Open dataset · Prices checked · CC BY 4.0
Payment Processor Effective Rates by Monthly Volume (2026)
We priced 10 US card processors from their own pricing pages on Oct 29, 2026. At $50,000 a month in person, the cheapest published price is Helcim at 2.04% ($1,020 a month) and the most expensive is Square at 2.90% ($1,450), a gap of $430 a month. At $1M a month the in-person gap is $10,700 a month, and online it is $16,800.
The spread at each volume
Cheapest and most expensive published price among the providers that sell each channel, and what the difference costs per month.
In person
| Volume | Cheapest | Most expensive | Gap / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10K | Helcim 2.11% | Square 2.90% | $79 |
| $50K | Helcim 2.04% | Square 2.90% | $430 |
| $250K | Stax 1.79% | Shopify Payments and Stripe 2.80% | $2,525 |
| $1M | Stax 1.73% | Shopify Payments and Stripe 2.80% | $10,700 |
Online
| Volume | Cheapest | Most expensive | Gap / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10K | Adyen 2.56% | Authorize.net 3.75% | $119 |
| $50K | Stax 2.40% | Clover 3.70% | $650 |
| $250K | Stax 2.08% | Clover 3.70% | $4,050 |
| $1M | Stax 2.02% | Clover 3.70% | $16,800 |
Conditions to know before you compare: PayPal: Advanced card processing and PayPal POS are subject to PayPal's approval. Adyen: Adyen applies a minimum monthly invoice it does not publish, so small merchants may not qualify. Clover: Clover sold through a bank can carry different rates and terms than Clover.com. Shopify Payments: Only available with a Shopify plan. The plan fee is not counted here because you pay it for the store, not for processing.
Full table: effective rate and monthly cost
Each cell is the effective rate at that monthly volume and, under it, what that rate costs per month. The lowest rate in each column is highlighted. Under each name is the plan used; where there are several, the cheapest one at each volume is used, in order. Rows are sorted by average rate across the four volumes.
In person (card present) 7 providers
Swipe the table sideways for $250K and $1M.
| Provider | $10K / mo | $50K / mo | $250K / mo | $1M / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HelcimVolume tier | 2.11%$211 | 2.04%$1,020 | 1.94%$4,850 | 1.82%$18,200 |
| StaxSubscription | 2.70%$270 | 2.11%$1,055 | 1.79%$4,475 | 1.73%$17,300 |
| PayPalPayPal POS | 2.47%$247 | 2.47%$1,235 | 2.47%$6,175 | 2.47%$24,700 |
| CloverStarter, then Retail Growth | 2.80%$280 | 2.67%$1,335 | 2.53%$6,325 | 2.51%$25,100 |
| Shopify PaymentsBasic | 2.80%$280 | 2.80%$1,400 | 2.80%$7,000 | 2.80%$28,000 |
| StripeTerminal | 2.80%$280 | 2.80%$1,400 | 2.80%$7,000 | 2.80%$28,000 |
| SquareFree, then Plus, then Premium | 2.90%$290 | 2.90%$1,450 | 2.76%$6,900 | 2.71%$27,100 |
Online (card not present) 10 providers
Swipe the table sideways for $250K and $1M.
| Provider | $10K / mo | $50K / mo | $250K / mo | $1M / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StaxSubscription | 2.99%$299 | 2.40%$1,200 | 2.08%$5,200 | 2.02%$20,200 |
| HelcimVolume tier | 2.70%$270 | 2.55%$1,275 | 2.45%$6,125 | 2.15%$21,500 |
| AdyenVisa and Mastercard | 2.56%$256 | 2.56%$1,280 | 2.56%$6,400 | 2.56%$25,600 |
| BraintreeCards and wallets | 3.47%$347 | 3.47%$1,735 | 3.47%$8,675 | 3.47%$34,700 |
| PayPalAdvanced Credit and Debit | 3.47%$347 | 3.47%$1,735 | 3.47%$8,675 | 3.47%$34,700 |
| Shopify PaymentsBasic | 3.50%$350 | 3.50%$1,750 | 3.50%$8,750 | 3.50%$35,000 |
| SquareOnline API | 3.50%$350 | 3.50%$1,750 | 3.50%$8,750 | 3.50%$35,000 |
| StripeStandard | 3.50%$350 | 3.50%$1,750 | 3.50%$8,750 | 3.50%$35,000 |
| Authorize.netAll-in-one | 3.75%$375 | 3.55%$1,775 | 3.51%$8,775 | 3.50%$35,000 |
| CloverKeyed | 3.70%$370 | 3.70%$1,850 | 3.70%$9,250 | 3.70%$37,000 |
Want a number for your own volume instead of these four? Use the fee calculator, or see how these rates turn into a ranking in best payment processors 2026.
Methodology
Every rate is one formula you can redo with a calculator:
effective rate = percentage + fixed fee / average sale + monthly fee / monthly volume
- Average sale: $50. Card mix: 60% credit, 40% debit.
- Interchange-plus and subscription providers (Helcim, Adyen, Stax) charge the card network's cost plus their markup, so their rate adds an interchange estimate of 1.55% in person and 1.7% online. That estimate is ours, based on Visa and Mastercard consumer credit interchange, network assessments, and the Regulation II cap for large-bank debit. Flat-rate providers already include it.
- Where a provider sells several plans, each volume uses the plan that is cheapest at that volume, monthly plan fee included.
- Monthly cost is the effective rate times the monthly volume, rounded to the dollar.
- Not included: hardware, chargeback fees, instant payout fees, taxes, and any negotiated discount. Shopify's store plan fee is left out because you pay it for the store, not for processing.
- Prices were read from each provider's own US pricing page on Oct 29, 2026. Providers change prices; check their page before you sign.
Pricing pages used
- Helcim: helcim.com/pricing
- PayPal: paypal.com/us/business/paypal-business-fees
- Adyen: adyen.com/pricing
- Stax: staxpayments.com/pricing
- Clover: clover.com/pricing
- Shopify Payments: shopify.com/pricing
- Stripe: stripe.com/pricing
- Square: squareup.com/us/en/pricing
- Braintree: paypal.com/us/enterprise/paypal-braintree-fees
- Authorize.net: authorize.net/sign-up/pricing.html
Not in the table, and why
- Payment Depot: its pricing page lists per-transaction fees but no longer shows the membership fee, so the full cost cannot be computed.
- Worldpay: it publishes no price list; pricing is negotiated.
- Leaders Merchant Services: it publishes no small-business pricing.
- Paysafe: it publishes no small-business pricing.
How to cite this data
Free to use and republish under CC BY 4.0. Please credit myPayAdvisor and link to this page. Suggested citation:
myPayAdvisor. "US Payment Processor Effective Rates by Monthly Volume (2026)." Prices checked Oct 29, 2026. https://www.mypayadvisor.com/data/effective-rates-2026
Link: www.mypayadvisor.com/data/effective-rates-2026. Raw data: CSV and JSON, same numbers as this page.
Where does your business land in this table?
Tell us what you sell and your monthly volume, and we will point you to the processors that fit.
What changed from the May 2026 version
The version of this page published in May 2026 listed rates that could not be reproduced from any stated assumption, and it disagreed with our own ranking. On Oct 29, 2026we re-read every price from the provider's own page and rebuilt the table from the formula above. The page, the CSV, the JSON and our best-of ranking now come from the same numbers. Payment Depot and Worldpay are no longer in the table, for the reasons listed above. If you cited the May numbers, please use these instead.