Payment processing companies for small business compared (2026)
Edited by Moe Ameen · Published
Four of the six processors whose pricing pages we could read charge a flat rate per card sale. In person, that's 2.29% + 9¢ at PayPal, 2.6% + 10¢ on Shopify's Basic plan, 2.6% + 15¢ on Square's free plan and 2.7% + 5¢ at Stripe. Online, Stripe, Shopify Basic and Square's paid plans charge 2.9% + 30¢. Helcim and Stax pass through the card networks' interchange cost and add a markup.
Key takeaways
- PayPal had the lowest in-person flat rate we found, 2.29% + 9¢, but Stripe's 2.7% + 5¢ costs less on sales under $9.76.
- Square's free plan charges 3.3% + 30¢ online. Its paid plans, Stripe and Shopify Basic charge 2.9% + 30¢.
- Helcim charges no monthly fee on its interchange-plus pricing. Stax charges $99 a month on up to $150,000 a year in card sales.
- Payouts took from the next business day (Helcim, Square, Stax) to 3 business days (Shopify Payments).
- Square lists no chargeback fee. PayPal charges $20 on a card chargeback; Helcim, Shopify and Stripe charge $15.
What is the difference between flat-rate and interchange-plus pricing?
Flat-rate pricing bundles every cost into one percentage plus a fee. Interchange-plus passes the card's real interchange cost through and adds a fixed markup.
Every card sale carries an interchange fee, which goes to the bank that issued the card, and assessment fees, which go to the card networks such as Visa and Mastercard [16]. A flat-rate processor rolls those and its own markup into one price, such as 2.6% plus 10 cents [16]. Square, Stripe, PayPal and Shopify Payments price this way.
An interchange-plus processor charges a set markup, such as 0.4% plus 8 cents, and passes the interchange fee through at whatever it costs for that card [16]. NerdWallet says this is often the cheapest option for high-volume businesses, but it varies the most: rewards cards, American Express and online sales usually cost more to process [16]. Helcim uses this model and says most of its merchants pay an effective rate near or below 2% in person [13]. Stax goes a step further: it charges a monthly subscription, then passes interchange through with no percentage markup, only a per-sale fee [14].
Volume decides it. NerdWallet's Hillary Crawford found that flat-rate pricing can cost the same or less for a business with average sales under $50 and under $8,000 a month in card payments [16].
How much do payment processors charge for in-person card payments?
Flat rates ran from 2.29% + 9¢ at PayPal to 2.7% + 5¢ at Stripe. Helcim adds 0.40% + 8¢ to interchange and Stax adds 8¢.
- Helcim: interchange plus 0.40% + 8¢ on up to $50,000 a month, with lower markups above that [13].
- PayPal: 2.29% + 9¢ [8].
- Shopify Payments: 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, down to 2.4% + 10¢ on Advanced [9].
- Square: 2.6% + 15¢ on the free plan, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium [2].
- Stax: interchange plus 8¢, on top of the monthly subscription [14].
- Stripe: 2.7% + 5¢ for domestic cards [5].
What do online and keyed-in card payments cost?
Online card sales cost 2.9% + 30¢ at Stripe, Shopify Basic and Square's paid plans. Square's free plan charges 3.3% + 30¢, and keyed-in sales cost more.
- Helcim: interchange plus 0.50% + 25¢ for keyed and online sales up to $50,000 a month [13].
- PayPal: 2.99% + 49¢ for a standard card payment and 3.49% + 49¢ when the buyer pays through PayPal Checkout. Keyed-in cards cost 3.49% + 9¢ [7][8].
- Shopify Payments: 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, down to 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced. Using another processor on Basic adds a 2% Shopify fee [9].
- Square: 3.3% + 30¢ on the free plan, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium, and 3.5% + 15¢ keyed in on every plan [2].
- Stax: interchange plus 15¢ for card-not-present sales [14].
- Stripe: 2.9% + 30¢ for domestic cards, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is needed [5].
Which payment processors have no monthly fee?
Helcim, PayPal, Stripe and Square's free plan charge no monthly fee. Shopify Payments comes with a Shopify plan from $29 a month, and Stax starts at $99.
Helcim lists $0 in account monthly fees [13], PayPal's point-of-sale pricing says there are no monthly or setup fees [8], and Stripe says it charges no setup or monthly fees [5]. Square's free plan has no monthly subscription; its pricing page didn't show the price of Plus or Premium when we read it [1].
Shopify Payments comes with a Shopify plan: Basic is $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly, and POS Pro adds $89 a month per location [9]. Stax prices by yearly card volume: $99 a month up to $150,000, $139 from $150,000 to $250,000, and $199 or more above that [14].
How much does card reader hardware cost?
A basic reader cost $29 to $199 and a countertop terminal $199 to $349. PayPal's first reader was the cheapest at $29.
| Processor | Card reader | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Helcim | $199 [13] | Smart Terminal $349, or $32 a month for a year [13] |
| PayPal | $29 for your first, $79 for each one after [8] | $199 [8] |
| Shopify | Not listed on its hardware store's front page | POS Terminal $349 [12] |
| Square | $59 [4] | $299, or $27 a month over 12 months [4] |
| Stax | $125 (ID Tech VP3350 or SwipeSimple B350) [15] | Dejavoo QD4 $310 [15] |
| Stripe | Reader M2 $59 [5] | Reader S700 or S710 $299 [5] |
How fast do payment processors pay out?
