The South Africa Payment Gateway Fee Comparator
Compare Yoco, iKhokha, Payfast, Peach Payments, Ozow, Paystack, Zapper, SnapScan and Shopify third-party payment fees in Rand. Enter your monthly sales and average order value to see the estimated fee drag before you choose a payment stack.
- Online and in-person payment channels.
- Shopify third-party provider fees for South African stores.
- VAT-on-fees toggle for closer cash-cost estimates.
- Show-the-maths breakdown with official source links.
- Last verified date shown on the page.
Important
This is a cost-only estimate from public pricing pages. It does not compare support, reliability, settlement speed, chargeback handling, risk controls, or whether a gateway suits your exact business.
Last verified: 2026-05-05. Provider fees change. Check the linked official pricing pages before making a decision.
A South African payment fee decision tool, not a gateway ranking.
This page estimates monthly payment fees from published provider pricing for South African businesses. It helps narrow the shortlist before a proper payment-stack decision that also considers settlement speed, support, refunds, chargebacks, plugin quality and fraud controls.
Compare payment costs
Use your expected sales and average order value. The result is an estimate from published public fees, not a contract quote.
Last verified 2026-05-05. Fees change. Check the linked provider pages before signing up or migrating payments.
Ozow Pay by Bank
R 1 725,00 over 1 month
Estimated fees over 1 month
| Option | Fee breakdown | Total | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ozow Pay by BankStandard Pay by Bank pricing is 1.5% or minimum R1, excluding VAT.Ozow pricing | Rate1.50% ProviderR 1 725,00 Fixed— Shopify— | R 1 725,00 | 1.73% |
| Paystack Capitec Pay / Ozow EFTPaystack lists Capitec Pay and Ozow EFT at 2% with no flat fee, excluding VAT.Paystack SA pricing | Rate2% ProviderR 2 300,00 Fixed— Shopify— | R 2 300,00 | 2.30% |
| Payfast Instant EFTInstant EFT fee is 2%, minimum R2, excluding VAT, plus Payfast payout fee.Payfast fees | Rate2% ProviderR 2 300,00 FixedR 40,02 Shopify— | R 2 340,02 | 2.34% |
| Peach Pay by BankGrowth Plan Pay by Bank rate, excluding VAT.Peach Payments fees | Rate1.50% + R 1,50 ProviderR 1 990,65 FixedR 573,85 Shopify— | R 2 564,50 | 2.56% |
| Yoco Online CorePublished Core online local card range. R49 per active card machine may apply if you use Yoco hardware.Yoco pricing | Rate2.55% – 2.95% ProviderR 2 932,50 – R 3 392,50 Fixed— Shopify— | R 2 932,50 – R 3 392,50 | 2.93% – 3.39% |
| Yoco Online AcceleratePublished Accelerate online local card rate. Monthly subscription listed as VAT inclusive.Yoco pricing | Rate2.55% ProviderR 2 550,00 FixedR 499,00 Shopify— | R 3 049,00 | 3.05% |
| Zapper BusinessBusiness plan is R220/store/month excluding VAT with 2.5% fees and daily settlements.Zapper pricing | Rate2.50% ProviderR 2 875,00 FixedR 253,00 Shopify— | R 3 128,00 | 3.13% |
| Ozow Card LocalLocal card pricing is tiered by monthly volume. R1m+ is custom pricing.Ozow pricing | Rate2.85% · R0-R250k ProviderR 3 277,50 Fixed— Shopify— | R 3 277,50 | 3.28% |
| iKhokha Online PaymentsPublished online rate starts at 2.85%, excluding VAT. Custom rates may apply above R100k/month.iKhokha pricing | Rate2.85% ProviderR 3 277,50 FixedR 11,50 Shopify— | R 3 289,00 | 3.29% |
| Zapper BasicBasic plan is free monthly with 2.9% fees, excluding VAT, and weekly settlements.Zapper pricing | Rate2.90% ProviderR 3 335,00 Fixed— Shopify— | R 3 335,00 | 3.33% |
| SnapScan StandardStandard QR and ecommerce rate starts at 2.95%, excluding VAT. Higher turnover may qualify for lower/custom rates.SnapScan merchant pricing | Rate2.95% ProviderR 3 392,50 Fixed— Shopify— | R 3 392,50 | 3.39% |
| Paystack Local CardLocal card pricing is 2.9% + R1, excluding VAT. R1 fee waived below R10 transactions is not modelled.Paystack SA pricing | Rate2.90% + R 1,00 ProviderR 3 512,10 Fixed— Shopify— | R 3 512,10 | 3.51% |
| Payfast CardAggregation card fee, excluding VAT, plus Payfast payout fee.Payfast fees | Rate3.20% + R 2,00 ProviderR 4 034,20 FixedR 40,02 Shopify— | R 4 074,22 | 4.07% |
| Peach Growth Card 3DSGrowth Plan local card 3DS rate, excluding VAT. Free daily settlements are advertised.Peach Payments fees | Rate2.95% + R 1,50 ProviderR 3 658,15 FixedR 573,85 Shopify— | R 4 232,00 | 4.23% |
How each monthly estimate is built
Rows use the selected average order value of R 650,00, about 154 transactions per month, and the selected 1 month period.
