Anna Lynn Dizon

is a highly secure online payment processing service. It is best known for sophisticated online payment processing, advanced fraud prevention, and dispute management tools—without a high price tag. Stripe is an affordable and versatile payment processing company for small businesses. It earned an overall score of 3.8 out of 5 in our review of merchant service providers, particularly for online, ecommerce, and B2B payments. Using Stripe to process in-person and mobile payments requires extra configuration, which prevents it from earning a higher score. Stripe has always been a top consideration for most of our buyer’s guides way before I started writing about merchant accounts. It ticks most of the boxes for features we look for in small business payment providers, particularly for ecommerce and B2Bs. Its highly customizable nature easily keeps up with fast-growing businesses that process recurring online payments and provides the most flexible and scalable solution for designing checkout carts. It also includes the assurance of strict PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance—all in a free account. On the other hand, Stripe may not be the best fit for all types of ecommerce businesses, as some small online businesses do not require a highly customized checkout process. So, while subscribing to Stripe is free, the complexity of its “developer-first” platform setup process affected Stripe’s ranking in our evaluation. For in-person checkouts, most small businesses would be better served with a plug-and-play option that does not require a custom build. Stripe Deciding Factors Stripe Fee Calculator Top Stripe Alternatives Stripe offers a free account so merchants don’t need to worry about upfront cost, unless they opt for add-on tools and upgraded features. Transaction fees are competitive and discounts are available upon request. Card readers can be directly purchased from the Stripe dashboard and chargeback fees are refundable. The system lost points for chargeback fees, volume discounts, and hardware purchasing options. Stripe offers a wide range of online payment methods including ACH Debit and Credit functions, as well as B2B payment processing. However, Stripe does not offer a readily available virtual terminal. And while a mobile POS is available, you will need custom integration which can take some time to set up. Stripe stands out from its competitors for making advanced fraud management and data security available to small merchants. It also offers a variety of business management tools. However, like most free merchant account providers, Stripe charges add-on fees for certain features like invoicing and recurring billing tools. You will also need to pay extra for same-day fund transfer processing. It comes as no surprise that Stripe gets excellent marks for pricing, popularity, and integrations. At zero monthly fees, Stripe provides advanced payment processing and security features you would often find for larger businesses. It also earns above-average user reviews in spite of the generally complex setup. Stripe has over 450 integrations that go beyond ecommerce tools such as accounting software, CRM platforms, and POS systems making the system a highly scalable solution that we look for and recommend to small businesses. On the other hand, ease of use is Stripe’s biggest challenge. While it offers code-free payment processing tools, familiarizing with the dashboard alone can take a while and can be challenging for small and new merchants. What Users Say of Stripe Stripe continues to receive generally positive feedback. Users like Stripe for its seamless integration with popular online platforms. In particular, users found Stripe’s customization and subscription features extremely useful for creating invoices and recurring payments. Capterra: Over 2,600 users rated Stripe an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars. G2: More than 200 users rated Stripe an average of 4.3 out of 5 stars. Common negative Stripe reviews include lengthy payment holding time and refunds being provided to customers without prior notice. Users also cite a learning curve in using most of Stripe’s features, so if your business lacks access to a certain degree of software development skills, Stripe may not be the right fit. Methodology—How We Evaluated Stripe We test each merchant account service provider ourselves to ensure an extensive review of the products. We then compare pricing methods and identify providers that offer zero monthly fees, pay-as-you-go terms, and low transaction rates. Finally, we evaluate each according to a range of payment processing features, scalability, and ease of use. The result is our list of the best overall merchant services. However, we adjust the criteria when looking at specific use cases, such as for different business types and merchant categories. This is why every merchant services provider has multiple scores across our site depending on the use case you are looking for. Click through the tabs below for our overall merchant services evaluation criteria: Stripe Payments Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line Stripe is a well-known brand in ecommerce payment processing—and rightfully so. It provides a free merchant account with exceptional data security and global payment capabilities that sets the standards for other payment processors in the market. And while the system is developer-friendly, Stripe also offers an array of simple customization tools that do not require coding skills. Head over to Stripe to create a free account.

is a payment processor that specializes in online sales and offers everything from payment buttons to hosted checkout pages and ecommerce store integrations. It provides merchants with integrated payment tools—both simple and advanced customization options, supported by Stripe’s well-renowned payment security features. Stripe also works with millions of companies in over 40 countries. What Should You Use Stripe For? Stripe is an excellent choice for growing ecommerce businesses because of its flat-rate pricing, easy integration with hundreds of other applications, flexible payment processing, and customizable payments security features. While it is a “developer-centric” platform, merchants who do not have access to developers can use its simple customization tools. Businesses with technical expertise can also use Stripe to create highly customized online payment platforms. B2Bs and merchants accepting international payments will appreciate the versatility and level of payment security that it can provide. Why Online Businesses Love Stripe Stripe’s sophisticated software makes it highly flexible for creating custom checkouts—and at 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction, it’s competitively priced. It offers open-source online checkout tools, programmable in-person payments, smart invoicing and subscription management, and multiparty payments. In addition, it has fast payouts, global support, and dispute management. It also provides payment processing services to 47 countries, accepts payments in over 135 currencies, integrates with over 650 applications, and has financial services for growing businesses. How Does Stripe Work? Stripe offers a range of online payment processing services but has also recently expanded to accepting in-person payments. And because it offers a high degree of customization, Stripe can easily adapt its features as you grow your online platform. Stripe for Online Payments Stripe made our list of the best merchant services specifically for online sales and integrations. It accepts over 135 currencies and dozens of different payment methods, making it perfect for internet sales. You can sell products and subscriptions, run recurring payments (like for dues or utilities), or add it to other marketplaces. You can create hosted payments pages, design your own payments form on your website with Stripe Elements, accept payments via app with Stripe’s SDKs, and produce payment links for sharing on social media. Stripe for In-person Payments Need in-person payment processing to complement your online sales? While Stripe integrates with popular POS systems like Lightspeed and WooCommerce, it also provides you the coding to integrate into your own POS system. In addition to a choice of readers that accept swipe, chip, or tap payments, it has SDKs and tools for ordering and managing readers from the Stripe Dashboard. Your POS needs to be web-based or mobile. Stripe Terminal is currently available in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands and is in beta in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Stripe for Fraud Protection Fraud protection is vital for online sales. Stripe is PCI DCS Level 1 compliant, has SSAE18/SOC 1 type 1 and type 2 and SSAE18/SOC 2 type 1 and type 2 reports, is PSD2 and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) compliant, and has e-money licenses in the EU and UK. Stripe for Business Management Stripe is easy to integrate with third-party business management tools such as QuickBooks and Salesforce for CRM. But aside from an all-in-one dashboard that gives you an overall view of your business, Stripe also comes with a range of revenue and financial management tools. These are optional add-ons but you may want to consider these features as your business grows. How Stripe Can Help Grow Your Business In addition to providing excellent payment processing, Square has tools to help you with your financial needs and your customers’ and employees’ needs. The availability of some is limited to specific countries, while others are best for large corporations—or the ambitious entrepreneur with excellent programming skills. What Is Stripe: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line Stripe has long been a popular and highly regarded payment processor for online businesses. In recent years, it’s acquired other companies to expand its offerings to online businesses. It’s not just for websites and online stores, but for any small business doing online payment processing, even with invoices. In addition, it offers banking services, credit cards, and business financing. Sign up today.

