Agentis analysis of Stripe's, Shopify Payments', Mastercard's, and Visa's published dispute documentation shows dispute fees are flat: $15 at both Shopify Payments and Stripe, regardless of reason code. What changes across Stripe's 8 documented dispute categories is the evidence required to contest each one, not the price.
The value of the disputed order. The math is identical no matter which category it falls under.
Cost if you don't contest
$80.00
Cost if you contest and lose
$80.00
Cost if you contest and win
$0.00
Expected cost if you contest (43.8% win rate)
$44.96
| Category | Example Reason Codes (Visa) | What Evidence Focuses On |
|---|---|---|
| Fraudulent | 10.4 Other Fraud – Card-Absent; 10.1/10.2 EMV Liability Shift | Proof the cardholder authorized the transaction (AVS/CVV match, device data, delivery to the billing address) |
| Product not received | 13.1 Merchandise/Services Not Received | Proof of delivery (tracking, signature confirmation) |
| Product unacceptable | 13.3 Not as Described or Defective; 13.4 Counterfeit | Proof the item matched its listing (photos, description, stated return policy) |
| Credit not processed | 13.6 Credit Not Processed; 13.7 Canceled Merchandise/Services | Proof a refund was actually issued (refund transaction record) |
| Duplicate | 12.6.1 Duplicate Processing; 12.6.2 Paid by Other Means | Proof only one valid charge was made (transaction logs) |
| Subscription canceled | 13.2 Canceled Recurring | Proof of the cancellation policy and the cardholder's acknowledgment of it |
| General | 11.2 Declined Authorization; 12.5 Incorrect Amount | Varies — typically an authorization or processing record |
| Noncompliant | Network procedural violation codes | Varies — network-specific compliance documentation |
Source: Stripe Docs — Dispute reason code categories (retrieved August 7, 2026) — Stripe maps each network's specific reason codes into one of these 8 categories. Visa codes shown are illustrative examples from Stripe's own mapping table, not an exhaustive list.
| Processor / Network | Dispute Fee | Varies By Reason Code? |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | $15 | No — same fee across all 8 categories |
| Shopify Payments | $15 | No — same fee across all reason codes |
| Mastercard DAF (Dispute Administration Fee) | €15 / €30 / €45 | No — varies by dispute stage (first chargeback / second presentment / arbitration), not by reason code |
Sources: Stripe Docs — Dispute reason code categories (retrieved August 7, 2026); Chargebacks911 — Mastercard DAF (Dispute Administration Fee) overview (retrieved August 7, 2026) — The Mastercard DAF figures are reported via Chargebacks911's summary of Mastercard's program terms, not a Mastercard-hosted page. Flagged as vendor-reported, not primary-sourced, unlike the Stripe figures above.
How we calculate this
Stripe's category list comes directly from Stripe's own developer documentation, which maps each network's reason codes into 8 categories. The Mastercard DAF figures are vendor-reported (Chargebacks911), not pulled from a Mastercard-hosted page. We label that distinction rather than blur it. Read our full methodology →
Expert Insight
The instinct is to assume a fraud dispute costs more to fight than a never-received one, since fraud sounds more serious. It doesn't. Stripe, Shopify Payments, and the networks charge the same fee no matter which of the eight categories a dispute falls into. What actually changes is the paperwork: a fraud dispute wants proof the cardholder authorized the charge, while a not-received dispute wants proof of delivery. Knowing which evidence a category expects, before you're staring at a short response window, is the entire game. Most merchants lose disputes not because their case is weak. They lose because they submit the wrong kind of evidence for the category they're in.
Herzel Mishel, CEO & Co-Founder →Because they determine what evidence actually moves the needle. Submitting a signed delivery receipt against a 'not as described' dispute won't help. That category wants proof the item matched its listing, not proof it arrived. Matching your evidence to the category is what determines whether you win, even though it doesn't change what the dispute costs upfront.
Agentis analysis of Shopify Payments' and Stripe's published 2026 fee schedules shows every chargeback carries a fixed $15 dispute fee. Lose the dispute, and the full order value gets reversed on top of it. Industry-reported win rates put the odds of getting that money back at under 44%, per Chargebacks911's 2026 data.
Agentis analysis of Mastercard's Excessive Chargeback Merchant program shows a merchant who breaches the monitoring threshold faces monthly assessments starting at $1,000 and scaling past $100,000 for repeat violations. That's on top of the standard per-dispute fee, not instead of it.
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Data last updated August 7, 2026. Browse all Chargebacks pages →