The short answer
- Selling in person, with small or uneven sales? Pick a flat rate with no monthly fee. Square’s Free plan charges 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person payment. PayPal POS lists 2.29% + 9¢ with a free app. Either way, a slow month costs nothing extra.
- Bigger and steady? Look at interchange-plus. You pay the card networks’ own fee (called interchange) plus a small published markup, instead of a flat rate set high enough to cover the priciest cards. Helcim’s markup is 0.40% + 8¢ in person, with no monthly fee.
- Selling mostly online? Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment with no monthly fee, and it plugs into most online checkouts.
Our pick, by business type
-
For a retail shop at $5,000 to $25,000 a month · must have Inventory tracking
Our pick
PayPal POS $247 a month
Lowest cost, and it has inventory tracking.
Why not the others?
Left out: Stripe, Stax (card processing only, no POS software of its own); 5 others (built for appointment businesses); TouchBistro (a restaurant-only POS).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Clover, Toast, Helcim, SpotOn, Heartland, Chase, SumUp.
-
For a restaurant at $5,000 to $25,000 a month · must have Restaurant features (menus, tables or kitchen tickets)
Our pick
Square $290 a month
Lowest cost of the options with every must-have.
Lowest cost: PayPal POS $247 a month
Cheapest overall. It doesn't publish whether it meets this must-have: restaurant features.
Why not the others?
Left out: Stripe, Stax (card processing only, no POS software of its own); 5 others (built for appointment businesses).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Clover, Toast, Helcim, Shopify POS, Lightspeed, SpotOn, PayPal POS, Heartland, Chase, TouchBistro, SumUp.
-
For a mobile business at $5,000 to $25,000 a month · must have Portable reader or Tap to Pay on a phone
Our pick
PayPal POS $247 a month
Lowest cost, and it has a portable reader.
Why not the others?
Left out: 5 others (built for appointment businesses); TouchBistro (a restaurant-only POS).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Clover, Toast, Helcim, Lightspeed, SpotOn, Stax, Heartland, Chase.
-
For an online business at $5,000 to $25,000 a month · must have Online checkout or payment links
Our pick
Stripe $350 a month
Lowest cost, and it has online checkout.
Why not the others?
Left out: 5 others (built for appointment businesses); TouchBistro (a restaurant-only POS).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Clover, Toast, Helcim, Lightspeed, SpotOn, Stax, Heartland, Chase.
How we picked
A month of card fees plus the monthly fee at $10,000 in 200 card payments, in person except for online sellers, from each provider's published rates. Providers whose price depends on interchange, a hardware bundle or a quote have no full price here. Our pick is the lowest cost option that has every must-have; within 10% of it, no contract, faster payouts and longer support hours win. Payment from a provider never changes it. How we pick
Not sure which of these fits you? Answer three questions.
Find your best fit
3 questions
Already take cards?
You don’t need to start from scratch. Take three numbers from last month’s statement (card sales, number of payments and total fees) and put them in the fee calculator. It shows your real rate and what the same month would cost at each provider’s published price.
Then check what leaving would cost before you switch. Clover’s subscriptions keep billing unless you give 30 days’ notice, SpotOn’s terms make you pay the months left on an early exit, and Toast requires its own processing. Our guide to lowering your fees covers what to cut, negotiate or switch. Restaurants on Toast can compare Toast alternatives.
Switching processors: what it really saves
The saving from switching is the monthly difference, minus what it costs to leave: an exit fee if your terms have one, and hardware you can’t take with you. Here is that math for a business taking $20,000 a month in card sales, from each provider the fee calculator prices:
Moving to PayPal POS (Free POS app), the lowest cost in the fee calculator's example month that states there is no contract: $503 a month at $20,000 in 500 in-person card payments. New hardware counted: its PayPal Card Reader at $29.
From Lightspeed, Retail Basic, billed monthly ($89 if billed yearly)
Saves $176 a month (now $679)
First year: about $2,083 saved after the new reader, which the savings cover in the first month, before any exit fee.
