
Direct debit, consistently. The cap is the reason: GoCardless and Stripe's BECS/ACSS debit rails charge a percentage plus a small fixed fee, but with a per-transaction ceiling. On a $99 membership, direct debit's fee is usually less than half of what a card would cost.
No — these are the processors' own published rates, read from their pricing pages. What any given gym platform charges on top of these is separate and varies by platform. PATO charges nothing on top.
We read them off each processor's own pricing page and record the date. Last verified: 2026-10-02. Processor rates do change — if a rate looks wrong, check the source URL shown on each card.
We charge a flat subscription instead. The subscription doesn't scale with how well your gym is doing — a commission does, which is why it ends up being the bigger number as you grow. We'd rather you know exactly what you're paying.
Keep what your members actually pay you
Fourteen days with everything switched on, no card. Connect your own Stripe or GoCardless account and see what billing looks like when no one else takes a cut.
- 14 days, everything on
- No card required
- Cancel any time
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