The short answer
- You want the simplest start, with no monthly fee: Square (2.6% + 15¢ in person), Stripe (2.9% + 30¢ online, best suited to online sales) or PayPal POS. Rates are each provider’s published ones.
- You need a full point of sale, not just card payments: Shopify, Clover, Toast, Lightspeed or SpotOn. Our POS comparison goes deeper.
- Your sales are steady and larger: price interchange-plus at Helcim or Stax.
- You bank with Chase: Chase offers same-day deposits into a Chase business checking account.
- You want a sales rep and a custom setup: Heartland, which publishes only starting-at prices.
All twelve, 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
- LightspeedVisit Lightspeed
Flat or custom
- In person
- 2.6% + 10¢
- Online
- By quote
- Monthly
- $109 · Retail Basic, billed monthly ($89 if billed yearly)
- Contract
- Fixed term; early exit fee covers the rest of the term
- SpotOnVisit SpotOn
Flat or custom
- In person
- 2.45% + 15¢
- Online
- By quote
- Monthly
- From $0 · Free plan available
- Contract
- All-In plan: 2-year minimum. Essentials: month to month
- StaxVisit Stax
Membership
- In person
- Interchange + 8¢
- Online
- Interchange + 15¢
- Monthly
- Not published
- Contract
- Not published
- ToastVisit Toast
Flat or custom
- In person
- 2.49%
- Online
- By quote
- Monthly
- From $0 · Free plan available
- Contract
- Not published for restaurants; retail requires 12 months
Prices checked Oct 19 to Oct 25, 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.
Every number comes from the provider’s own US website, never review sites or sales sheets. Here’s how we verify prices.
What is a merchant services provider?
It’s the company that lets your business take card payments. It approves your account, moves the money from your customer’s card to your bank, and often sells you the reader, terminal or POS software too.
They come in two broad shapes. Some, like Square and Stripe, bundle everything into one account you open online, instead of a separate merchant account. Others, often sold through a sales rep, set you up with a merchant account of your own. Toast describes itself in the first way. It says it “is not a payment card processor, but it is a payment facilitator that partners with processors.”
You don’t need to know the plumbing to choose well. You need the rate, the monthly fees and the terms. If you want the detail, read what a payment processor is and what a merchant account is.
What one sale costs at each company
The fee on one sale at each flat-rate company’s published US rate, by our math. Interchange-plus providers are left out, because their total depends on the card.
| Company | $10 in person | $100 in person | $100 online | $100 typed in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal POS | $0.32 | $2.38 | $3.48 | $3.58 |
| Clover (Growth plans) | $0.33 | $2.40 | Not published | $3.60 |
| Toast (traditional) | $0.25, plus any cents fee | $2.49, plus any cents fee | Not published | Not published |
| SpotOn (Essentials) | $0.40 | $2.60 | Not published | $3.60 |
| Chase | $0.36 | $2.70 | $3.15 | $3.60 |
| Shopify (Basic) | $0.36 | $2.70 | $3.20 | $3.60 |
| Lightspeed | $0.36 | $2.70 | Not published | Not published |
| Stripe | $0.32 | $2.75 | $3.20 | $3.70 |
| Square (Free) | $0.41 | $2.75 | $3.60 | $3.65 |
- No one wins every column. PayPal POS is lowest on a $100 in-person sale. Chase is lowest online among those that publish an online rate. On a $10 sale, Stripe and PayPal POS tie at 32¢ among companies that publish a full rate.
- Small sales favor small cents fees. Square Free’s 15¢ makes it the most expensive here on a $10 sale, even though its percentage is mid-pack.
- Gaps are where the risk is. Clover, SpotOn, Lightspeed and Toast don’t publish online rates. If you sell online, get those in writing.
For interchange-plus pricing, Helcim’s markup on a $100 in-person sale is 48¢ and Stax’s is 8¢, plus its monthly subscription. You also pay interchange on top. See interchange-plus vs flat rate for when that comes out cheaper.
Who can hold your money
A low rate means little if your payouts stop. Most providers whose terms we checked keep the right to hold some of your money:
| Company | What its terms say |
|---|---|
| Square | Can delay payouts or require a reserve if it sees some part of your business as especially risky. |
| Stripe | Can set up a reserve it controls, and can hold the payout on a sale it thinks is likely to be disputed. |
| PayPal | Can put a reserve on your account at any time if it sees high risk, making some or all of your money unavailable to withdraw. |
| Helcim | Can pause or delay payouts, or require a reserve, to cover what you owe it. |
| Shopify Payments | Can hold some or all of a sale’s funds in a reserve, and can change the reserve terms at any time. |
| Toast | Can delay payouts at any time and require a reserve for any reason to protect itself from losses. |
| Clover | Clover’s help center says Fiserv may hold back part of a batch when an account must keep a minimum reserve. |
| Chase | Can put a temporary hold on funds while it reviews them, usually for risk or fraud. |
Heartland’s and SpotOn’s processing terms on their sites also allow reserves, but those documents are dated 2010 and 2019, so ask whether they still apply.
