Best for online sales
Stripe
Unpack Money score: 86/100
Verified Oct 28, 2026Online checkout, subscriptions and developer tooling at 2.9% + 30¢ — the online default.
Home / Small Business / Best Payment Processors
Small Business · All prices verified 2026-10-28
Best payment processors for small businesses (2026)
There is no single cheapest processor — the cheapest one depends on where you sell. A business that sells mostly online, mostly in person, or mostly through a familiar checkout button will pay a different effective rate on the same $100 sale. Every rate below was verified against each provider's official pricing page on October 28, 2026, and the comparison covers flat-rate published pricing only.
The honest finding: on the same $100 sale, Stripe online costs $3.20 (you keep $96.80), Square in-person on the Free plan costs $2.75 (you keep $97.25), and PayPal Checkout costs $3.98 (you keep $96.02) — a $1.23 gap that becomes about $123 a month on $10,000 of monthly sales at a $100 average ticket, before refunds, disputes, international surcharges or add-ons. Start with your sales channel, then compare the published rate for that channel, then check the add-ons you will actually use. And remember the fixed fee: on a $10 sale, a 30¢ fixed fee alone is 3% of the sale before the percentage is added.
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Our top picks
Best for in-person sales
Square
Unpack Money score: 84/100
Verified Oct 29, 2026Counter, readers and inventory in one system, with the lowest headline in-person rate at 2.6% + 15¢ on the Free plan.
Best for buyer trust
PayPal
Unpack Money score: 83/100
Verified Oct 28, 2026The familiar button buyers already trust at 3.49% + $0.49 via Checkout — worth it when it completes sales a card-only checkout would lose.
Compare all options
| Product | Starting price | Free trial / plan | Best for | Our score | Check price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Verified Oct 28, 2026 | From 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction | — | Businesses that sell online and want a custom checkout, subscriptions or an embedded payment flow | 86/100 | Check price |
| Square Verified Oct 29, 2026 | From No monthly fee (Free plan); 2.6% + 15¢ in person | Free 30-day trial on Plus and Premium | Businesses that sell in person and want one system for the counter, inventory and a simple online store | 84/100 | Check price |
| PayPal Verified Oct 28, 2026 | From No fee to open a business account; 3.49% + $0.49 via Checkout | — | Online sellers whose buyers already use PayPal, especially as a second checkout option alongside a card processor | 83/100 | Check price |
Prices verified from each provider's official site — oldest check 2026-10-28. Prices change — confirm before you buy.
Make your decision
Not just a table — here's how to choose, who should walk away, and our verdict.
At a glance
| Aspect | Stripe Stripe Verified Oct 28, 2026 | Square Square Verified Oct 29, 2026 | PayPal PayPal Verified Oct 28, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Businesses that sell online and want a custom checkout, subscriptions or an embedded payment flow | Businesses that sell in person and want one system for the counter, inventory and a simple online store | Online sellers whose buyers already use PayPal, especially as a second checkout option alongside a card processor |
| Cost | From 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction | From No monthly fee (Free plan); 2.6% + 15¢ in person · Free 30-day trial on Plus and Premium | From No fee to open a business account; 3.49% + $0.49 via Checkout |
| Main advantage | Transparent published pricing with no setup or monthly fee on the standard plan | The lowest headline in-person rate among the three flat-rate processors compared here | Buyer recognition and trust, which can raise checkout completion |
| Biggest drawback | Add-ons stack: billing, tax calculation, fraud tools and invoicing each carry their own fee | Online sales cost more on the Free plan than on Stripe (2.9% + 30¢) or PayPal standard card payments (2.99% + $0.49) | The highest Checkout rate of the three processors compared here (3.49% + $0.49) |
Choose the right one
Choose Stripe Stripe if…
- you sell mainly online and want a custom checkout, subscriptions or an embedded payment flow
- you want no monthly fee on standard pricing and broad payment-method and currency support
Choose Square Square if…
- you sell face to face and want a counter system out of the box
- you want to start with no monthly fee at 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the Free plan
Choose PayPal PayPal if…
- your buyers choose the PayPal button, or you want a second checkout option to reduce abandonment
- you invoice large amounts and want the Pay by Bank option at 1%, capped at $10
Neither is ideal if…
- you do not accept card or wallet payments at all
- your volume is high enough that flat-rate pricing is no longer competitive and you need a custom or interchange-plus quote — not compared here
- you sell only through a marketplace or platform that mandates its own payment system
Better alternatives
Unpack Money Verdict
Start with your sales channel, not the headline rate. Stripe is the online default at 2.9% + 30¢ with no monthly fee, Square is the counter default at 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the Free plan, and PayPal is best as a second option — the familiar button at 3.49% + $0.49 via Checkout, with standard card payments cheaper at 2.99% + $0.49. On a $100 sale that is $3.20, $2.75 and $3.98 respectively, before refunds, disputes or international surcharges.