Stripe and Braintree are popular and highly customizable payment processors typically used for online payments. They both have excellent developer tools, standard flat-rate transaction fees for smaller businesses, and custom interchange-plus pricing available for larger companies. While Braintree came out ahead for stability and affordability, Stripe is better for ecommerce and international sales tools, billing and invoicing, in-person payments, and security, making it the best overall online payment processor. : (Best overall) Best for availability of prebuilt integrations with popular small business software, excellent developer documentation, international sales, recurring billing, and marketplace sales. : Best for free sandbox testing tools, individual merchant accounts, accepting PayPal and Venmo payments, and affordability. Stripe vs Braintree Quick Comparison The major difference between the two is that Braintree offers individual merchant accounts, which are stabler but require approval and time to set up. Stripe, meanwhile, is purely an aggregator, which means it can onboard you fast but is more likely to have problems with frozen funds. While Stripe edged out Braintree in our evaluation of best merchant accounts, both are good platforms. If you have a small business, the best online payment processor for you is likely the one that is easy to integrate with your existing software and website. Most Affordable: Stripe *If you have your own Amex account, the fee is 15 cents per transaction. While Braintree has cheaper transaction rates, Stripe’s set of available features offer more value for what you pay. It also does not charge separate fees for certain credit card brands, supports more payment methods, and offers 24/7 customer support. This is why Stripe also scored better vs Braintree in our evaluation of Cheapest Credit Card Processing Companies and Free Merchant Accounts. Braintree, while receiving decent scores for its affordable rates, did not make our roundup. Best for Ecommerce: Stripe Both of these payment processors do an excellent job managing sales on other websites, but Stripe offers more features. For example, Stripe Checkout gives you a prebuilt hosted payment page for one-time purchases and subscriptions. It offers a mobile app for back-end management like getting notices of new payments, issuing refunds, and viewing sales data. It also has invoicing and billing tools. Braintree, meanwhile, requires a third-party integration for invoicing, although it handles subscriptions. Stripe made our list of top payment gateways for small businesses with a score of 4.54 out of 5 Best for Billing & Invoices: Stripe Stripe’s invoicing tools make it the better choice for billing and subscriptions. Braintree requires a third-party integration for invoices, but Stripe Invoicing lets you create and send an invoice in minutes with no coding. It also lets you automate payment requests, such as for billing. Stripe offers a choice of payment options, from ACH to Google Pay, and supports any country where Stripe is offered. B2B merchants often use invoicing and ACH payment processing features and Stripe excelled in both criteria, not to mention offering several B2B-specific software integrations. It joins our list of top B2B payment processors with an overall score of 4.15 out of 5. Meanwhile, Braintree only allows ACH payments for US-registered businesses and only in USD to US banks. This limits its usefulness for international invoicing, even with a third-party app. Best for International Sales: Stripe While both are powerhouses for international payment processing, in Stripe vs Braintree, Stripe wins. It offers more options, both in languages and payment methods. For example, it’s better suited for Asia because it takes AliPay, GrabPay, and WeChat Pay, which are popular near-field communication (NFC) providers for China and Southeast Asia. They are similar in the number of countries in which they accept merchants and are accepted as payment processors. Braintree may have a small advantage in Europe, while Stripe has a greater presence in Asia and the Americas. Best for Security: Stripe You can trust both Stripe and Braintree to ensure highly secure transactions, even across borders, but Stripe wins this feature by a small margin. Not only are the chargeback fees refundable, but Stripe also supports online identity verification that’s both highly customizable and proprietary so that there’s no need to pay any additional cost of integrations. Best for Ease of Use: Stripe *Ease-of-use score is based on the average score over multiple third-party user-review sites, but in the ease-of-use category alone. Stripe is the clear winner for ease of use, from help features to user feedback. Both services are developer-centric, but Stripe has more tools that can be used by the layperson such as building an online checkout page. It also offers video tutorials for many of its key tasks. It has 24/7 customer support. Braintree does, too, but by contact form. Braintree does come out ahead for issues with frozen accounts. An analysis by CardPaymentOptions.com showed it has fewer complaints of held funds than Stripe. This is in part because of each merchant having its own account. In addition, it only occasionally creates a reserve fund. However, Braintree is not as responsive as Stripe in responding to complaints. Bottom Line In the argument of Braintree vs Stripe, the devil is in the details. We found Stripe to be better overall, including for multichannel commerce (online and in-person) as well as invoicing and billing. It offers an aggregated merchant account, which is good for startups and quick approval but can have account stability issues. Braintree, meanwhile, offers independent merchant accounts, which are more stable and great for established businesses. Its subscription tools surpass Stripe’s, and it has the advantage of being a member of the PayPal family.

If you need a mobile and easy-to-handle payment processor for on-the-go sales, many credit card readers work with iPhones and iPads. Some providers might require you to get your own merchant account, but many of the best credit card readers for iPhone can also handle credit card, touchless, and, in some cases, digital check payments right from your smartphone. Based on our evaluation of over a dozen options, the best credit card readers for iPhones are: Best overall (and best free): Best for high-volume sales: Best for online businesses: Best for solopreneurs: Best for low-volume sales: Best for small mobile restaurants: Best Credit Card Readers for iPhone Compared See fullscreen table × iPhone Card Reader Fee Calculator Find out how much you would pay in monthly credit card processing fees with each of our recommended credit card readers for iPhone. Square: Best Overall Credit Card Reader for iPhone offers competitive rates with no monthly fees or upfront costs. It provides reliability, security, and a suite of business management tools and scalable hardware, making it the best overall credit card reader for the iPhone. Small businesses like food trucks and cafes choose Square for its easy setup and simple payment processing rates. In addition, if you expand and find yourself needing payroll, scheduling, or other software, Square also has these. With rates of 2.6% + 10 cents, Square’s transaction pricing is average—not the most expensive and not the cheapest. However, what makes Square stand out is a truly powerful free point-of-sale (POS) system and inexpensive card readers, plus no monthly fees. It tops the charts with 4.79 out of 5 stars. Its pricing, ease of use, and integration capabilities are top-notch, as is its suite of payment options, which includes a virtual terminal and invoicing. Square didn’t earn a perfect score because it does not offer 24/7 phone support. You’ll find Square on our lists of best credit card apps, most recommended credit card readers for Android, leading credit card readers, and best mobile credit card processors, usually in the top slot. In fact, Square is our top merchant service for small businesses. Square Hardware Square Features POS app: Square’s POS app is packed with more features than all the other solutions on our list. With Square, you can record both cash and card payments, add tips to each transaction, split sales between different payment methods, and send customer receipts via text or email. Square works offline so that you can accept card payments even without an internet connection. Business management: Square has additional features such as invoicing, appointment booking, employee management, and customer email marketing. Furthermore, Square integrates with many other business programs, including accounting and delivery management. Chargeback policy: Unlike most credit card processing services, Square does not charge extra fees when a chargeback occurs; there is only the fee from the cardholder’s bank should the dispute be unsuccessful. It will notify you of a chargeback via email and dispute it automatically should you forget or miss the deadline. It is highly recommended, however, that you add supporting documents via the Square Dashboard to improve your chances of a successful dispute. Mobile app: As of this writing, Square ties with SwipeSimple (Payment Depot) for best ratings on the Apple App store. It has 4.8 out of 5 stars with some 320,000 ratings. (SwipeSimple only has 4,400+). It ranks No. 19 in business in the App Store (previously No. 34). People love the app but hate customer support. There are also many complaints of held funds (on our list, PayPal is the worst for this, followed by Square). Ease of use: Real-world users give Square high marks for customer