None of this means a hold will happen to you. It means it can, and the provider decides when. Two practical steps: keep enough cash to cover a few weeks of costs, and tell your provider before a big jump in sales, such as a holiday rush or a large one-off order.
What it costs to switch processors
Most of the payment-only companies here let you leave without a fee. The POS companies are where exit costs live.
- Stripe: close your account in the Dashboard at any time. Stripe says it charges no closure fees.
- Square: you can deactivate your account at any time, with no locked-in contracts.
- Helcim: no contracts or cancellation fees. You close by calling Helcim’s support team during business hours.
- PayPal POS: no monthly or setup fees, and no contract term or cancellation fee stated.
- Stax: says “No cancellation fees (long term contracts).” That wording is unclear, so get the term in writing.
- Chase: contract terms aren’t published.
- Heartland: its 2010 merchant terms describe a 36-month term and a $295 early termination fee per location. Ask what applies today.
Leaving a POS can also mean buying new hardware. Toast, SpotOn, Clover and Lightspeed all limit what equipment you can use. Our POS comparison has the full table of what leaving each one costs.
Flat-rate processors
- Square: card processing and a POS app in one, with no monthly fee on the Free plan; fits new and smaller businesses starting out.
- Stripe: a payments company built around online checkouts; fits online shops and businesses with their own website or app.
- PayPal POS: PayPal’s free point-of-sale app, with card readers you buy outright; fits solo sellers, market stalls and small shops.
- Chase: card processing from Chase bank, with same-day deposits into a Chase business checking account; fits businesses that already bank with Chase.
POS companies that process your cards
- Shopify: an online store builder with its own POS and its own processor, Shopify Payments; fits businesses that sell online and in a store and want one product list.
- Clover: POS hardware and software, sold directly and through banks; fits shops and restaurants that want hardware and software in one package.
- Toast: a POS built for restaurants, with a retail version; fits restaurants that want restaurant-only software.
- Lightspeed: POS software for retail stores and restaurants, with its own Lightspeed Payments; fits established stores and restaurants that need deeper inventory and reporting tools.
- SpotOn: restaurant POS systems, plus a simpler terminal for other small businesses; fits restaurants that want a month-to-month plan with published rates.
Interchange-plus and membership pricing
- Helcim: an interchange-plus processor with free POS tools and no monthly fee; fits growing businesses that want to see exactly what the processor keeps.
- Stax: interchange plus a monthly membership instead of a percentage markup; fits higher-volume businesses, where a fixed fee is spread over a lot of sales.
Quote-first
- Heartland: a Global Payments company that publishes only starting-at prices; fits owners who want a sales rep to build a package.
Where to go next
- The short version: our picks for credit card processing for small business, with a quick quiz.
- Credit card processing fees explained: what each line on your statement means.
- POS systems compared, and by type: restaurants and retail stores.
- Fee calculators for Square and Stripe.
- Some of these companies may pay us if you sign up. It never changes the numbers. Here’s how we make money.
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 choose a credit card processing company?
Start with how you sell. In person with small or uneven sales, a flat rate with no monthly fee is simplest. Mostly online, look at online rates first, since they are higher. Steady and larger, price interchange-plus too. Then check the monthly fee, the chargeback fee, the contract and whether the hardware works with anyone else.
What is the difference between flat-rate and interchange-plus pricing?
A flat rate is one price for every card, such as Square's 2.6% + 15¢ in person. Interchange-plus passes on the card networks' own fee, which changes by card, and adds a published markup, such as Helcim's 0.40% + 8¢ in person. Flat is easier to predict. Interchange-plus shows you exactly what the processor keeps.
Which merchant services providers have no monthly fee?
Square's Free plan, Stripe, Helcim and PayPal POS all list $0 a month to take payments. Toast's pay-as-you-go Starter Kit and SpotOn's All-In plan are also $0 a month, but they charge higher card rates: 3.09% at Toast and 2.79% + 20¢ at SpotOn. You still pay a fee on every sale and buy your own hardware.
What should I do if a processor won't publish its rates?
Ask for a written quote that lists the rate for each type of payment, every monthly fee, the chargeback fee, the contract length and the cancellation fee. Then compare that total to your real rate today. Our fee calculator works it out from your last statement. If a company won't put the numbers in writing, treat that as your answer.
What is a merchant services provider?
It's a company that lets your business accept card payments. It approves your account, moves money from your customer's card to your bank, and often sells the card reader or POS too. Some, like Square and Stripe, bundle it all into one account. Others set you up with a merchant account of your own. Toast calls itself a payment facilitator that partners with processors.
Can a card processor hold my money?
Yes. Most providers whose terms we checked keep the right to delay payouts or hold a reserve. Square, Stripe, PayPal, Helcim, Shopify and Toast all say so in their own terms, and Chase describes temporary funds holds for review. Each decides what counts as risky. Keep a cash cushion, especially in your first months.