Saved comparisons live on your dashboard — in your browser only.
Stripe
Verified Oct 28, 2026Stripe is a payments platform for businesses that sell online: it processes card and wallet payments on your website or app, handles payouts to your bank account, and sells optional products around billing, invoicing, tax calculation, fraud screening and dispute handling. There are no setup fees or monthly fees on standard pricing — you pay per successful transaction plus whatever add-ons you use. Its headline cost is simple; its total cost depends on which add-on products you switch on.
Pricing tiers
- Online domestic card: 2.9% + 30¢ — Per successful transaction, domestic cards
- International card: +1.5% — On top of the standard rate
- Currency conversion, where required: +1% — On top of the standard rate
- In-person (Stripe Terminal, domestic card): 2.7% + 5¢ — Per in-person transaction
- ACH Direct Debit: 0.8%, capped at $5 — As listed on the pricing page
- Disputes: $15 received; $15 countered — Countered fee returned if you win, kept if you lose
What we like
- Transparent published pricing with no setup or monthly fee on the standard plan
- One platform for online, in-person, subscription and invoice payments
- Broad payment-method and currency support for businesses selling internationally
Watch out for
- Add-ons stack: billing, tax calculation, fraud tools and invoicing each carry their own fee
- The original processing fee is not returned when you refund a payment
- Disputes cost $15 on receipt plus $15 if you counter manually
- In-person selling needs Terminal hardware and integration — no ready-made counter system
Square
Verified Oct 29, 2026Square is a point-of-sale and payments system for businesses that sell in person — shops, cafés, salons, market stalls and service businesses with a counter. The core is a free app that takes card, tap and wallet payments, tracks sales and manages an item library. Around it sit optional hardware (readers, terminals, registers), an online store, invoicing, staff management, loyalty and marketing tools. You pay per transaction, plus any paid plan or hardware you choose.
Pricing tiers
- Free plan — in person (tap, dip, swipe): 2.6% + 15¢ — Per in-person transaction
- Free plan — online: 3.3% + 30¢ — Per online transaction
- Plus plan — $49/mo per location: 2.5% + 15¢ in person; 2.9% + 30¢ online — Lower processing rates; free 30-day trial
- Premium plan — $149/mo per location: 2.4% + 15¢ in person; 2.9% + 30¢ online — Lowest processing rates, no gift card load fees; free 30-day trial
What we like
- The lowest headline in-person rate among the three flat-rate processors compared here
- A complete counter system — app, hardware, reporting — without assembling separate vendors
- No monthly fee to start, and no long-term contract on the standard plans as described by Square
Watch out for
- Online sales cost more on the Free plan than on Stripe (2.9% + 30¢) or PayPal standard card payments (2.99% + $0.49)
- Paid plans cost $49/mo (Plus) or $149/mo (Premium) per location — the lower rates only pay for themselves above a certain volume (Plus's $0.40 online saving per $100 sale needs about $12,250/mo of online sales to cover its fee)
- You are locked to Square processing while you use Square's point-of-sale system — switching processor means switching system
PayPal
Verified Oct 28, 2026PayPal is a wallet and payments provider. Buyers can pay with a PayPal balance, bank account or card without re-entering card details; sellers can accept payments through Checkout buttons, invoicing, payment links and (with additional products) a point-of-sale flow. There is no fee to open a business account as described by PayPal; fees are taken from each payment received. Its strength is buyer recognition; its cost is the highest Checkout rate of the three flat-rate options compared here.
