Dual pricing calculator

Dual pricing calculator: see what you keep with a cash discount.

Type your card sales, the rate you pay now and your processor's dual pricing rate. Free, no sign-up.

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Rates are percents, like 2.3 for 2.3%. Markup is how much higher your card prices are than your cash prices.

How dual pricing works

Dual pricing shows two prices: the card price and a lower cash price. With a cash discount, the price you post is the card price and cash payers get money off at the register.
Many processors run their own program, often at 3% to 4%. Some keep that whole percent as your processing fee, so the higher card prices only cover what they charge.
If your processor lets you stay on your own rate and give a cash discount yourself, you pay your normal rate on card sales and keep the gap. On $40,000 a month in card sales, a 2.3% rate against a 3% program is about $288 a month.
A surcharge is different: a fee added at the end. Card network rules cap a surcharge at what cards really cost you. A cash discount, with the card price posted, works differently.
Card price = today's price × (1 + markup). At a 3% markup, a $24.00 dish posts at $24.72.
Cash price = card price ÷ (1 + markup), which lands back on $24.00.
Cash discount at the register = markup ÷ (1 + markup). A 3% markup is 2.91% off the posted price.
Extra you keep a month = card sales at card prices × (the program's rate − your own rate).

Before you change prices (advice)

Ask your processor, in writing, whether you may give a cash discount on your current rate without joining its program, and whether skipping the program costs you anything.
Post the card price everywhere: menus, your website, your register. Put signs at the door and the register, and make sure receipts show the discount.
Ask your accountant how sales tax works on cash-discounted checks, and decide how servers tip out on card versus cash checks.

This is a calculator, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by state, card network and processor contract.

Run a cash discount with RightPlace

Your menu on RightPlace shows each card price with the cash price under it, from one setting in your manager screen.
Pick how much higher card prices are (3%, 3.5%, 4% or your own) and RightPlace tells you the cash discount to set at your register.
Raise your RightPlace menu prices to card prices in one step, and download the card and cash price list for your register.
Print the cash discount sign for your door and register from your spot kit.
Each month, type the numbers from your processor statement and see what you kept against your processor's program.
RightPlace never touches a payment. Guests pay at your register the way they do today.

More ways RightPlace helps hosts

RightPlace brings regulars to your door and helps your team run the night, on the devices you already have. No hardware required. Listing is free. Host Plus is our paid plan, set up with each spot.

Waitlist and host stand: Walk-ins, call-aheads and table-ready notes in one list.
Deals and specials: Post a deal and nearby regulars who care about it hear about it.
Night Report: Who came through RightPlace, how long tables took and what guests told you.
Kitchen screen: Orders sent ahead land on a kitchen screen with the time food should be ready.
Door TV: Waits, deals, games and tonight's photos on a TV by the door.
Server phone orders: Servers send orders from their own phone.

Questions owners ask

What is dual pricing for restaurants?

Showing two prices for the same item: a card price and a lower cash price. Guests who pay cash pay less, which covers the cost of taking cards on everyone else.

Is dual pricing the same as a surcharge?

No. A surcharge is a fee added to the check for paying by card, and card network rules cap it at what cards cost you. With a cash discount, the card price is the posted price and cash payers get money off.

Why would my processor's program leave me less?

Some processors charge the program's full percent, often 3% to 4%, as your processing fee. If you pay less than that today, the difference goes to them instead of you.

How much higher should card prices be?

Most programs use 3% to 4%. The calculator shows the cash discount your register should take for the markup you pick: 3% higher card prices means 2.91% off for cash.

Can RightPlace show card and cash prices on my menu?

Yes. Pick how much higher card prices are in your RightPlace manager screen and your menu shows both prices. You also get the cash discount sign to print and a monthly record of what you kept. RightPlace never takes payments; guests pay at your register.

Does the calculator save my numbers?

It saves in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Is it free?

Yes. No sign-up, no ads, and nothing to download.

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Updated October 2026