Leaving Lightspeed: If you end your plan before the term is over, Lightspeed charges an early termination fee that includes the fees left in the term, and plans renew unless you give 90 days notice on terms longer than 90 days. lightspeedhq.com
Hardware: Lightspeed says you cannot use payment terminals you already own with Lightspeed Payments.
From Shopify POS, Basic plan
Saves $106 a month (now $609)
First year: about $1,243 saved after the new reader, which the savings cover in the first month, before any exit fee.
Leaving Shopify POS: You can close your Shopify Payments account at any time, and Shopify will not refund fees you already paid. shopify.com
Hardware: Shopify says its own supported card readers need Shopify Payments, but you can use an outside card reader instead.
From Square, Free plan
Saves $92 a month (now $595)
First year: about $1,075 saved after the new reader, which the savings cover in the first month, before any exit fee.
Leaving Square: You can close your Square account at any time, and Square says there are no locked-in contracts. squareup.com
From SumUp, Free plan (reader bought separately)
Saves $67 a month (now $570)
First year: about $775 saved after the new reader, which the savings cover in the first month, before any exit fee.
Leaving SumUp: Exit terms not published on the pages we read.
From Stripe, Reader bought separately
Saves $62 a month (now $565)
First year: about $715 saved after the new reader, which the savings cover in the first month, before any exit fee.
Leaving Stripe: You can end the agreement at any time by closing your Stripe account in the Dashboard. Stripe says it charges no closure fees. stripe.com
This compares published flat rates only. Bigger, steady businesses can pay less again with interchange-plus pricing (the card networks’ fee plus a small markup); see where it crosses over in interchange-plus vs flat rate. For your own numbers, use the fee calculator.
Credit card processing for small business, side by side
We may earn a fee if you sign up with some providers in this table. It never changes the prices we show or what we recommend.
- PayPal POSVisit PayPal POS
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.29% + 9¢
- Online
- 2.99% + 49¢
- Monthly
- $0 · Free POS app
- Contract
- No contract stated
- StripeVisit Stripe
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.7% + 5¢
- Online
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Monthly
- $0 · Reader bought separately
- Contract
- No contract
- SquareVisit Square
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.6% + 15¢
- Online
- 3.3% + 30¢
- Monthly
- $0 · Free plan
- Contract
- No contract
- Shopify POSVisit Shopify POS
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.6% + 10¢
- Online
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Monthly
- $39 · Basic plan
- Contract
- Monthly or yearly billing
- ChaseVisit Chase
Flat rate
- In person
- 2.6% + 10¢
- Online
- 2.9% + 25¢
- Monthly
- $9.95 · Standalone terminal monthly fee, starting at
- Contract
- Not published
- 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
- HeartlandVisit Heartland
Quote
- In person
- From 2.6% + 10¢
- Online
- By quote
- Monthly
- From $89 · POS plan
- Contract
- Not published
- 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
- StaxVisit Stax
Membership
- In person
- Interchange + 8¢
- Online
- Interchange + 15¢
- Monthly
- Not published
- Contract
- Not published
Prices checked Oct 19 to Oct 22, 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.Order: providers we can price in full come first, lowest first-year cost for a business taking $10,000 a month across 400 in-person payments; the rest follow alphabetically. Payout never affects the order.
We may earn a fee if you sign up with some providers in this table. It never changes the prices we show or what we recommend.
For Helcim and Stax, the number shown is their markup on top of interchange, so your total will be higher than it looks. That’s not a trick, it’s how interchange-plus works. Helcim says most of its merchants end up with a total in-person rate “near or below 2%” (their claim, not ours).
Stax adds no percentage markup at all, just 8¢ per in-person payment. But you also pay a monthly subscription: $99 a month for up to $150,000 a year in card sales, $139 for $150,000 to $250,000, and $199 or more above that. Run your own numbers in the fee calculator before you decide.
What is the cheapest credit card processing?