satisfaction: 4.5 out of 5 on third-party software review sites and 4.8 for mobile iOS. Ease of use, flexibility, and price are the most praised features. What Square Is Missing Flexible payment processing: The other credit card readers on our list offer merchant accounts (like Payment Depot) or integrate as a payment system with other payment channels (like PayPal). Square is self-contained. Round-the-clock customer support: Phone, chat, and email support are available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time. Most of the others on our list have 24/7 support. Lowest pricing: If low transaction fees are most important, consider PayPal Zettle or—if you do high-volume sales—Payment Depot, which offers interchange-plus pricing for a monthly fee. Payment Depot by Stax: Best for High-volume Sales As a traditional merchant account provider, has some of the lowest credit card processing fees available, especially if your average sale is over $25. All three Payment Depot plans provide the same features; the difference lies in the transaction fees. If you do high-volume or high-ticket sales, these rates can save you money over most of the flat-rate processors on our list. Although Payment Depot requires an application and a monthly subscription fee, each account also comes with a free SwipeSimple mobile account and account stability, meaning you’re much less likely to deal with frozen or delayed funds. Payment Depot and the connected SwipeSimple app is a consistent strong contender for our list of best mobile credit card apps. Payment Depot earned 4.54 out of 5 stars overall in our evaluation, with high marks for payment types and mobile features. Its competitive pricing also contributed to its high score; however, it fell behind Square because it does come with a monthly fee and doesn’t include a free credit card reader. Other factors that prevented Payment Depot from earning a perfect score include its chargeback resolution process issues and lack of a proprietary card reader and payment app. Payment Depot by Stax Hardware Payment Depot by Stax Features Mobile app: As of this writing, SwipeSimple ties with Square as one of the highest-rated apps, with 4.8 out of 5 stars with 4,400+ ratings. The highest ratings came in 2019/2020, but ratings fell in 2021 after an update. This seems typical for this kind of software. SwipeSimple is used by many merchant services, and there are complaints about some of them. However, most people said it worked well and was easy to use. Invoicing: While not part of SwipeSimple, Payment Depot allows you to email invoices to customers and receive payments. This is typical of most payment processors, but makes Payment Depot even more suited for B2B. Level 2 and 3 processing: If you do B2B or government sales, you can benefit from Level 2 and 3 payment processing, which lowers the interchange rates. Payment Depot works with PayTrace, which can get Level 2 and Level 3 rates on business cards. PayTrace automatically fills the data fields required to process Level 2 and Level 3 transactions, so you can enjoy the lower rates that come with these data levels. Additional business services: Your Payment Depot subscription does more than get you payment processing through the app. You also have access to business funding, free POS equipment and chargeback risk monitoring (with certain plans), and a free payment gateway for online transactions. The other services on our list offer some of these, but not all. Square and PayPal, for example, also have business funding, but not free POS equipment. Customer support and user reviews: Phone and email support are available 24/7, which puts it ahead of Square. Payment Depot’s support team is highly rated by customers, as is SwipeSimple. Other apps like PayPal have numerous complaints about customer service. What Payment Depot Is Missing Simple chargeback dispute process: Unlike Square and Shopify, Payment Depot does not have a simplified chargeback dispute process. Better pricing for low-volume merchants: If you process less than $10,000 a month in transactions, the monthly fees make this more expensive than free, flat-rate options like Square. Shopify: Best for Online Businesses Accepting In-person Payments is a powerhouse name for ecommerce businesses, providing its users with outstanding omnichannel tools so you can reach customers anywhere. It lets you sync online and in-person sales, process curbside and pickup orders, and start sales in-store and finish them online. These features rank Shopify among our best retail POS systems and bring it to the top of our list of multichannel POS systems. Shopify offers a 2-in-1 (Shopify Tap and Chip) and 3-in-1 (Shopify Chipper 2X BT Reader) both at $49 which are more affordable options for expanding a mobile business setup when compared to PayPal Zettle. The POS app is free; however, you need a Shopify ecommerce account ($29–$299/month) to access Shopify’s POS features. Its reporting functionality is only available from the mid-level subscription at $79 per month, which is the same monthly fee as Payment Depot, though Payment Depot offers lower transaction fees. Based on our evaluation, Shopify earned an overall score of 4.25 out of 5, gaining its highest score for payment types, and its lowest from its pricing and contract. While other providers in this list like Square and PayPal Zettle offer next-day funding with optional same-day fund transfer for a fee, Shopify requires two business days to give you access to your funds. Shopify Hardware Shopify Features Omnichannel selling: Shopify provides a seamless shopping experience for your in-store and online customers. You can design QR codes that open product pages from their mobile device while they browse in-store and email carts that allow them to complete their in-store purchase online. Shopify helps you accept returns or exchanges of online purchases at retail outlets. You can also sell from wherever stock is available and then send it out to the customer when in-store inventory is low. Order and product management: With Shopify’s Smart Inventory, you can use a barcode scanner to receive inventory and conduct physical counts, and request and track stock transfers. You can also create and manage purchase orders from your Shopify POS platform. It provides advanced reporting and analytics features to suggest which items are worth ordering and which are slow-moving. Mobile app: The Shopify POS app earned an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars on the Apple App store from over 7,000 reviews as a solid, dependable app with flexible features. However, the most recent feedback, even from those who have given the platform high ratings, is that latest updates to design and user interface are less favorable. It’s important to note, however, that developers are quick to respond to every complaint, with suggestions and guides on how to improve user experience. What Shopify Is Missing Free mobile credit card reader: Shopify’s chip and swipe reader is now only available for lease included in a retail bundle. Users will need to purchase a mobile credit card reader for $49 to start accepting payments on the go. For a free mobile card reader, consider Square. Better offline payment capability: Without internet connection, you can only use Shopify to accept cash and digital wallet payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. You will not be able to process credit card and gift card payments while offline. Consider Square, or Payment Depot for better offline payment functionality. PayPal Zettle: Best for Solopreneurs & PayPal Users The card reader is simple but powerful and, combined with PayPal’s ability to accept all kinds of payments (from credit cards to bitcoin and even cross-border payments), is a top contender for one of the best mobile credit card processors in the market. And, while it does not offer a free device, PayPal’s reader includes a PIN pad that can process chip, tap, or swipe transactions, which is more than most free readers can do. You can get your first PayPal Zettle card reader at a discounted price of $29. Zettle works fine for stores with simple inventory needs; however, for this list, we like Zettle best for the solopreneur or craftsman who sells their wares at conventions, craft fairs, and other part-time venues. (Square is also a great choice for this.) Zettle’s software is completely free, and it does not charge for premium plans. The only way to get better rates is with interchange-plus pricing like Payment Depot, but that comes with a monthly fee. PayPal Zettle earned 4.04 out of 5 on our rubric, which is lower than the previous update and has caused Zettle to slide down to the third spot in our rankings. The POS system is basic, but like Shopify, the lack of an offline mode for payment processing is what brought the score down. However, the software is easy to use and, like Square, is on our lists of best credit card apps and top credit card payment apps for Android. PayPal Zettle Hardware PayPal Zettle Features Great for small-scale or infrequent sales: Zettle is simple enough to learn and set up in a couple of minutes if your inventory is small. It does not charge monthly fees or require monthly use or impose contracts. You can put it away for months and use it again as if it had been a day. The charges are cheaper than most flat-rate processors and not dependent on your sales volume. Same-day deposits to PayPal: If you use PayPal, then Zettle gets you your money quickly as it deposits directly into PayPal each day. The other credit card readers on our list may get you your money as early as the next day, although some, like Square, charge extra for expedited