International card
+1.0%3.99% + $0.30
$100 → $95.71
Card issued outside your country, payout in your local currency.
What Is Medusa, and Who Is It For?
Medusa is an open-source headless commerce platform, not a payment processor. It connects to Stripe, Mollie, or other processors and provides the commerce layer on top. For WordPress users, this is a completely different architectural category — it's a headless replacement for WooCommerce, not a payment processor to compare directly.
Best for
Developers who want a customizable, headless e-commerce platform.
Used by
Headless e-commerce Custom storefronts B2B commerce Brand storefronts
Highlights
- Headless commerce
- Open source
- Customizable
Medusa at a Glance
- Pricing model
- Pay-as-you-go gateway
- Domestic fee
- 2.99% + $0.30
- International card fee
- 3.99% + $0.30
- Currency conversion
- +1%
- Monthly cost
- Free — no monthly fee
- Tax handling
- You handle (or buy add-on)
- Chargebacks
- You handle, $15 dispute fee
Medusa Fee Calculator: What Does a Sale Actually Cost?
This Medusa fee calculator shows where a sale ends up — drag the slider or type your own amount to see it in real time. Prices are list rates; large merchants can negotiate.
Medusa Fee Calculator: Any Sale, Broken Down
Live scenario
US card · USD payoutYou receive
$96.71
$1 Drag or type your amount $1,000+
You keep · 96.7% Medusa fee · 3.3%
Fee breakdown
- Card processing 2.99% × $100
- −$2.99
- Fixed fee per transaction
- −$0.30
- Total fee
- −$3.29
- You receive
- +$96.71
Currency conversion
+1%+1%
$100 → $94.71
Stacked on international when you charge and pay out in different currencies.
Refund · chargeback
Worst case−$18.20
$100 lost + $15 fee
Lost dispute: you forfeit the $100, the $3.20 processing fee, and a $15 dispute fee.
The fine print headline rates don't show
- Sales tax / VAT — your responsibility, or +0.5% via Stripe Tax.
- Chargebacks — $15 per dispute, original fee not refunded.
- Refunds — the processing fee is not returned to the merchant.
- Marketplaces — Stripe Connect adds 0.25% + $2 per active connected account, monthly.
What we like
- Fully open-source and customizable
- Headless architecture — use any frontend
- Supports complex commerce scenarios (B2B, subscriptions)
- Strong developer community and documentation
- Multi-currency and multi-region support
- No monthly fees — self-host or use Medusa Cloud
Where it falls short
- Not a payment processor — a commerce platform that connects to processors
- Requires significant developer resources to self-host
- No native WordPress plugin
- Tax and chargeback handling depends on the connected processor
- Not a turnkey solution — needs custom development
How Does Medusa Work with WordPress?
No official WordPress plugin
Medusa does not have an official WordPress, WooCommerce, or EDD plugin. Integration requires custom development.
If tax + chargebacks worry you
Consider Paddle as a Merchant-of-Record Alternative
Paddle handles VAT, sales tax, and chargebacks globally — and connects to WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads through WP Smart Pay's official integrations.