There is no single cheapest processor. It depends on how much you sell, how big each sale is, and whether you sell in person or online. Say you take $10,000 a month in card payments, in person, across 200 sales of about $50 each:
| Provider | Published in-person rate | Card fees for the month | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal POS | 2.29% + 9¢ | $247 | $0 |
| Clover (Retail Standard bundle) | 2.3% + 10¢ | $250 | $180 for 36 months, hardware included |
| Stripe | 2.7% + 5¢ | $280 | $0 (reader bought separately) |
| Chase | 2.6% + 10¢ | $280 | “May apply”; only amount published is from $9.95 on standalone terminals |
| Square (Free plan) | 2.6% + 15¢ | $290 | $0 |
This is our estimate. It assumes every payment is a domestic card taken in person, and it leaves out hardware, chargebacks and keyed-in payments. Stripe doesn’t sell a POS plan, so in-person selling also needs a reader and POS software. Clover’s cheapest retail bundle charges 2.6% + 10¢, not 2.3%.
Two more things the table can’t show. PayPal’s fee page says it may raise the percentage part of its fees, up to 5.00% per transaction, after 30 days’ notice. And interchange-plus providers like Helcim and Stax can come out cheaper, but only your own card mix can tell you. The calculator does that math.
The same math at two other sizes
Same assumptions as above. The cheapest flat rate stays the same as you grow. What changes is how much the gap is worth, and whether a subscription starts to make sense.
| Provider | $2,000 a month, 100 sales of $20 | $50,000 a month, 1,000 sales of $50 |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal POS (2.29% + 9¢) | $54.80 | $1,235 |
| Stripe (2.7% + 5¢) | $59 | $1,400 |
| Chase (2.6% + 10¢) | $62 | $1,400 |
| Square Free (2.6% + 15¢) | $67 | $1,450 |
| Helcim (markup 0.40% + 8¢) | $16 + interchange | $280 + interchange |
| Stax (8¢ per sale + subscription) | $8 + $99 + interchange | $80 + $199 or more + interchange |
At $2,000 a month, the gap between PayPal POS and Square Free is about $12. At $50,000, it’s $215 a month, or $2,580 a year. That’s when it pays to shop around.
The table also shows why a subscription doesn’t suit small sellers. At $2,000 a month, Stax’s $99 fee alone is 4.95% of sales, before any interchange. At $50,000 a month, its top-tier fee is about 0.4% of sales, plus interchange. For where Helcim and Stax cross over, see interchange-plus vs flat rate.
How do small businesses take card payments?
Most businesses use one or two of these four.
1. Your own phone. Tap to Pay lets customers tap a card or phone on yours. Square and PayPal list it with no hardware cost, and Shopify offers it on iPhone. Stripe and Helcim add 10¢ per payment for it.
2. A small card reader. It pairs with a phone or tablet and takes chip and tap payments. PayPal’s first reader is $29 ($79 for each one after). Square’s reader and Stripe’s Reader M2 are $59. Helcim’s Card Reader is $199.
3. A terminal or register. For a counter with a line. PayPal Terminal is $199, Square Terminal and Stripe’s Reader S700 are $299, Helcim’s Smart Terminal is $349, Square Register is $899 and Clover Station Duo is $1,899.
4. Online checkout and invoices. For sales where the card isn’t in front of you. These cost more per sale (see online rates below). Many providers also take bank payments (ACH) on invoices for less, such as Stripe’s 0.8% with a $5 cap.
Compare readers and terminals in detail on our card terminals page.
Is there free credit card processing?
No. Every provider we compare charges a fee on each card sale. “Free” usually means one of three things, each with a cost somewhere.
- No monthly fee. Square Free, Stripe, Helcim and PayPal POS charge $0 a month to take payments. You still pay per sale. For small or uneven sales, this is the kind of free worth having.
- No upfront hardware. Toast’s pay-as-you-go Starter Kit has no upfront hardware cost, but charges 3.09% on every sale. SpotOn’s All-In plan includes hardware at $0 a station, but charges 2.79% + 20¢, has processing minimums and a 2-year minimum term.