deposits. Mobile app: As of this writing, Zettle has 3.3 out of 5 stars on the Apple App store with about 300 reviews. One of the most recent complaints is that data from PayPal Here does not carry over. Users also had problems with setup, including being unable to change the app from Spanish to English. Customer support also received complaints. For more responsive help, consider Payment Depot. What PayPal Zettle Is Missing Offline mode: Zettle says it needs to be connected to a 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi to process transactions. All the other mobile card readers on our list have at least a limited offline mode. More integrations: While PayPal itself integrates with just about anything you can imagine, Zettle is limited to BigCommerce, QuickBooks Online, Shopify, and WooCommerce. For more variety, consider Square. Better policy for holding funds: PayPal ranks among the highest payment processors for complaints about held funds or canceled accounts. In addition, its customer service is often not helpful with this kind of issue. If that concerns you, then look at Payment Depot, which has very few complaints. SumUp: Best for In-person Businesses With Low-volume Ticket Sales is a mobile-first payment processor that comes with a virtual terminal and basic inventory management features built for small businesses. It does not charge any monthly fees or tie you up in a long-term contract, making SumUp one of the most affordable merchant services providers in the industry. The system is ideal for small in-person businesses with low-volume ticket sales. Its fully mobile payment processing service stands out among the rest of the providers on our list. And, while it carries the most expensive in-person transaction rate, SumUp offers a better range of credit card readers that support features such as standalone functionality, keypad security, and touch-screen technology. It also supports POS features such as employee and management tools in its mobile payment app. SumUp earned a score of 4.01 out of 5, a significant improvement from our previous round of evaluation after it launched upgraded card readers. It fared well for its overall mobile features, with reliable mobile app functionality and the ability to provide small and micro businesses easy access to all types of credit card payment methods. Meanwhile, poor mobile app user ratings, limited multichannel features, and business hours-only customer support prevented SumUp from earning a better score. SumUp Hardware SumUp Features Two-step signup: Getting a merchant account only takes minutes with SumUp two-step sign-up. Request your card reader during sign-up and receive it within three to four business days. SumUp dashboard: SumUp allows you to process payments, create and manage invoices, and access reports from the dashboard. Application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) integrations: SumUp is supported by a host of API and SDKs that allow for custom features such as accepting international payments and adding user interface screens for customers of different business models. Payout features: Process daily payouts and track the transfer progress from your dashboard at no extra cost. SumUp also provides you with daily and monthly payout reports. Customer support can be requested to update the payout frequency. Inventory management: SumUp’s mobile app includes a product catalog that provides you with basic inventory management tools such as adding products, categories, and variants, and assigning sales tax rates. A step-by-step guide helps you build your catalog. POS app: The SumUp App not only allows you to accept payments and create and send payment links and invoices, but it also supports a point-of-sale function that includes a product catalog, smart tipping, tax setting, refund issuing, and employee management tools. Basic pre-made reports, such as revenue, payout, and transaction reporting, are also available. Your monthly payment processing fee for using SumUp can also be found here. What SumUp Is Missing Multichannel sales: While it allows you to accept payments through invoice, SumUp provides limited options for ecommerce integration (WooCommerce and Wix) so it’s not the most viable option for businesses compared to other providers in our list. Consider alternatives like Shopify and Square that support strong, built-in ecommerce functionality at no extra cost. Business integrations: Although it provides you with reporting tools that include accounting functions for employee management, SumUp does not support integration with accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero. You will need to sign up for SumUp’s restaurant POS system if you want software and hardware integrations (and even then, it’s very limited at the moment). Consider Square for a more well-rounded payments and point-of-sale solution. Payanywhere: Best for Low-volume Restaurants & Food Trucks is an all-in-one payment processing solution that offers recurring payments and invoicing tools, inventory and employee management, and virtual terminal processing features. It also comes with a mobile app that supports restaurant-specific tools such as splitting checks, opening tabs, and tipping. This is the only provider in this list aside from Square that supports these features, making it a great choice for low-volume restaurants and food trucks. Although limited, Payanywhere supports 3-in-1 mobile card readers with the first one free upon signing for a merchant account. It also offers a pay-as-you-go payment plan option with no long-term contracts or monthly fees; however, there is also a fee of $3.99/month after 12 months of inactivity and a $25 chargeback fee. Custom plans with a three-year contract are also available, with likely better rates. Payanywhere’s card-present transaction fee is competitive, but is still slightly more expensive than Square. All things considered, Payanywhere earned a total score of 3.96 out of 5. It scored well for pricing and payment types, losing points only for inactivity and for lack of ACH payment options. Limited customer support also caused Payanywhere to fall behind the other providers in our evaluation. While it provides numerous restaurant features, Payanywhere is not a full-fledged restaurant POS system, but it did make our list of the best credit card payment apps. Payanywhere Hardware Payanywhere Features Payment types: Process all major credit cards with Payanywhere. You can also manage payment methods with tab splitting, invoicing, and recurring payment transactions. Virtual terminal: You can connect your card reader to a desktop and accept payments through Payanywhere’s virtual terminal. The cloud-based dashboard syncs your sales records in real time with your mobile transactions. Mobile payments: While limited in functionality, Payanywhere offers mobile payment processing that’s easy to learn and simple to use. It provides swipe, tap, and dip payments, along with NFC contactless payments, including digital wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Point-of-sale app: Payanywhere account includes a free mobile POS app, which allows you to process payments from a compatible smartphone or tablet. It comes with POS features such as inventory and employee management, and offline payment processing function that lets you accept swipe credit cards without internet connection. Free same-day funding: Payanywhere offers free same-day funding for late-night food businesses such as bars and restaurants. Cut off time is 10 p.m. but you can select the “same-day” funding option with a 10:30 a.m. cutoff. What Payanywhere Is Missing ACH and e-check payments: Payanywhere currently does not offer ACH and e-check payment options. While it does not affect your ability to accept in-person payments, this prevents you from expanding your business to other channels such as ecommerce and larger recurring payment transactions. Consider Square and SumUp for alternatives. Decide With a Quiz Still not sure which iPhone credit card reader is best for you? Take this quiz for our recommendation. It is only three questions and will provide a result without redirecting you to another page. Mobile Payment Alternatives If you’re looking for more mobile payment solutions, check out our recommendations below: How We Chose the Best iPhone Credit Card Readers The best mobile credit card processing services work with both iOS and Android, so we chose those that had the best ratings in the Apple store or were more popular in iOS. Then, we weighed them according to pricing, types of payments provided, additional features, how quickly you can access your earnings, and how well it compared to the others on the list in our evaluation and the opinion of users. ranks as the best for features and price. With clear-cut pricing and no contracts, a feature-rich POS system and invoice capabilities, and easy access to your funds, it’s a strong choice for individuals and businesses of all sizes. Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria: Credit Card Readers for iPhone Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line COVID-19 changed how we do business, emphasizing the importance of being able to accept payments on your mobile phone or iPad for maximum flexibility. The credit card readers we considered not only provide multiple ways to accept on-the-go payments, but many have virtual terminals and online options to help. Overall, for versatility and price, Square is our top choice. It can be a little more expensive if you have small transactions, but it’s good for the occasional user or the regular business and can grow with you. Download the Square app and sign up for an account today.

