Gateway Cost Per Order measures the average payment gateway processing fee charged per order by payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, or Shopify Payments.
| Metric | Definition |
|---|
| Gateway Cost | Total payment gateway processing fees |
| Orders | Total number of orders in the period |
| Metadata | |
|---|
| Type | Currency |
| Data Source | Shopify |
| Aggregation | Average |
Example
Your store processed 1,247 orders in January with a total Gateway Cost of $3,999:
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Gateway Cost | $3,999 |
| Orders | 1,247 |
| Gateway Cost Per Order | $3.21 |
How It Works
Gateway Cost Per Order divides total payment processing fees by the number of orders. This metric helps you understand the fixed and variable components of your payment costs on a per-transaction basis. Higher AOV orders typically have higher absolute gateway costs but lower costs as a percentage of revenue.
When to Use
| Scenario | Action |
|---|
| Evaluating flat-fee impact | Compare against AOV to see how the flat fee ($0.30) impacts margins |
| Unit economics analysis | Include in per-order cost calculations for profitability |
| Payment processor comparison | Compare per-order costs across different payment methods |
| Pricing decisions | Factor into minimum order thresholds or small-cart surcharges |
| Metric | Relationship |
|---|
| Gateway Cost | Numerator: total processing fees |
| Orders | Denominator: order count |
| Gateway Cost % | Gateway fees as percentage of net revenue |