- Hardware promotions. Clover’s hardware promotion “Requires a 3-year contract” and “$10,000 or greater in card transactions within the first four billing cycles.”
Some businesses pass card fees on to customers, through a surcharge or a cash price. The rules depend on your state and the card networks. See our credit card surcharge guide and cash discount program page before you try either.
Selling online? Compare online rates first
Online rates are higher than in-person ones at every provider that publishes both:
| Provider | Standard online card rate | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
| Chase | 2.9% + 25¢ | “May apply”; mostly not published |
| Stripe | 2.9% + 30¢ | $0 |
| Shopify (Basic) | 2.9% + 30¢ | $39, or $29 a month billed yearly |
| PayPal (standard card payments) | 2.99% + 49¢ | $0 |
| Square | 3.3% + 30¢ on Free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus | $0 on Free, $49 per location on Plus |
| Helcim | markup 0.50% + 25¢, plus interchange | $0 |
Shopify adds a 2% fee per sale on Basic if you use a processor other than Shopify Payments. PayPal Checkout and Venmo cost 3.49% + 49¢. More detail: Stripe fees, Square vs Stripe and Stripe vs PayPal.
Just starting out?
New businesses usually have small, uneven sales and no history with a processor. That points to three things:
- Pick no monthly fee and no contract. Square, Stripe and Helcim say there’s no contract.
- Start with the cheapest hardware that works. Your own phone, or a reader from $29 to $59.
- Keep a cash cushion. Most providers’ terms let them delay payouts or hold a reserve if they see risk. See who can hold your money on our processors page.
How to start taking card payments
You need three things: an account with a payment provider, a way to take the card (your phone, a card reader or online checkout), and a bank account for the money to land in.
What it takes to sign up
There are two routes. An all-in-one provider such as Square, Stripe or PayPal signs you up online. Square’s own guide says you “Create an online account, often with instant approval.” A traditional merchant account takes more paperwork. Mastercard’s guide for small businesses says: “Traditional merchant accounts require an application with business documentation including Employer Identification Number, business license, bank statements and processing volume estimates. Approval can take several days.” It adds that all-in-one services “often allow same-day setup with minimal documentation, making them popular with new businesses.”
Either way, the provider checks who you are and what you sell, and its terms let it ask for more later.
What the first year costs
With no sales history, we price the whole first year: the cheapest way each provider sells to take a card, plus 12 months of card fees and any monthly fee at $2,000 a month in card sales. Our pick must have no monthly fee, no contract and a published payout time.
-
For a shop just starting to take cards · must have Inventory tracking, No monthly fee, No contract, Publishes when you get paid
Our pick
PayPal POS $658 in the first year
Lowest cost, and it has inventory tracking, no monthly fee, no contract and a published payout time.
Why not the others?
Left out: Stripe, Stax (card processing only, no POS software of its own); 5 others (built for appointment businesses); TouchBistro (a restaurant-only POS).
Missing a must-have: Shopify POS, Lightspeed (misses: no monthly fee).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Clover, Toast, Helcim, SpotOn, Heartland, Chase, SumUp.
-
For a mobile business just starting to take cards · must have Portable reader or Tap to Pay on a phone, No monthly fee, No contract, Publishes when you get paid
Our pick
PayPal POS $658 in the first year
Lowest cost, and it has a portable reader, no monthly fee, no contract and a published payout time.
Why not the others?
Left out: 5 others (built for appointment businesses); TouchBistro (a restaurant-only POS).
Missing a must-have: Shopify POS, Lightspeed (misses: no monthly fee).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Clover, Toast, Helcim, SpotOn, Stax, Heartland, Chase, SumUp.
-
For an online business just starting to take cards · must have Online checkout or payment links, No monthly fee, No contract, Publishes when you get paid
Our pick
Square $1,152 in the first year
Within 10% of the lowest option with every must-have ($1,152 vs $1,056 at Stripe), and it pays out faster (next business day vs 2 business days).
Lowest cost: SumUp $1,020 in the first year
Cheapest overall. It doesn't publish whether it meets this must-have: no contract.
