What are chargebacks really costing you?
Most teams track the chargeback rate but never put a dollar figure on it. Enter your numbers below — the calculator shows the monthly and annual cost, and where your rate sits against the Visa VAMP and Mastercard ECM thresholds. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
Your numbers
What it costs
And that's the floor. It excludes the cost of goods or service you already delivered, the staff time spent fighting disputes, the higher processing rates that follow a high ratio, and the big one — the risk of card-network monitoring fines or losing your merchant account entirely.
I've taken a subscription app from 13% to under 1% — and out of Mastercard ECM.
If that annual figure is uncomfortable, the 90-day Chargeback Rescue program rebuilds your Stripe Radar rules, sets up dispute interception, and produces the compliance documentation processors accept.
Book a Free Consultation →How the cost is calculated
The visible cost of a chargeback is two things added together, every month:
- Lost revenue — each chargeback that sticks reverses the transaction, so you lose the order value. We multiply your chargebacks by your average order value, and subtract any you win back on representment.
- Dispute fees — your processor charges a fee per chargeback (often whether or not you win it). We multiply your chargeback count by the fee you enter.
Annualized, that's the number most teams have never actually seen. The hidden costs on top — fulfilment already spent, support and ops time, penalty pricing, and monitoring-program exposure — are why the real figure runs higher than the calculator's floor.
Where your rate sits
Cost is only half the story; the other half is staying off the card networks' radar. The calculator compares your chargeback rate to the two thresholds that matter most for subscription businesses:
- Visa VAMP — a combined fraud-and-dispute ratio, flagged Above-Standard at 0.30% and Excessive at 0.90%.
- Mastercard ECM — triggers at a 1.5% chargeback ratio with 100+ chargebacks in a month (the earlier ECP tier is 1.0%).
For the exact tiers, formulas, and exit criteria, see the threshold reference and the glossary. To model your live VAMP and ECM ratios specifically, use the Payment Risk Calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate the cost of a chargeback?
- Each chargeback that sticks costs you the disputed revenue (your average order value) plus the per-dispute fee your processor charges. This tool multiplies your monthly chargebacks by your AOV and fee, subtracts any you win, and annualizes it — a floor that excludes goods already delivered, staff time, penalty pricing, and monitoring-program risk.
- What chargeback rate is too high?
- Visa's VAMP flags an Excessive ratio at 0.90% (Above-Standard at 0.30%); Mastercard's ECM triggers at 1.5%. Many subscription apps hit Visa's line first. The status badge above shows where you land.
- Does this send my data anywhere?
- No — every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server or stored.
- What's a typical chargeback fee?
- It varies by processor and risk profile, commonly around $15–$40 (higher for flagged accounts). The fee field is editable — set your processor's actual fee for an accurate figure.