Cheapest Credit Card Processing

The cheapest card processing for one business is not the cheapest for another. This guide shows how to compare real costs from published information. It is general information, not financial advice.

Compare effective rates, not headline rates

A headline rate like 2.9% hides the fixed fee, plan fees and the mix of payment types. The effective rate, total fees divided by total sales, captures them. Our processing fee calculator ranks the published rates for in-person, online and keyed-in sales at your volume and average sale.

What moves the number

• Payment type. In-person rates are lower than keyed-in or online rates on the pages we read; each provider’s page lists the difference.
• Average sale. A fixed fee per sale is a bigger share of a small sale.
• Plan fees. Some providers lower rates on paid plans. Square’s fee guide shows the monthly volume at which a paid plan breaks even.
• Extras. Dispute fees, international cards, currency conversion and instant payouts are priced separately, as on Stripe’s fee guide.

Ways to pay less

1. Take cards the cheapest way each provider offers, and avoid keyed-in entry where you can.
2. For large invoices, check bank-payment pricing: Stripe lists ACH Direct Debit with a cap, and PayPal lists a bank payment rate with a cap.
3. Ask about volume pricing. QuickBooks’ page says businesses processing more than $2,500 a month may qualify for up to 25% off standard rates, and Stax prices its subscription by annual processing volume.
4. Consider interchange-plus if you process enough volume to get a real quote.

Check the whole deal

The cheapest rate can come with a contract, a hardware subscription or an inactivity fee. We list at least one sourced limitation for each provider on our comparisons and rankings.