If you own a small business, setting up your website or online store to accept credit cards online is a crucial step in growing your sales and customer bases. In the second quarter of 2022, ecommerce sales made up 14.5% of all retail sales, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and that number is only expected to increase. Here’s how to accept credit card payments online in five steps. Step 1: Choose a Payment Processor The first step in accepting credit card payments online is choosing a payment processor. Look for competitive processing fees and a solution that is compatible with your website or ecommerce platform. While you won’t find a reputable processor to accept credit payments online for free, there are low-cost options available. Here are our top user-friendly choices for accepting credit cards online and what they are best for: : New or new-to-online businesses needing an easy, immediate, and affordable solution : Adding a user-friendly checkout to any site : Online startups and anyone wanting a custom online checkout : Growing and established businesses looking for the cheapest option : Ecommerce or online retail businesses : High-volume businesses wanting recurring billing, virtual terminal, and invoicing tools : Automatic sales discount for growing online businesses All of the solutions on our list include at least merchant services and payment gateways. Many also offer tools to build a website. For example, Square and have free tools to build an online store or checkout page. Meanwhile, Shopify lets businesses create a full ecommerce site. A few of the providers, like PayPal, Square, Stripe, and Stax by Fattmerchant, even offer user-friendly invoicing tools to accept payments through email invoices. Others, including PayPal and Shopify, let you add Buy Buttons to any site. If you’re unsure which solution is right for your business, take this quick three-question quiz for a personalized recommendation: Step 2: Set Up Your Online Payment Processor To accept credit card payments online, you need a tool to collect customer data and a way to process the payments. Most ecommerce businesses do this through a website. Depending on your hosting service and platform, you will have different payment options available. For example, if you have a WordPress site, you can use a shopping cart plug-in with PayPal and/or Stripe to accept credit card payments. If you don’t yet have an ecommerce website, you can build one with , , or . Businesses that want online credit card processing generally need the following: A website or ecommerce platform for customers to go to when making purchases A secure payment gateway to accept credit cards and encrypt the payment A merchant account to process online payments Below, we walk through how to use each payment processor to accept payments online. Select a processor from the dropdown menu to learn more about it: Step 3: Increase Conversions With One-click Checkouts & Installment Payments An average of 80% of online shopping carts are abandoned. One way to combat high cart abandonment rates is by creating an easy checkout process, including one-click checkouts with platforms like Google Pay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and PayPal. Payment processors that specialize in online payments or retail (including Square and Stax) offer these kinds of one-click checkout options. Other processors, like Shopify, offer their own one-click checkout solution (Shop Pay) in addition to Apple Pay and Google Pay. Shopify surveyed its own merchants and found that sites with Shop Pay have a checkout-to-order rate of 1.72x times higher than those going through regular checkouts without Shop Pay. In other words, it’s not enough just to set up online payments—you need to optimize your checkout process so it’s convenient for your customers. In return, you’ll see a boost to your bottom line. In many cases, particularly for retailers, shoppers expect the convenience of flexible payment terms in addition to one-click checkouts. More than 50% of consumers have used a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service—an 85% growth between 2020 and 2021. BNPL and interest-free installment payments are customer financing options that allow shoppers to pay over time. Most popular small business website builders and ecommerce platforms work with customer financing solutions—like Klarna, Afterpay, and PayPal’s PayPal Credit or Pay. Step 4: Secure Your Site Once you’ve chosen a payment processor, set it up, and enabled one-click or customer financing checkout options, the next step is to double-check your payment security processes. At a minimum, you want to meet the requirements outlined in the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This is known as the PCI standard. There’s a higher risk associated with online payments because the card isn’t physically present for the purchase, which poses a greater risk of fraud. So banks and credit card companies charge higher processing fees to cover the risks associated with processing online payments. Regular occurrences of fraud and chargebacks will increase your processing fees (and potentially risk the status of your merchant account). Use a merchant account with built-in chargeback and fraud prevention or third-party software. Many online processors have features like address verification services (AVS) or machine-learning algorithms to help prevent fraudulent transactions from being approved. Step 5: Find Ways to Lower Processing Fees as You Grow For microbusinesses and occasional payments, services like Venmo for Business and Chase QuickPay have options to send and receive funds for free. However, most businesses will need a merchant account. For businesses processing under $5,000 monthly, Square typically offers the best value. For businesses over that threshold, Payment Depot is often the cheapest credit card processor. As your business grows, continue to negotiate lower rates with your payment processor. Once you’re consistently processing $15,000–$20,000 monthly, you may qualify for custom rates. Depending on your business type, you can also consider accepting ACH payments, which is one of the lowest cost-payment types. While standard online credit card processing fees are 2.9% plus 30 cents, ACH processing fees are typically 1%. ACH transactions require customers to enter their bank information, so this payment type is typically best for recurring payments like subscriptions, ongoing services, and very expensive or high-end transactions. Bottom Line There are many ways to accept credit cards online, and the best way to accept credit card payments online depends on your business. If you are a sole proprietor, a new business, or merely budget-conscious, a simple solution such as Square offers a user-friendly website builder, online store, virtual terminal, and invoice payments. Create a free Square account today. You May Also Like… How to make a website for your small business Learn more about credit card processing fees and how they work. While you don’t need a traditional merchant account to accept credit cards online, it’s a more secure and affordable option for growing businesses. If you accept mail orders, phone orders, or otherwise regularly key-in payments, consider using a virtual terminal.

Credit card readers for Android phones and tablets make it easy for merchants to process sales and accept credit cards anywhere, from food trucks to trade shows. With advanced point-of-sale POS technology and smartphone apps, you can even use Android card readers in your brick-and-mortar store. Based on our evaluation of over a dozen options, the best credit card readers for Android are: : Best overall (SwipeSimple): Best for established businesses with steady processing volumes : Best for occasional sellers and PayPal users : Best for ecommerce businesses : Best for small, mobile businesses (formerly Fattmerchant): Cheapest mobile invoicing for high-volume businesses Best Credit Card Readers for Android Compared See fullscreen table × Compare Estimated Fees Enter your monthly card-present sales information and your total monthly sales (card-present and card-not-present) to get an estimate of your credit card processing fees for accepting in-person payments with our recommended Android credit card readers. Square: Best Overall Credit Card Reader for Android works with phones running Google Android 4.0 and higher. It’s a terrific card reader for the Android phone, but also includes a POS system and other options that can work not only for the casual user but the complete retail store, service business, or restaurant. The mobile app itself is among the most popular and highest-ranking among our list of providers for this roundup. With 4.81 out of 5 stars, Square ranked as our No. 1 credit card reader for Android. The price is excellent, as it does not charge monthly fees and has no minimums, making it good for the casual user. Even more, it has an excellent chargeback policy and a full-featured POS program suitable for full-time businesses. You can send invoices and handle offline transactions. Users rate it highly for ease of use and features. In addition to being our recommended credit card reader for Android, Square is also our top overall choice for mobile credit card processing and merchant services for small businesses. Payment Depot: Best Android Card Reader for Established Businesses With Steady Processing Volumes uses the SwipeSimple mobile app by CardFlight—a popular app used by several payment processors to accept in-person payments. This provider offers a subscription-based pricing model where merchants pay a monthly fee for wholesale interchange-plus rates. Businesses processing anywhere between $10,500–$41,000 in sales per month will find Payment Depot’s combination of monthly and per-transaction fees the most cost-effective option. Of all the providers in our list, only Payment Depot and Stax come with interchange-plus pricing instead of a flat-rate fee. Both are also traditional merchant accounts that usually provide greater account stability. The difference is Payment Depot’s pricing plans are based on sales volume while Stax is based on scaling payment features. You get all of Payment Depot’s available payment processing tools at every plan level. In our evaluation, Payment Depot scored 4.20 out of 5 stars, securing the second top spot behind Square. It fared significantly better than Stax, primarily for pricing, but also for its more