Why not the others?
Left out: 5 others (built for appointment businesses); TouchBistro (a restaurant-only POS).
Missing a must-have: Shopify POS, Lightspeed (misses: no monthly fee).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Clover, Toast, Helcim, SpotOn, Stax, Heartland, Chase, SumUp.
How we picked
First-year cost: the cheapest way each provider sells to take a card (Tap to Pay on your phone, counting any per-tap fee for the year, or its lowest-priced card reader) plus 12 months of card fees and the monthly fee at $2,000 in 100 card payments a month, in person except for online sellers, from each provider's published prices. Providers whose price depends on interchange, a hardware bundle or a quote have no full price here. Our pick is the lowest cost option that has every must-have; within 10% of it, no contract, faster payouts and longer support hours win. Payment from a provider never changes it. How we pick
When you actually get your money
A new account can wait longer than the standard payout, and every provider here can hold money if it sees risk. That’s a reason to keep some cash on hand, not to pick one provider over another. What each one publishes:
PayPal POS
- Standard free payout
- 3 business days paypal.com
- New accounts
- New sellers can have payments held, generally up to 21 days. paypal.com
- Holds and reserves
- PayPal says it can put a reserve on your business account at any time if it sees high risk, which makes some or all of your money unavailable to withdraw. paypal.com
Square
- Standard free payout
- Next business day squareup.com
- New accounts
- Link a verified bank account or debit card first; no first-payout delay stated. squareup.com
- Holds and reserves
- Square can hold or delay your payouts, and it can make you keep a reserve of funds if it sees your business as risky. squareup.com
Stripe
- Standard free payout
- 2 business days docs.stripe.com
- New accounts
- 7 to 14 days after your first payment. docs.stripe.com
- Holds and reserves
- Stripe can set up a reserve it controls, and it can delay or hold payouts on a sale it thinks is likely to be disputed. stripe.com
Shopify POS
- Standard free payout
- 3 business days help.shopify.com
- New accounts
- Higher-risk accounts can be paid out over 5 to 20 business days. help.shopify.com
- Holds and reserves
- Shopify can set up a reserve that holds some or all of the money from a sale for a period of time, and can change the reserve terms at any time. shopify.com
Helcim
- Standard free payout
- Next business day helcim.com
- New accounts
- No first-payout delay or new-seller hold published on the pages we read.
- Holds and reserves
- Helcim can pause or delay your payouts, or make you keep money in a reserve, to cover what you owe it. legal.helcim.com
Tap to Pay or a card reader?
Tap to Pay turns your phone into the card reader: the customer taps a card or phone on yours. It costs nothing to start at most providers, but some charge extra on every tap, and a reader can come out cheaper within the first year.
PayPal POS
Tap to Pay: $0 for the app, at the usual card rate
Cheapest reader: $29 (PayPal Card Reader; first reader only; additional readers $79 each)
Cheaper over the first year: Tap to Pay.
Square
Tap to Pay: $0 for the app, at the usual card rate
Cheapest reader: $59 (Square Reader for contactless and chip)
Cheaper over the first year: Tap to Pay.
Stripe
Tap to Pay: 10¢ a tap, about $120 in a year at 100 payments a month
Cheapest reader: $59 (Stripe Reader M2)
Cheaper over the first year: the reader. The reader costs less once you take more than about 49 card payments a month.
Shopify POS
Tap to Pay: $0 for the app, at the usual card rate
Cheapest reader: $49 (Tap & Chip Card Reader (US only))
Cheaper over the first year: Tap to Pay.
Helcim
Tap to Pay: 10¢ a tap, about $120 in a year at 100 payments a month
Cheapest reader: $199 (Helcim Card Reader)
Cheaper over the first year: Tap to Pay. The reader costs less once you take more than about 165 card payments a month.
Three things that change what you really pay
1. Online and keyed-in payments cost more. The rate you see first is usually the in-person one (online rates are in the table above). Typing a card number in costs more again: 3.5% + 15¢ at Square, 3.5% + 10¢ at Chase, and an extra 0.5% at Stripe.
