The short answer
- Cheapest start: Tap to Pay on your phone. Square’s Tap to Pay works on iPhone and Android with $0 to start, at 2.6% + 15¢ per payment. There is no reader to buy.
- Want a mobile card reader? PayPal’s is $29 for your first one. Square’s reader and Stripe’s Reader M2 are $59. Shopify’s Tap & Chip reader is listed at $49.
- Want a credit card terminal on the counter? PayPal’s Terminal is $199. Stripe’s Reader S700 and Square’s handheld Terminal are $299. Helcim’s Smart Terminal and Shopify’s POS Terminal are $349.
- Watch out for lock-ins. Clover says its devices “cannot be used with other payment processors,” and its hardware subscriptions are “non-cancelable.”
Visit Square or read our Square breakdown first.
The reader is the small cost
You pay for a card reader once. You pay processing fees on every sale, for as long as you take cards.
Say you take $5,000 a month in cards over 100 payments at Square’s 2.6% + 15¢. That’s $145 a month in fees, or $1,740 a year. The $59 reader barely registers next to that. A rate just 0.3% lower would save you $180 a year, three times the price of the reader.
This is our estimate. It assumes every payment is a domestic card at the in-person rate. So choose the processor with the right rate for your sales first, then buy the reader it sells. To check your own numbers, use the fee calculator.
- SquareVisit Square
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.6% + 15¢
- Online
- 3.3% + 30¢
- Monthly
- $0 · Free plan
- Contract
- No contract
- StripeVisit Stripe
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.7% + 5¢
- Online
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Monthly
- $0 · Reader bought separately
- Contract
- No contract
- PayPal POSVisit PayPal POS
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.29% + 9¢
- Online
- 2.99% + 49¢
- Monthly
- $0 · Free POS app
- Contract
- No contract stated
- HelcimVisit Helcim
Interchange-plus
- In person
- Interchange + 0.4% + 8¢
- Online
- Interchange + 0.5% + 25¢
- Monthly
- $0 · No monthly fee
- Contract
- No contract, no cancellation fee
- Shopify POSVisit Shopify POS
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.6% + 10¢
- Online
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Monthly
- $39 · Basic plan
- Contract
- Monthly or yearly billing
- CloverVisit Clover
Flat or custom
- In person
- 2.3% + 10¢
- Online
- By quote
- Monthly
- From $16 · POS plan
- Contract
- 36-month hardware subscription option; terms vary by reseller
Prices checked Oct 19, 2026 on each provider's own pricing page (how we check). "Interchange +" means the provider publishes only its markup. You also pay the card networks' interchange fee on top.
Tap to Pay: take cards on the phone you own
With Tap to Pay, your phone is the card reader. You download the provider’s app, and customers tap their card or phone on yours. PayPal puts it simply: “No card reader or extra hardware is required.”
| Provider | App and phones | Cost to start | Rate per payment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | Square Point of Sale, iPhone and Android | $0 | 2.6% + 15¢ | Square says “No setup fees, unnecessary long-term contracts, or hidden fees.” |
| PayPal | PayPal app, iPhone and Android | No monthly fee or setup cost | 2.29% (Tap to Pay page) | PayPal’s fee page lists 2.29% + 9¢ for in-person POS cards. Ask which applies. |
| Stripe | Stripe Terminal, iPhone and Android | No hardware cost | 2.7% + 5¢, plus 10¢ per Tap to Pay payment | The 10¢ is on top of the card rate. |
| Helcim | Helcim POS app, iPhone | Free app | Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢, plus 10¢ per payment | Helcim charges “its in-person processing rate, plus an additional $0.10 for each successful transaction.” |
| Shopify | Shopify POS, iPhone | Included with every plan | 2.6% + 10¢ on the Basic plan | Needs a Shopify plan (Basic is $39 a month) and Shopify Payments. |
| Clover | Clover Go, iPhone | Not published | Not published | Clover’s tap-to-pay page gives no fee. |
Sources: Square, PayPal, PayPal fees, Stripe, Helcim, Shopify, Clover.
What a $50 card sale costs by Tap to Pay. PayPal: about $1.24 at 2.29% + 9¢. Shopify (Basic): $1.40, plus the monthly plan. Square: $1.45. Stripe: $1.50, because of the extra 10¢. Helcim depends on the card, since its rate starts with interchange. That’s our math at each provider’s published rate.
Who Tap to Pay is for: market stalls, trades, mobile services and anyone just starting out. PayPal itself says it could suit you if you “don’t have staff or employees.” Who should skip it: a busy counter, where you’d rather hand customers a device of their own. And at Stripe or Helcim, the extra 10¢ per payment adds up (see the catch below).
Mobile card readers
A mobile card reader works with your phone or tablet. It’s the cheapest hardware most providers sell, and the best credit card reader for a small business is usually the one from the processor with the best rate for you.
| Provider | Reader | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal | PayPal Card Reader | $29 | First reader only. More readers are $79 each. No monthly or setup fees. |
| Shopify | Tap & Chip Card Reader | Listed at $49 | US only. Shopify’s store shows ”$” with no currency code. |
| Square | Square Reader for contactless and chip | $59 | |
| Stripe | Stripe Reader M2 | $59 | Stripe’s in-person rate is 2.7% + 5¢. |
| SumUp | SumUp Solo | Listed at $99 | SumUp’s US page shows ”$” only. SumUp lists 2.6% + 10¢ in person. Its Plus Card Reader has no price shown. |
| Helcim | Helcim Card Reader | $199 | Priced in USD on Helcim’s page. |
| Clover | Clover Go | $199 | Needs a Clover software plan. Clover’s hardware promotion “Requires a 3-year contract.” |
Sources: PayPal, Shopify hardware, Square hardware, Stripe, SumUp, SumUp pricing, Helcim, Clover.