stable, user-friendly mobile features. However, while SwipeSimple’s POS app can handle the most important features and comes with an offline mode, recent reviews for the app have not been favorable. It also does not provide a free credit card reader (which you can get from Stax). PayPal Zettle: Best for Occasional Sellers & PayPal Users mobile card reader offers more functions compared to other readers on our list, even Square. It features a PIN pad for processing chip or tap transactions at a discounted price of $29 for your first device. Zettle’s simple POS solution and zero monthly fees make it the perfect solution for occasional sellers, such as crafters who participate in trade fairs and sell in farmers markets. PayPal Zettle comes in third on our list with a score of 4.12 out of 5 stars. It earned high marks for payment types and from our expert review, but lost points for its lack of offline payment processing and limited customer support. You will also need to look for an alternative like Square if you want a more reliable means of accepting ACH payments. Shopify: Best for Online Businesses With In-person Sales is a leading ecommerce platform that includes a free mobile POS system with each account. Its credit card processing fees are competitive, but what truly makes Shopify stand out is the convenience. All online and in-person sales sync to your Shopify dashboard so your revenue, inventory, and customer data are always up-to-date⁠—perfect for brick-and-mortar retailers that also sell online. This makes Shopify the best option for online businesses looking for multichannel/omnichannel sales tools. There are a variety of mobile card readers that can be used with Shopify. However, only the proprietary 2-in-1 Shopify card reader is compatible with Android devices (3-in-1 BBPOS Chipper card reader is only for iOS). Both are available for $49 and come fully integrated with Shopify’s POS app. The Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader is best used with Android 5.0 and higher mobile devices. However, while accepting mobile payments is free, you’ll need a paid Shopify online account to access the app. Shopify made our list with 3.97 out of 5 stars. As with Payment Depot, it lost points for not having a free or discounted mobile card reader and low mobile app user reviews. You also need to pay for a monthly fee, although you get the benefit of Shopify’s excellent ecommerce/POS system. (If you want to avoid a monthly charge, check out Square.) The card-present transactions are straight percentage and inexpensive compared to most card readers. Deposit speed is slower than most of those on our list. SumUp: Best for Small Mobile Businesses With Low-volume Sales is an end-to-end mobile payment processing solution, with invoicing, virtual terminal, and basic point-of-sale tools. There are no monthly fees or long-term contracts—only flat-rate transaction fees every time you accept payments with your SumUp card reader. You can accept credit and debit card payments, gift cards, and invoice payments in person and on the go, which works great for home cleaning, pet grooming, gardening, and other kinds of service-type businesses. It’s also great for retailers that sell in-person with or without a storefront. However, SumUp’s in-person rate of 2.75% (followed by Shopify at 2.7%) is the most expensive per transaction fee in our list of payment providers. It also has limited ecommerce integrations (SumUp can be integrated with WooCommerce and Wix) which makes other providers in our list better options for extending your business into online sales. We recommend SumUp for low-volume businesses. If your sales volume is more than $5,000 a month, you will save more on transaction fees with Square. SumUp earned a respectable 3.92 out of 5 based on our evaluation. It has narrowed (but certainly improved) its range of credit card readers since our last update. SumUp scored well for its mobile app features, not to mention zero monthly fees and low price points for its card readers. However, limited integration tools and multichannel features, low mobile app user rating, and account stability issues prevented SumUp from earning a better score. Stax (Formerly Fattmerchant): Best for Large-volume Retailers Needing Invoicing & Recurring Billing Tools For a traditional merchant account, has one of the most transparent payment processing fees. It offers subscription-based pricing in exchange for wholesale interchange-plus rates and low-cost ACH processing. Unlike Payment Depot, all Stax subscription plans are available to merchants processing at least $20,000 a month ($500,000 annually). Pricing ranges from $99 to $199 per month, depending on available payment processing features. Both Stax and Payment Depot are great options for merchants looking for a traditional merchant account with a mobile card processing option. Payment Depot’s highest plan at $99 offers the same sales volume limit as that of Stax with all features available in the subscription. However, Stax offers better invoicing and recurring billing tools, faster deposit speed, plus a free 3-in-1 card reader upon sign up. That said, Stax earned a score of 3.72 out of 5 stars. It scored well in terms of mobile features, but lost points for pricing and payment type availability. Access to invoicing and other digital payment tools also require a plan upgrade. And, while Stax offers low transaction rates, it has a steep monthly fee that is most practical for businesses that can offset the cost with a large volume of sales. How We Evaluated Credit Card Readers for Android Most people think of iPads when they think of mobile POS systems, but many payment processors offer great options for Android, too. Some also have their own merchant accounts. We chose reputable payment processors that also have apps that rank highly in the Google's Play store. Then, we looked at pricing, features, and how quickly you could get your payments to determine the best options. As with the best card readers for iOS, Square ranked as our No. 1 for Android systems. While other providers in our list faltered, is the only Android credit card reader that improved its score after considering user reviews and has great rates and a fantastic POS system for mobile, tablets, and the web that can grow with you. Click through the box below for our full evaluation criteria: Take a Quiz Still not sure which reader is best for you? Take this three-question quiz to see which products best meet your specific needs: Credit Card Readers for Android Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line To find a great mobile credit card reader, first look at the best payment processors, such as Square, Payment Depot, and PayPal Zettle. Each has strengths and pricing structures that make it better for specific business types and sizes. Because there is such a wide variety of Android devices, check that the credit card reader you prefer is compatible with your device. Lastly, consider user reviews to get a concrete idea from merchants with actual experience of running their business with the mobile app. All things considered, Square topped our evaluation, earning the best scores for pricing and features, including outstanding user reviews. .

Merchant services allow businesses to accept credit and debit card payments. In addition to the merchant account, many merchant service providers also offer payment processing tools, such as payment gateways, virtual terminals, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and card-reading hardware. The best solutions offer competitive rates, month-to-month contracts with no cancellation fees, and flexible payment solutions for in-person and online transactions. In our evaluation, the best merchant services for small businesses are: : Best overall : Cheapest for established businesses : Best for no percentage markup : Best merchant account through a bank : Best for invoicing or recurring billing : Best for transparent pricing and eco-friendly business practices : Best for occasional sales and online checkout : Best for online credit card processing and integrations : Best for QuickBooks users : Best high-risk merchant account Best Merchant Services Compared See fullscreen table × *QuickBooks subscription required, which starts at $30 monthly **Through PayPal Zettle Get a Personalized Recommendation Not sure which payment processor is right for you? Our four-question quiz takes less than a minute, and you’ll get a recommendation without being redirected to another page. Square: Best Overall for Individuals & New Businesses is an all-in-one merchant services provider, meaning it can process payments in-store and online as well as via mobile, virtual terminal, invoice, and even quick response (QR) code payments. The simplest merchant account provider to get started with, Square is free to use except for pay-as-you-go transaction fees. Easy, low-cost, and flexible merchant services, combined with the best free POS software, makes Square the best value for new and small businesses. Besides being the best all-purpose merchant account, we also recommend Square as the best free merchant account and credit card payment app. While many of the other merchant services on our list are frequently featured in our guides, Square usually earns the top slot in multiple categories. As soon as you create your free Square account, you can accept credit card payments, record cash and check sales, process invoices, set up an online checkout or ordering system, and accept contactless payments. The real benefit of choosing Square as your merchant service provider is Square’s full suite of business management tools included in your free Square POS software, including customer management, online store, a virtual terminal, invoicing software, reporting, and more. Square Payment Processing Hardware Helcim: Best & Cheapest Merchant Services for Established Businesses is an all-in-one merchant account provider. Similar to Square, it comes with free sophisticated sales solutions, including a fully hosted online store, invoicing software, POS app, a mobile payment app, basic inventory tracking, hosted payment pages, and more. Like Payment Depot and Stax by Fattmerchant, Helcim offers interchange-plus pricing, which is great for businesses doing heavy volume. Unlike the others, it has no monthly fee and offers automated discounts as you scale. Helcim’s free software, interchange-plus pricing with no monthly fee, and transparent volume discounts make it