2. Monthly and plan fees. A low rate with a high monthly fee can cost more than a higher rate with none, especially in a slow month.
3. The fine print.
- Chargebacks (when a customer disputes a payment). Stripe charges $15, plus another $15 if you contest it. PayPal charges $20 on card chargebacks, or a $15 dispute fee instead on payments made through a PayPal account or checkout. Helcim charges $15, only if you lose. Square says it charges no fee for managing disputes.
- Hardware lock-in. Toast says its services “may only be used on approved Toast hardware.” SpotOn says you can’t use your own POS hardware. Leaving means new equipment.
Quote-only and starting-at providers
Some companies don’t publish a price you can plan on. That doesn’t make them bad, just hard to compare until you ask.
- Heartland publishes only starting-at prices, with POS plans from $89 a month. Heartland says it is “transitioning to the Global Payments brand.”
- Clover is also sold by banks and more than 3,000 other financial institutions. Clover says the prices on its site “are only available on Clover.com,” and that contract terms and termination fees vary by who sells it to you.
- Chase lists its rates but says monthly fees “may apply to certain products and pricing plans.” The only amount it publishes is a monthly fee “from $9.95” on its standalone terminals.
If you get a quote, get it in writing, including the cancellation fee. Then check it against your real rate from the calculator.
Want the full breakdown?
- Every credit card processing company we compare: what each one is, its rate, who it fits and the catch.
- Credit card processing fees explained: every fee on your statement, in plain English.
- POS systems compared: if you need menus, inventory or staff tools, not just card payments.
- Our pages on Square, Stripe, PayPal POS and Helcim cover each provider’s full cost and catches. Already on Square? Try the Square fee calculator.
Get told when these prices change
Providers change fees with little notice. Alerts start soon, and we'll send nothing else.
Common questions
What is the cheapest credit card processing for a small business?
It depends on how much you sell and how. In our example of $10,000 a month in person, PayPal POS (2.29% + 9¢) cost the least of the flat rates, at about $247 in card fees. Larger, steady businesses should also price interchange-plus, such as Helcim or Stax, where you pay the card networks' fee plus a small markup.
How much does credit card processing cost for a small business?
In person, PayPal POS lists 2.29% + 9¢, Clover from 2.3% + 10¢, Square's Free plan 2.6% + 15¢ and Stripe 2.7% + 5¢. Online costs more: 2.9% + 30¢ at Stripe and 3.3% + 30¢ on Square Free. Some providers add a monthly fee, from $0 at Square, Stripe and Helcim to $99 or more at Stax.
What is the difference between a payment processor and merchant services?
A payment processor moves the money from your customer's card to your bank. Merchant services is the wider name the industry uses for everything around it: the processing, the merchant account your card sales pass through, the card terminal and sometimes a POS. Providers like Square and Stripe bundle these into one account instead of a separate merchant account.
Do I have to sign a contract for card processing?
Not always. Square, Stripe and Helcim say there is no contract, and Helcim says there is no cancellation fee. SpotOn's All-In plan has a 2-year minimum. Clover's 36-month hardware subscriptions carry on at the same monthly charge unless you give 30 days' notice. Heartland and Chase don't publish contract terms, so ask for them in writing.
Is there free credit card processing for small business?
Not truly. Every provider we compare charges a fee on each card sale. What you can get is $0 a month: Square Free, Stripe, Helcim and PayPal POS list no monthly fee. Offers of free hardware usually cost you elsewhere, such as Toast's 3.09% pay-as-you-go rate or SpotOn All-In's 2-year term at 2.79% + 20¢.
How do small businesses take credit card payments?
Four common ways. Tap to Pay on your own phone, which Square and PayPal offer with no hardware cost. A small card reader, from $29 at PayPal or $59 at Square. A countertop terminal or register, from $199 to $1,899. And online checkout or invoices for remote sales, which cost more per sale, such as Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢.