Sondara maintains the benchmark; every Sounding applies it. Each reading we take deepens a proprietary benchmark of the economics of businesses, by field — and everything we can stand behind, we publish.
A continuously updated benchmark of practice payment economics, by field — built from anonymized, aggregated soundings plus public sources, with a transparent, published methodology. It is how a Sounding tells you not just your number, but your position.
We publish the Index as a flagship only when the data is unimpeachable. Until then, every sounding quietly sharpens it.
A sounding is a verified finding. Below are real, anonymized patterns from merchant statements — cross-industry and illustrative of how the structures work, not a promise of your result.
Find the one number that matters — and the fees worth questioning. In plain English. Read it →
Two numbers from your statement, and you’ll see your true, all-in rate. Try it →
The simple math for whether a change is worth it — before anyone sells you one. See the test →
The Index is built from real Soundings — names stripped out, numbers combined — plus public data. We show our work: where each number comes from, and how confident we are in it. And we never publish a number we can’t back up. The whole point of Sondara is being right, so we don’t guess.
Your name and your numbers stay private — always. We treat what you share like it matters, because it does.