Total cost by provider, cheapest first
Stacked bar shows the components of the 1 month cost estimate. Helps see which provider wins and why.
Cumulative estimated provider cost
Shows lower-bound published cost estimates over the selected 1 month period.
What this calculator does and does not measure
This tool compares published cost inputs only. It does not rank uptime, support, settlement reliability, fraud controls, chargeback handling, plugin quality, or whether a gateway is right for your store.
Included
- Percentage transaction fees
- Fixed per-transaction fees where published
- Payout fees where published
- Monthly subscription fees where relevant
- Shopify third-party provider fee for South African stores
More local providers to check manually
Book a payment-stack assessment
For Shopify, WooCommerce, payment links, subscriptions, invoice payments, reconciliation, Xero/Sage exports, or a custom billing portal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the effective rate for?
The effective rate shows the estimated payment cost as a percentage of your sales. The formula is total estimated fees divided by total sales, then multiplied by 100. For example, R1,725 in fees on R100,000 in sales is an effective rate of 1.73%.
Which South African payment gateway is cheapest?
It depends on monthly sales, average order value, payout frequency, provider fee tier, and whether Shopify adds a third-party payment provider fee. This calculator compares published cost inputs in Rand.
Does the cheapest payment gateway mean it is the best choice?
No. Cheapest only means the lowest estimated cost from the public fee inputs used by this calculator. A real payment-provider decision should also consider settlement speed, reliability, support, chargebacks, refunds, fraud controls, plugin quality, reporting, reconciliation, and whether the provider fits your business model.
Does this include Shopify transaction fees in South Africa?
Yes. If you select a Shopify plan, the tool adds the published third-party provider fee for that plan to the gateway cost estimate.
What does the cost period selector change?
The cost period selector multiplies the monthly estimate across 1, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, or 60 months. This helps show the longer-term Rand impact of small fee differences. The effective rate can stay similar because both sales and fees scale over the selected period.
What does the cost breakdown chart show?
The cost breakdown chart sorts providers cheapest first and shows each provider as a horizontal stacked bar. The segments break the estimated cost into provider transaction fees, fixed fees (payouts and monthly subscriptions) and Shopify third-party provider fee. The cheapest provider is highlighted in green.
What does the pricing line graph show?
The pricing line graph shows cumulative estimated provider cost over the selected period. You can turn providers on and off to compare a smaller shortlist without changing the calculator inputs. Use the cost breakdown chart for a single-period view sorted cheapest first.
Are the payment gateway fees current?
The fee inputs on this page were last verified on 2026-05-05. Provider pricing changes, so the linked official pricing pages should be checked before making a payment migration decision.
Does this compare reliability and support?
No. This is a cost-only comparator. It does not rank uptime, support quality, fraud controls, settlement reliability, refunds, chargebacks, or plugin quality.
Which South African payment merchants are included?
The calculator includes public-fee options for Yoco, iKhokha, Payfast, Peach Payments, Ozow, Paystack South Africa, Zapper and SnapScan. Netcash, PayU South Africa, Adumo Online, PayGate by Network and Stitch are listed as custom-pricing providers to check manually.
Why did Anton build this payment fee tool?
Anton built it as a personal tool to assist customers to make a decision when comparing South African payment providers for Shopify, WooCommerce, billing apps, payment links and custom payment workflows.
Can Anton help set up the right payment flow?
Yes. Anton builds Shopify, WooCommerce, billing, payment-link, recurring billing, reconciliation, and custom payment workflows.
Disclaimer: This calculator is a planning aid, not financial, tax, legal, accounting, or payment-provider advice. Published provider fees can change and custom rates may apply.