Credit card terminals: countertop and handheld
A terminal is a device with its own screen that customers pay on directly. Countertop models stay by the register. Handhelds can be carried to a table.
| Provider | Terminal | Type | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal | PayPal Terminal | Countertop | $199 | $239 with a built-in barcode scanner. |
| SumUp | SumUp Terminal | Handheld | Listed at $249 | SumUp’s US page shows ”$” only. |
| Square | Square Terminal | Handheld | $299 | Or $27 a month over 12 months. |
| Stripe | Stripe Reader S700 | Countertop | $299 | |
| Stripe | Stripe Reader S710 | Countertop | $299 | |
| Stripe | Stripe Reader T600 | Countertop | $329 | |
| Helcim | Helcim Smart Terminal | Countertop | $349 | Or $32 a month for 12 payments. That’s buying it in parts, not renting. |
| Shopify | POS Terminal | Countertop | Listed at $349 | |
| Clover | Clover Compact | Countertop | $349 | Or $16 a month for 36 months. |
| Square | Square Handheld | Handheld | $399 | Or $37 a month over 12 months. |
| Shopify | Victa Mobile | Handheld | Listed at $399 | |
| Clover | Clover Flex Pocket | Handheld | $699 | Or $35 a month for 36 months. |
| Clover | Clover Flex | Handheld | $749 | Or $40 a month for 36 months. |
| Clover | Clover Mini | Countertop | $849 | Or $45 a month for 36 months. |
| Toast | Toast Go 3 | Handheld | Not published | Sold to current Toast customers, or through a sales demo. |
Sources: PayPal, SumUp, Square hardware, Stripe, Helcim, Shopify hardware, Clover, Toast.
Want a full register instead? Square sells a Stand at $149, a Register at $899 and a Kiosk at $1,999 (counter stand included). Clover’s Station Solo is $1,799 or $174 a month for 36 months, and its Station Duo is $1,899 or $180 a month for 36 months.
Clover’s monthly price: multiply it out
Clover lets you pay for most devices monthly over 36 months instead of up front. Here’s what those payments add up to, by our math:
| Clover device | Pay up front | 36 monthly payments add up to |
|---|---|---|
| Compact | $349 | $576 |
| Flex Pocket | $699 | $1,260 |
| Flex | $749 | $1,440 |
| Mini | $849 | $1,620 |
| Station Solo | $1,799 | $6,264 |
| Station Duo | $1,899 | $6,480 |
Before you choose monthly, ask Clover what the monthly price includes. Clover says “Subscriptions are non-cancelable and ineligible for refunds.” At the end of the term, if you don’t buy or return the equipment, “your subscription term will be extended at the same monthly charge.” Clover also says you must tell it at least 30 days before the term ends. Read our Clover breakdown.
The catch: what to check before you buy
- Clover hardware only works with Clover. Clover’s pricing page says its devices “cannot be used with other payment processors,” even if you buy or lease them from someone else. Its hardware promotion “Requires a 3-year contract” and needs “$10,000 or greater in card transactions within the first four billing cycles.” And Clover says “Prices shown are only available on Clover.com,” so a bank or reseller may charge you more.
- The 10¢ Tap to Pay fee adds up. Stripe and Helcim both add 10¢ to every Tap to Pay payment. By our math, after 590 tap payments at Stripe, you’d have paid the $59 price of its Reader M2, which has no extra fee. At Helcim, it takes 1,990 tap payments to match its $199 reader.
- PayPal’s first reader is the cheap one. The $29 price is for your first Card Reader only. Each one after that is $79.
- Shopify’s Tap to Pay needs Shopify Payments. Shopify says Tap to Pay payments “are processed through Shopify Payments.” So you need a Shopify plan as well: Basic is $39 a month, or $29 a month paid yearly. See our Shopify breakdown.
- Toast hardware is for Toast customers. Toast doesn’t publish a price for its Go 3 handheld. Its services “may only be used on approved Toast hardware.” See our Toast breakdown.
Where to go next
- POS systems compared, if you need software to run your business as well as take cards.
- What a POS system really costs, with hardware, software and fees added up.
- Credit card processing companies compared, with each one’s published rate.
- Credit card processing fees explained, line by line.
- Provider breakdowns: Square, Stripe, PayPal POS, Helcim, Shopify, Clover and Toast.
- Some of these companies may pay us if you sign up. It never changes the numbers. Here’s how we make money.
Common questions
What is the cheapest way to accept credit cards?
Tap to Pay on your phone, with no reader to buy. Square's Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android costs $0 to start and 2.6% + 15¢ per payment. PayPal says its Tap to Pay has no monthly fee or setup cost, at 2.29% per payment on its Tap to Pay page. Stripe and Helcim add 10¢ to every Tap to Pay payment.
How much does a mobile card reader cost?
At each provider's own store: PayPal's Card Reader is $29 for your first one and $79 for each after that. Shopify's Tap & Chip reader is listed at $49. Square's reader and Stripe's Reader M2 are $59. SumUp's Solo is listed at $99. Helcim's Card Reader and Clover Go are both $199.
What is the best credit card reader for a small business?
The one sold by the processor with the best rate for your sales, since fees cost far more than the reader. On $5,000 a month, a rate 0.3% lower saves about $180 a year by our math. If you're starting small, Square ($59) and PayPal ($29) readers have no monthly fee. Compare rates first with our fee calculator.
Can I use a Clover terminal with another processor?
No. Clover's pricing page says that while Clover devices "may be purchased or leased from other entities, they cannot be used with other payment processors." Clover's hardware subscriptions are also "non-cancelable and ineligible for refunds." If you might switch processors later, count the cost of new hardware before you buy.