Junk Fee Calculator
| Typical drip | Base | Mandatory fees | Fee load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concert ticket | $80 | $34 | 42.5% |
| Hotel night + resort fee | $180 | $45 | 25% |
| Vacation rental cleaning | $250 | $75 | 30% |
| Playoff seat | $150 | $58 | 38.7% |
Junk fees are the charges that hide behind the advertised price: the service fee, the facility fee, the resort fee, the processing fee - stacked at checkout after you have already chosen. Priced honestly, they are enormous: a $80 concert ticket that checks out at $114 carries a 42.5% fee load. Since May 12, 2025, the FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 CFR Part 464) bans that bait-and-switch for live-event tickets and short-term lodging: the total price with all mandatory fees must be the first number you see.
This calculator prices any checkout the way the rule would: enter the advertised base, the mandatory fees that materialized, and any genuinely optional extras. The fee-load percent - mandatory fees against base - is the honest comparison unit between sellers, venues and hotels, and the fastest way to see when "cheap seats" are the expensive ones.
How to use
- Enter the base price exactly as the ad or listing showed it - that is the number the FTC rule now says must include the mandatory fees.
- Add the mandatory fees from the final screen (service, facility, resort, cleaning) separately from anything genuinely optional you chose - upsells are not junk fees; hidden ones are.
- Read the fee load: under the rule, tickets and lodging must show you the all-in number upfront, so a seller still dripping fees at checkout is either outside the rule (apps, banks, airlines have other regulators) or breaking it - report the latter.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a junk fee?
A mandatory charge that is withheld from the advertised price until checkout - service fees, facility fees, resort fees, cleaning fees. The FTC frames the practice as drip pricing: showing one number to hook the choice, then charging another. Optional extras you genuinely choose are not junk fees; mandatory ones dressed up as optional are.
What does the FTC rule actually require?
For live-event tickets and short-term lodging (hotels, motels, vacation rentals): the total price with all mandatory fees must be disclosed upfront, prominently, before you choose - and fees cannot be presented as mandatory when they are optional. It took effect May 12, 2025, and the FTC can seek civil penalties for violations.
Does the rule cover airlines, banks or delivery apps?
No - not yet. Airline fares are policed by the DOT (which has its own full-fares rule), banks and financial fees fall to the CFPB, and delivery-app fee stacks currently have no all-in pricing rule, which is why that vertical still needs the arithmetic done manually. Coverage may expand: the FTC started with the two sectors with the worst drip-pricing record.
What is a resort fee, and is it still legal?
A mandatory nightly hotel charge for "amenities" - pool, wifi, gym - that historically appeared after the room rate was quoted. Under the rule it must be inside the upfront total price for short-term lodging. Legal only when shown upfront; a resort fee that materializes at checkout is now exactly the violation the rule names.
What should I do if a site still drips fees?
Screenshot the first price and the checkout total, then report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov - the FTC builds enforcement from complaints. For tickets, note the venue and seller; for lodging, the platform. And run the fee-load math before buying anyway: sometimes the "cheap" seller with 40% fees loses to the honest one at a slightly higher base.