Free tool
Chargeback cost calculator
What one disputed payment really takes.
Your result is an estimate based on the answers you enter. It is not filed or stored anywhere.
Method
How this calculator works
A chargeback is not a refund. When a client disputes a card payment, the bank pulls the money back, the processor generally keeps the fee it already charged on the original sale, and most processors add a separate per-dispute fee on top — whether you win or lose. Then you spend hours assembling evidence. This calculator adds those four pieces at your own numbers, then subtracts the share you expect to win back, so the headline figure is an expected cost rather than a worst case.
Two outputs matter beyond the per-dispute number. The first is the extra revenue needed to replace the loss: at a 40% net margin, a $600 hit needs $1,500 of new work just to get back to level. The second is your dispute ratio — chargebacks divided by card transactions. Card networks run monitoring programs that flag merchants whose ratio climbs too high, and the consequence is higher fees or losing card acceptance altogether. Every fee and rate field is editable, so confirm your actual per-dispute fee and the current monitoring threshold with your processor rather than relying on the defaults.
Estimates, not advice
Every figure this tool produces is a planning estimate built from the numbers you enter and simplified assumptions documented above. It is educational content, not individualized financial, legal, or tax advice. Rates, limits, and thresholds change — annual constants are reviewed each January, and you should confirm anything decision-critical against primary sources or a professional.
Questions
FAQ
Is a chargeback the same as a refund?
No. A refund is money you return voluntarily. A chargeback is the customer’s bank reversing the payment, and it carries extra fees plus a ratio that stays attached to your merchant account.
Do I still pay the fee if I win the dispute?
Usually yes. Most processors keep the per-dispute fee regardless of outcome, and the hours you spent gathering evidence are gone either way — check your processor’s published fee schedule for the exact treatment.
What is a dispute ratio and why does it matter?
It is your chargebacks divided by your transactions over a period. Cross a network’s monitoring threshold and you face higher fees or loss of card acceptance, so confirm the current figure with your processor.
How do I actually reduce chargebacks?
Scope agreed in writing, a billing descriptor the client recognizes on their statement, fast replies to complaints, and pushing large invoices to ACH, which has a far narrower dispute window than cards.