Pricing tiers
- PayPal Checkout, Guest Checkout, Pay with Venmo: 3.49% + fixed fee ($0.49 in USD) — Per Checkout transaction
- Standard credit/debit card payments: 2.99% + fixed fee ($0.49 in USD) — Per card transaction
- PayPal Pay Later options: 4.99% + fixed fee — Per Pay Later transaction (buyer chooses the option, not the seller)
- International commercial transactions: +1.50% — On top of the domestic rate
- Invoicing: Pay by Bank (ACH): 1%, capped at $10 — Per invoiced bank-payment transaction
What we like
- Buyer recognition and trust, which can raise checkout completion
- Invoicing with a low-cost bank-payment option for large invoices
- No monthly fee to open and hold a business account; fees scale with sales
Watch out for
- The highest Checkout rate of the three processors compared here (3.49% + $0.49)
- Fees are not returned on refunds, so a high-refund business pays processing on sales it does not keep
- Account holds and risk reviews are a widely reported friction for sellers; never rely on a single processor for cash flow
How we rate payment processors
Our editorial score starts with what a small business actually pays for the channel it uses: the published flat rate for online, in-person and checkout-button sales, the weight of the fixed fee on small tickets, and what refunds, disputes and international surcharges add. We penalize missing or quote-only pricing — when a provider doesn't publish a rate, we say so rather than filling the gap with third-party numbers — and we exclude processors whose published offer and terms we could not verify (Helcim is not included for exactly that reason). Every rate is verified against the provider's official pricing page — never review aggregators — and date-stamped. Read our full rating methodology.
FAQs
Is the cheapest headline rate always the cheapest processor?
No. Hardware, paid plans, add-on products, refund policy, dispute fees and international surcharges all change the monthly total. Compare a full month of your own sales, not one rate in isolation.
Can I switch processors later?
Usually yes, but switching costs time: a new checkout integration, new payout account, staff retraining and a period of running two systems. That switching cost is a reason to choose carefully the first time, not a reason to stay with a bad fit forever.
Should I offer more than one payment option?
Often yes. A card option plus a wallet option (such as PayPal) can raise completed checkouts even when one option costs more per sale, because an abandoned checkout costs 100% of the sale. Measure completion, not just the fee.
What about processors not compared here, like Helcim?
Helcim is not reviewed here. We could not verify its interchange-plus offer and terms against a primary source, and this site does not publish a review on an unverified offer. It may be added later, once its published terms can be checked against a primary source.
How does Unpack Money make money from this comparison?
It currently doesn't: Unpack Money earns $0 affiliate revenue and has no approved affiliate programs, and this comparison contains no affiliate links. Learn more.
Sources
Every price on this page was verified against each provider's official website. Verification dates differ by provider — the oldest is 2026-10-28. We never use aggregator sites as sources.
- Stripe official pricing (verified 2026-10-28)
- Square official pricing (verified 2026-10-29)
- PayPal official pricing (verified 2026-10-28)
Your next step
If you have a shortlist, read the in-depth review before you buy — pricing pages change, and the review covers the add-ons, refund policy and dispute costs the pricing table can't. If payments are part of a bigger setup, compare the accounting side too: card income has to land in your books.
Review
Stripe review
Online checkout and subscriptions at 2.9% + 30¢.
Read review →Review
Square review
The counter system, from 2.6% + 15¢ in person.
Read review →Review
PayPal review
The familiar button, and where the card flow costs less.
Read review →Compare
Best Accounting Software
Card income lands in your books — compare the accounting side too.
Compare →