If you want to avoid monthly fees, Square Free, Stripe and Helcim all charge $0 a month. For most small businesses, Square is the best overall choice with published rates of 2.6% + 15¢ in person, no contract and a $59 reader; Helcim usually costs less as volume grows, and Stripe fits online sellers. Choose by where you sell, your monthly volume and average ticket, then check contract and hardware costs.
This guide is for small business owners choosing how to accept credit and debit cards in a shop, online or by invoice. The rate on each sale matters most, but monthly software fees, contracts and hardware can change which option costs less.
We compared six processors we review, using the rates and terms each company publishes. Some charge one flat rate for every card; Helcim passes through the card networks' cost and adds a published margin.
Below you will find our picks, a rate table, how fees work, how to choose and what to watch for in a contract.
Ways to take cards with no monthly fee
There is no public program for card processing, but several processors charge nothing until you make a sale.
- Square Free. $0 a month, 2.6% + 15¢ in person, and a $59 reader.
- Stripe. No setup or monthly fees; 2.9% + 30¢ online and 2.7% + 5¢ in person.
- Helcim. No monthly fee and no cancellation fee, with interchange-plus pricing.
- Bank transfers. For large invoices, ACH costs far less than cards: Square charges 1% with a $1 minimum on invoices ($10 cap on paid plans), and GoDaddy charges 1%.
Prices as listed October 2026.
How much credit card processing costs
Most small businesses pay a percentage of each sale plus a small fixed fee. Among our picks, flat in-person rates run from 2.3% + 0¢ (GoDaddy with Point of Sale Plus) to 2.79% + 20¢ (SpotOn’s $0 All-In plan), as listed October 2026. Online rates are higher, usually 2.9% + 30¢, and typing in a card number costs about 3.5%.
On a $40 in-person sale, Square Free’s 2.6% + 15¢ comes to $1.19, Stripe’s 2.7% + 5¢ to $1.13 and GoDaddy’s 2.5% + 0¢ to $1.00. The fixed fee matters more on small tickets, and the percentage matters more on large ones.
Add hardware ($59 for a basic reader at Square or Stripe, $199 at Helcim), any monthly software plan, and extras like same-day payouts or dispute fees ($15 per dispute at Stripe and GoDaddy).
Flat-rate vs interchange-plus pricing
Every card payment includes an interchange fee set by the card networks and paid to the card-issuing bank. Processors bundle that cost in one of two ways.
- Flat rate. One rate for every card, such as Square’s 2.6% + 15¢. Easy to predict, but you pay the same on cheap debit cards as on costly rewards cards.
- Interchange-plus. The actual interchange cost plus a published margin, such as Helcim’s 0.40% + 8¢ on the first $50,000 a month. It usually costs less at higher volume, but your bill changes with your card mix.
If you process a few thousand dollars a month, a flat rate is simpler. As volume grows, compare an interchange-plus quote against your last few statements.
How to choose a processor
- Match where you sell. Counter sales, online checkout and invoices are priced differently. Stripe and Shopify fit online sellers; Square, GoDaddy and Helcim fit counters; SpotOn fits restaurants.
- Run your own numbers. Multiply your average ticket and monthly sales by each rate, then add monthly fees.
- Check the contract. Square, Stripe and Helcim list no contract or cancellation fee. SpotOn’s $0 plan has a 2-year term.
- Price the hardware. Readers run $59 to $199 among our picks; full terminals cost $299 to $750.
- Look at keyed and international rates if you take phone orders or foreign cards.
Red flags in processing contracts
- Multi-year terms with early termination fees. Ask for the fee in writing before you sign.
- Equipment leases. A lease can cost far more than buying a reader outright; our picks sell hardware for a one-time price.
- Rates that are not published. If a sales rep will only quote by phone, ask for the full fee schedule, including monthly minimums, PCI fees and statement fees.
- Teaser rates on a $0 plan. A free software plan often carries a higher card rate, as with SpotOn All-In at 2.79% + 20¢ vs 2.45% + 15¢ on Essentials.
Processors we left out of this update
Clover and Toast are popular point of sale systems, but we could not open their official pricing pages to confirm current rates and terms this month, so they are not ranked here. Our Clover review notes that rates vary by the bank or reseller that sells it, and our Toast review covers its restaurant contracts. For a broader look at registers and software, see our point of sale guide.
Terms to know
- Interchange fee
- The fee set by card networks like Visa and Mastercard that goes to the bank that issued the customer's card.
- Interchange-plus pricing
- A pricing model where you pay the actual interchange fee plus a fixed, published processor margin.
- Flat-rate pricing
- One percentage and fixed fee for every card transaction, regardless of card type.
- Card-not-present transaction
- A payment where the card is typed in or used online rather than tapped, dipped or swiped.
- Chargeback
- A disputed payment that the card issuer reverses, often with a fee charged to the merchant.
- Early termination fee
- A charge for ending a processing contract before its term is up.