Helcim, Square and Stax pay out the next business day. Stripe takes 2 business days in the US and Shopify Payments 3. Instant payouts cost extra.
- Helcim: next-business-morning deposits for credit and debit sales [13].
- PayPal: standard transfers to your bank are free, though the fee page doesn't give a timing. Instant transfers cost 1.5%, with a 50¢ minimum [7].
- Shopify Payments: 3 business days for US stores [10].
- Square: payments taken before 5 PM PT are in your bank the next business day. Instant transfers cost 1.95% [3].
- Stax: next business day funding [14].
- Stripe: 2 business days in the US, but your first payout usually takes 7 to 14 days. Instant payouts cost 1.5%, with a 50¢ minimum, and new accounts can't use them right away [5][6].
What do processors charge for a chargeback?
Square charges nothing. Helcim, Shopify Payments and Stripe charge $15, and PayPal charges $20 on a card chargeback. Stax's pricing page doesn't say.
Square lists chargebacks and dispute management among the things it doesn't charge for [2]. Helcim charges $15 only if you lose [13], and Shopify returns its $15 fee if you win [11]. Stripe charges $15 when a dispute arrives, plus another $15 if you contest it by hand, which it refunds if you win [5]. PayPal charges $20 when a card payment is charged back, and $15 for a dispute on a payment made through a PayPal account ($30 for high-volume sellers) [7].
Glisten check
What a $50 sale costs on each processor
| Processor (plan) | $50 sale in person | $50 sale online | $10,000 a month in person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helcim | Interchange + $0.28 | Interchange + $0.50 | Interchange + $56 |
| PayPal | $1.24 | $1.99 by card, $2.24 via PayPal Checkout | $247 |
| Shopify Payments (Basic, monthly billing) | $1.40 | $1.75 | $319 ($280 in fees + $39 plan) |
| Square (Free) | $1.45 | $1.95 | $290 |
| Stax (up to $150,000 a year) | Interchange + $0.08 | Interchange + $0.15 | Interchange + $115 ($16 in fees + $99 subscription) |
| Stripe | $1.40 | $1.75 | $280 |
The fixed part of the fee matters more than you'd think on small sales. PayPal's 2.29% + 9¢ beats Stripe's 2.7% + 5¢ on a $50 sale, but on anything under $9.76 Stripe comes out cheaper, because its 5¢ fixed fee is the lowest of the flat-rate processors.
Is this right for you?
Best for
- Small businesses picking a first card processor for a shop, a market stall or an online store.
- Working out what a typical sale and a typical month cost on each processor before you sign up.
Not ideal for
- Businesses processing millions a month. Helcim and Square both send larger merchants to custom pricing, which we didn't check.
- Businesses outside the US, or anyone who needs Clover's rates.
Frequently asked questions
Which payment processor is cheapest for a small business?
It depends on your sale size and volume. For in-person sales over $9.76, PayPal's 2.29% + 9¢ was the lowest flat rate we found [8], and NerdWallet says interchange-plus is often cheaper at high volume [16].
Does Square charge a monthly fee?
Not on Square Free, which charges only processing fees [1]. Plus and Premium have lower card rates and a monthly fee; Square's pricing page didn't show that fee when we read it.
What is an interchange fee?
It's the fee paid to the bank that issued the customer's card on each sale, and it makes up a large part of processing costs [16].
Can I use another processor on Shopify?
Yes, but Shopify adds its own fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced [9].
How long does Stripe take to pay out?
Payouts settle in 2 business days in the US, but the first one usually takes 7 to 14 days [6].
Does PayPal charge for chargebacks?
Yes. $20 for a card chargeback, and $15 for a dispute on a payment made through a PayPal account [7].
How we know this
On November 2, 2026 we read each processor's own US pricing page, fee schedule, hardware store and help articles for card rates, monthly fees, hardware prices, payout timing and chargeback fees. Processors are listed alphabetically. Clover's pricing pages didn't load, so Clover has no figures. Where a page didn't state a figure, the page says so. The per-sale and monthly costs are our own arithmetic on the published rates. We checked the pricing-model definitions against NerdWallet.
- Pricing, Square. Checked November 2, 2026.
- What are Square's fees, Square. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Set up and manage instant transfers, Square. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Hardware shop, Square. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Pricing, Stripe. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Payouts, Stripe. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Merchant fees, PayPal. Checked November 2, 2026.
- PayPal POS pricing, PayPal. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Pricing, Shopify. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Understanding Shopify Payments payout timing, Shopify. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Chargeback process, Shopify. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Shopify hardware store, Shopify. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Pricing, Helcim. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Pricing, Stax. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Equipment, Stax. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Credit card processing fees, NerdWallet. Checked November 2, 2026.