Example: $20,000 a month in card sales, 500 payments. Change the numbers below to yours.
Lowest published flat rate: PayPal POS, about $503 a month. Add your total fees to see your real rate and what you'd save.
See PayPal POS's full fees and catchesYour numbers
From last month's statement. Nothing you type is saved unless you choose to email yourself the results.
The same month at published rates
Estimate from each provider's in-person rate and listed monthly cost. Your real cost depends on your card mix and contract.
We may earn a fee if you sign up with some providers in these results. It never changes the prices we show or what we recommend.
PayPal POSLowest here
2.29% + 9¢ per payment
$503/mo
2.7% + 5¢ per payment
$565/mo
2.6% + 10¢ per payment
$570/mo
2.6% + 15¢ per payment
$595/mo
2.6% + 10¢ per payment + $39/mo (Basic plan)
$609/mo
2.6% + 10¢ per payment + $109/mo (Retail Basic, billed monthly ($89 if billed yearly))
$679/mo
We may earn a fee if you sign up with some providers in these results. It never changes the prices we show or what we recommend.
Interchange-plus providers
These publish only their markup on top of the card networks' own fees (interchange), so the total depends on which cards your customers use. They can beat flat rates for larger, steady businesses, depending on your card mix. Ask for a quote and compare it with the rate above.
Published rates, but the monthly cost depends on the plan or hardware you choose: Clover (2.3% + 10¢ in person), Toast (2.49% in person), SpotOn (2.45% + 15¢ in person), Chase (2.6% + 10¢ in person), Vagaro (2.6% + 10¢ in person), GlossGenius (2.4% + 15¢ in person), Fresha (2.29% + 20¢ in person), Mangomint (2.45% + 15¢ in person). Each page shows the plans.
Keep this result
Quote only (no published rates): Heartland, Boulevard, TouchBistro. Your own rate is the number to beat.
How to find your numbers on a statement
Every statement looks different, but you need the same three things.
- Card sales. The total value of card payments for the month. It may be called “gross sales,” “total volume” or “amount processed.” Use the total before fees come off.
- Number of card payments. Sometimes called “transactions,” “count” or “items.” It matters because most providers charge a fixed fee per payment.
- Total fees. Add up every fee, not only the processing rate. Include plan fees, monthly fees, chargebacks, instant payout fees and anything labelled “other.” Some statements call the main processing charge the “discount” or “discount rate.” If your provider takes fees out of each deposit, you may need to add them up from your deposit reports.
Can’t find one? Ask your provider for “total fees and total volume for last month.”
How to read your result
Your real rate is total fees divided by card sales: $640 on $20,000 is 3.2%. It’s the number to compare, because it includes everything.
If you take most payments in person and your rate is well above the published rates in the list, look closely at your monthly, plan and per-payment fees.
The comparison list shows what your same month would cost at each provider’s published in-person rate, plus the monthly fee named beside it. Square is priced on its Free plan. Tap a name for that provider’s full fees and catches.
“Less than now” means the estimate is lower than the fees you entered. It’s a starting point, not a promise.
What the calculator doesn’t include
- Online and keyed-in payments. These cost more: Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ online. Square charges 3.3% + 30¢ online on its Free plan, and 3.5% + 15¢ for keyed-in payments on every plan.
- International cards. Stripe adds 1.5% for international cards, plus 1% if currency conversion is needed. Square also adds 1.5% on cards issued outside the US.
- Faster payouts. Square charges 1.95% per instant transfer. Stripe and PayPal charge 1.5%, with a 50¢ minimum.
- Chargebacks and hardware. One-off costs aren’t counted, such as Stripe’s $15 dispute fee or a $59 card reader.
The plan-based caveat
These providers publish a card rate, but the monthly cost depends on the plan or hardware you pick, so the calculator shows no monthly total:
- Clover: 2.3% + 10¢ in person on its Growth plans, 2.6% + 10¢ on its cheapest retail bundle. Monthly costs depend on the bundle, such as $84.95 a month for Retail Standard software on top of $1,899 in hardware.
- Toast: 2.49% with traditional pricing, where restaurant plans start at $69 a month. Or 3.09% on the pay-as-you-go Starter Kit.
- SpotOn: 2.45% + 15¢ on POS Essentials, at $55 per station per month.
- Chase: 2.6% + 10¢. Chase says “monthly fees may apply to certain products and pricing plans,” but publishes only one amount: a monthly fee “from $9.95” on its standalone terminals.
Square works the same way if you pay for a plan. Plus ($49 a month per location) and Premium ($149) lower the in-person rate to 2.5% + 15¢ and 2.4% + 15¢. Our Square fee calculator shows when a plan pays for itself.
Heartland publishes only “starting at” prices (2.6% + 10¢ in person), so it’s listed as quote only.
The markup-only caveat
Helcim and Stax charge the card networks’ fee (interchange) plus a published markup. Without your card mix, the calculator can’t total these honestly, so it lists the markups:
- Helcim: interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ in person, for up to $50,000 a month, with lower markups above that. No monthly fee.
- Stax: interchange + 8¢ per in-person sale (0% markup on the rate), plus a subscription of $99 a month for up to $150,000 a year in processing, $139 for $150,000 to $250,000, and $199 and up above that. The calculator doesn’t add the subscription.
Don’t compare those markups to a flat rate; they’re only part of the price. Helcim says that “for most merchants,” its total in-person effective rate is “near or below 2%.” That’s Helcim’s claim, not ours. The fair test is to send a recent statement to an interchange-plus provider, ask for a written quote, and compare it with your rate.
Next steps
- Comparing processors? See every processor side by side.
- Need software too? See POS systems compared.
- Already with Square or Stripe? Try the Square fee calculator or the Stripe fee calculator.
- Want the details on one provider? Read our pages on Square, Stripe, Helcim, Stax and PayPal POS.
- How we get these numbers: how we verify prices.
Get told when these prices change
Providers change fees with little notice. Alerts start soon, and we'll send nothing else.
Common questions
How do I calculate my credit card processing rate?
Add up every fee on your monthly statement, then divide by your total card sales for the same month. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage. If you paid $640 in fees on $20,000 in card sales, your effective rate is 3.2%. That one number lets you compare any provider, however its statement is laid out.
Why doesn't the calculator show a total for Helcim or Stax?
They use interchange-plus pricing and publish only their markup, such as Helcim's 0.40% + 8¢ in person or Stax's 8¢ per in-person sale plus a subscription. Your total also includes interchange, which depends on the cards your customers use. Without your card mix we can't give an honest total, so we show the markup instead.
Is the calculator's estimate what I'll actually pay?
No, it's an estimate. It prices every payment at each provider's published in-person card rate and adds the listed monthly fee. It doesn't separate online, keyed-in or international cards, chargebacks, instant payouts or hardware. Treat it as a fair first comparison, then check a written quote or the provider's full pricing page.
Where do the calculator's rates come from?
From each provider's own US pricing page, checked on the date shown at the top of this page. We don't use sales quotes, other review sites or memory. Providers that publish only "starting at" prices, like Heartland, are listed as quote only instead of being given a guessed rate. Our verification page explains the method.