the best and most affordable choice for established businesses. Competitive interchange-plus pricing, along with ecommerce tools, makes Helcim a great choice for retail businesses, especially those that want to sell online. However, Helcim does not work with high-risk businesses, such as cannabidiol (CBD) or vape shops. If you need a high-risk merchant account for your storefront, PaymentCloud might be your best choice. Helcim also has a strict approval process that favors established businesses. If you are just starting out, process infrequent payments, or are a seasonal merchant, consider choosing Square instead—it has no application or approval process. Payment Depot: Best Merchant Services With No Percentage Markup is a merchant service provider with a membership pricing model that offers payment processing at extremely competitive rates. One membership with Payment Depot includes interchange-plus pricing for card-present, online, virtual terminal, and mobile payments. Payment Depot is also one of two interchange-plus processors on this list that does not add a percentage markup—just a flat fee of 8 cents for card-present transactions and 15 cents for card-not-present transactions. Stax has a similar pricing model and only charges flat fees. However, Stax’s monthly fees are much higher, starting at $99 per month. This change also coincides with Stax’s acquisition of Payment Depot. While there have been no official press releases, the logo on Payment Depot’s website is updated and its Terms of Service now list Stax as the merchant service provider. Payment Depot’s flexible model with affordable pricing makes it one of the cheapest credit card processors for small established businesses, including retailers, restaurants, salons, auto shops, medical practices, and B2B companies. Payment Depot Hardware Payment Depot has a wide selection of card readers available, including mobile and countertop solutions from popular brands like Clover, Poynt, and SwipeSimple. Those hardware items have quote-based pricing. However, Payment Depot also offers free countertop terminals to qualifying customers as noted below. Chase Payment Solutions: Best Merchant Account Through a Bank (formerly Chase Merchant Services) offers merchant services that are a great alternative for any business looking to work with a traditional bank, especially if your business accounts are with Chase. Having Chase as both the processor and receiving bank in transactions can provide speed and security by removing the intermediary. Chase Business Checking customers really get the best value from using Chase as a merchant service provider. With a checking account, you can access Chase QuickAccept, a free mobile payments app that includes same-day deposits and dispute management. No application is necessary. Square is starting to move into banking services as well, and PayPal, of course, lets you deposit into your PayPal accounts. However, Chase is one of the largest processors in the US, and any business can apply to use its merchant services. Chase is one of the few direct processors that offer flat-rate fees for small businesses. Larger businesses can also negotiate competitive interchange-plus pricing, like you’d find with Payment Depot, Stax by Fattmerchant, or Helcim. Stax (Formerly Fattmerchant): Best for High-volume Billing & Invoicing is a popular merchant service provider with dedicated solutions for small and large businesses as well as SaaS platforms. Similar to Payment Depot, Stax offers membership-based interchange-plus pricing. However, Stax’s monthly fees are higher, starting at $99, and the pricing plans are targeted more toward growing small businesses processing at least $20,000 per month. Aside from targeting larger businesses, Stax is also different from Payment Depot and other traditional merchant accounts on this list because of the proprietary software options it provides. Stax offers invoicing, card-on-file payments, and recurring billing similar to Helcim, Stripe, and Square. What sets Stax apart are features like short message service (SMS) text-to-pay solutions, white-label customer portals, and robust reporting. These tools are ideal for growing businesses that primarily collect payments through online billing or invoicing, such as professional services. Dharma Merchant Services: Best for Transparent Pricing & Eco-friendly Business Practices is a merchant services provider that specializes in working with small businesses and is known for being very transparent and honest in its practices. Every single fee—even account closure fees—is listed on Dharma’s website. In addition to transparency and affordable pricing, Dharma is an eco-friendly company and, to date, has donated over $750,000 to nonprofits. Dharma offers low-cost interchange-plus pricing and only works with low-risk merchants processing at least $10,000 monthly. Merchants processing more than $100,000 or 5,000 transactions qualify for volume discounts, which are also available on Dharma’s website. There are also special rates for restaurants with low average tickets. Every Dharma account also includes a free MX Merchant account that includes a virtual terminal, mobile payment processing, online payment links, a customer database with card-on-file capabilities, and online reporting. Many other processors, including PayPal and Stax, charge extra monthly fees for access to features like virtual terminals, payment links, and card-on-file customer databases. PayPal: Best Merchant Services for Ecommerce & Occasional Sales is a household name offering user-friendly payment processing for online, mobile, and in-store sales. PayPal offers competitive flat-rate fees and is quick and easy to sign up for. It also has discounted rates for nonprofit organizations. Plus, adding PayPal as a payment option can increase online store conversions and reduce cart abandonment because shoppers don’t need to type in payment or shipping information. PayPal alone makes this distinction and is often used with other merchant accounts like those on our list. However, PayPal is not a traditional merchant account. This means business accounts can be flagged and frozen if the company deems anything suspicious, which is problematic for businesses relying on daily deposits. So, PayPal is a recommended option for low-volume and occasional sales or an additional payment option for online stores. Additionally, PayPal has many different programs, each with different transaction fees and monthly add-ons, so pricing is not always transparent. PayPal changes its pricing frequently. Although PayPal overhauled a lot of its pricing in 2021, it has adjusted its rates several times already in 2022. The rates in this guide were posted in August 2022 and went into effect in September 2022. Check the PayPal website for current pricing. Stripe: Best for Online Credit Card Processing & Integrations is a payment processor with sophisticated software and APIs ideal for online businesses that want to create a custom checkout solution. Stripe’s prebuilt integrations make it easy to connect a Stripe checkout to almost any website or software. Besides PayPal, it’s the easiest to integrate for online sales. One of the best features of Stripe is the number of different payment types it can work with. Accept ACH and e-check payments, WeChat, Klarna, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. Configure subscriptions, recurring billing, or one-time payments for different checkout needs such as per-seat pricing, metered billing, coupons, free trials, prorates, overages, and usage-based fees. You can also update expired or renewed customer card information automatically. Stripe is an industry-leading payment solution used by startups and Fortune 500 companies. It tops our list of best international merchant accounts due to its cross-border and multicurrency capabilities and compatibility with 135-plus currencies. While it has competitive pricing for businesses of all sizes, you’ll get the most value out of Stripe if you have developer resources to configure and maintain a custom checkout. This is especially true if you need to process in-person payments. While Stripe powers payment processing for popular small business software including Shopify, Lightspeed, and Wix, small businesses are better served by a plug-and-play payment processor for in-store or mobile sales. However, this may change in the future as Stripe continues to invest in its no-code and hardware products. QuickBooks Payments: Best for QuickBooks Users has a lot of strong features and good rates. If you regularly process over $7,500 a month, you can apply for a discount of up to 40% on transactions. The other processors on our list that offer discounts usually do so at a higher volume. QuickBooks also has a reduced rate for ACH transfers: 1% with a maximum of $10. Compare this to Square, which has 1% but a minimum of $1 and no maximum. However, you must have a QuickBooks account to use this service, which means you will pay at least $15 a month no matter how much you process in sales. Keep in mind, though, that even if you use a different processor and want QuickBooks for accounting, you’ll still be paying this monthly QuickBooks fee. Learn more with our review of QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks, along with many others on this list, rank among the best B2B payment solutions. It has Level 2 processing, which gets you cheaper rates for B2B transactions. It also has invoicing tools and lets you designate multiple accounts for deposits. Additionally, it has a longer deposit time than most on our list—usually two or three days. PaymentCloud: Best High-risk Merchant Account As a popular merchant service provider, specializes in high-risk accounts. If you are a high-risk business because of the type of products or services you sell or have poor credit, PaymentCloud could be a good fit, even if other merchant account providers have turned you down. Offering a hard-to-place program, PaymentCloud includes relationships with more than 10 banks and a step-by-step application process to help you submit all the documents needed to get approved by one of their partner banks. PaymentCloud does offer traditional merchant services in addition to high-risk account services. However, high-risk payment processing is what PaymentCloud is best known for. Many other merchant service providers refer high-risk businesses to PaymentCloud because of its excellent reputation in getting businesses approved. Methodology: How We Evaluated Merchant Services We considered dozens of processors, narrowing our selection down to 16 options. Then, we evaluated those 16 options across 22 data points divided into the categories of Pricing and Contract, Payment Types, Features, and Expert Score. From our evaluation, we selected the 10 top-scoring payment processors to feature in this guide. Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria: Calculate Estimated Fees Enter your typical monthly sales volume and average order value or ticket size to see how much you would pay each month with each processor, along with your effective rate: Note: These rates are only estimates and do not include software fees, chargebacks, and hardware fees, nor do they account for keyed-in payments. For this calculation, we used average Visa interchange rates for in-person and online credit transactions. The amount you pay will vary depending on your customer’s payment method, the type of transactions you process, and your specific agreement with your processor. Best Merchant Services Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Bottom Line Choosing the right merchant account provider can save your business lots of money in fees each month. The best payment processors are also easy to use, offer good value with business solutions, and integrate with popular software. Plus, merchant accounts should be transparent and reliable. If you’re launching a new venture or have sales volumes of less than $20,000 per month, you can’t go wrong with Square. Its all-in-one simplicity, low flat rates, and free POS business management tools make it practically unbeatable for most small business needs. Visit Square to create a free account. Want help navigating your merchant account application? Download our free merchant account application guide that walks you through the process, including tips for getting the lowest rates and contract clauses to watch out for. You May Also Like… Learn about average credit card processing fees and what to expect Compare three of the most popular payment processors for small businesses: Stripe vs Square vs PayPal See the best payment processors for restaurants and the leading retail credit card processing companies Read our guides to the top mobile payment processors and the best card readers

Looking for a high-quality, reasonably priced payment processing service that handles online sales and international currencies? Both Stripe and PayPal are excellent choices. We like Stripe for international sales and B2B businesses, while PayPal is great for small businesses, solopreneurs, and as an additional payment method to any website or online store. : Best for tech-savvy startups and growing ecommerce businesses, B2B sales, and international sales : Best for small or casual retailers and those needing an additional payment option Stripe vs PayPal Quick Comparison Compare Stripe vs PayPal fees. Enter an estimate of your monthly sales data in the calculator below: Stripe vs PayPal Calculator Using Stripe vs Using PayPal Key Differences Between Stripe & PayPal PayPal’s transaction fees are more complex compared to those of Stripe. Stripe charges a simple 2.7% + 5 cents for in person and 2.9% + 30 cents flat rate for online payments, vs PayPal’s fees, which range from 1.9% + 49 cents to 3.5% + 49 cents per transaction. Stripe offers volume discounts for businesses that process large volumes of transactions while PayPal does not. Stripe can be integrated to numerous point-of-sale (POS) systems while PayPal offers its own POS app, PayPal Zettle. While both offer pay-as-you-go and free plans, PayPal requires a $30 monthly fee for the use of its virtual terminal and recurring payments PayPal offers simple plug-and-play checkout solutions while Stripe requires some technical skill to add its checkout templates on your website. Both PayPal and Stripe offer micropayment transactions, however, PayPal comes with a built-in dynamic transaction fee method while you need to contact Stripe to sign up for its microtransaction program. PayPal offers instant fund access with PayPal balance while Stripe’s charges a fee for instant payouts. When to Use an Alternative If you run a small business that also makes in-person sales, you will be better off using an all-in-one merchant services solution like Square Payments. Like Stripe and PayPal, Square provides you with a host of tools to process online transactions but stands out because it includes a built-in, fully integrated ecommerce, mobile, and in-store POS features—all in a free plan. Here are the top Stripe and PayPal payment processing alternatives: Square’s flat-rate transaction fees are also one of the most competitive rates in the market today, and Square tops our list of best merchant services for small businesses and individuals. Find out how Square stacks up against Stripe and PayPal If you’re looking for a more specific solution, both Stripe and PayPal frequently make our lists of the following: Best B2B payment solutions Best free merchant accounts Best credit card processors for nonprofit Best for Affordability: Stripe We choose Stripe as the overall winner for affordability. Its payment processing fees are overall less expensive and easier to understand. PayPal, on the other hand, has a long list of differing payments for varying situations, plus different fees for individual countries. Why We Choose Stripe Stipe has a simpler, less expensive schedule of fees, discounts for high-volume sales and nonprofits, and lower chargeback fees. If you primarily handle online sales or need a full POS system, it’s the more economical choice. When to Choose PayPal For businesses with very basic POS needs, such as retailers at farmers markets, food trucks, or stores with limited inventories, the PayPal Zettle mobile app may have sufficient POS capability for free. For an advanced POS system, you’ll need to go to a third party, just like with Stripe. Learn more in our PayPal Zettle review. PayPal offers excellent rates for nonprofits and deserves consideration. However, the main reason to choose PayPal as a payment processor is if you want an affordable, trusted alternative for your customers. Best for Ecommerce Payments: Tied We called a tie for ecommerce payments between Stripe and PayPal. While both providers are focused primarily on online payment solutions, their best features are directed to different user types. When to Use Stripe If your online business regularly handles large-volume transactions for both local and international customers, such as B2B, Stripe is the better option. While it requires third-party integrations for ecommerce and multichannel tools, Stripe's advanced fraud protection measures ensure security for active businesses that constantly accept online payments. It also offers a simple flat rate for processing online transactions, and charges less for currency conversion compared to PayPal. When to Use PayPal PayPal is the better choice for smaller businesses, as well as those that sell occasionally, such as hobbyists or those participating in trade fairs. It provides more payment flexibility compared to Stripe, with Venmo and bitcoin on its list, plus built-in Buy Now, Pay Later and PayPal Credit options to encourage more customers to buy (Stripe integrates with Afterpay to offer its own Buy Now, Pay Later payment method). Users with only personal accounts on PayPal can even create a seller profile, which can be used to sell products on social media. When to Use an Alternative: Shopify If you plan on extending your ecommerce business and increasing revenue through multichannel sales, we recommend using Shopify instead. It is an all-in-one ecommerce solution that offers payments and a free POS solution. It is also fully integrated, so your inventory is automatically synced whether you process a sale in person, via mobile, over social media, or on your website. Read our Shopify ecommerce and Shopify POS reviews. Best for Micropayments: PayPal *Must contact Stripe to apply for a custom microtransaction rate. PayPal offers a dynamic transaction fee method for accepting micropayment transactions. On the other hand, Stripe does not publicly disclose a microtransaction program, but if you contact Stripe Support, you may be eligible for a custom micropayment rate, which is typically quoted at 5% + 5 cents for transactions under $5. Another drawback to Stripe is that opting into a custom rate, even for microtransactions, means that you will be charged 5 cents for every attempted transaction that goes through the Stripe Radar security program. These fees are waived for businesses using Stripe’s standard pricing. Why We Choose PayPal PayPal is our choice for micropayments, mainly because it is more upfront with its micropayment fees. Businesses that directly open a business account with PayPal are automatically enrolled in its dynamic micropayment pricing scheme. This means you receive the more favorable rate between micropayment fee or standard commercial transaction fee for every transaction. PayPal also has more methods for accepting micropayments, supports peer-to-peer transactions, and provides easier access to your funds. With Dynamic Micropayment pricing, merchants who have frequent transactions valued at $26.67 or lower get better rates (Source: PayPal) When to Use Stripe Based on the information provided on Stripe’s website, microtransaction payment is not available for all types of markets, and it’s best that you contact Stripe Support for more information. However, you will likely get better rates with Stripe if you have an active business that processes micropayments regularly. With Stripe, you can also batch multiple payments from a single person into one charge to mitigate transaction fees, which could be useful if you are accepting lots of micropayments from a small number of people. Best for Invoicing & Recurring Billing: Stripe Stripe stands out for invoicing and recurring payments. The flat rate plus service fee is still slightly lower than that of PayPal, which also charges $10 for the use of its recurring billing service, and another $30 to access recurring billing tools, on top of a gateway fee. Stripe accepts ACH debit and credit payments with fees ranging from $1–$5 per transaction, while PayPal e-check fees for invoices cost 3.49% + 49 cents, capped at $300 per transaction. Why We Choose Stripe Stripe is our clear winner for invoicing and recurring billing features. Aside from the lower fees, it also offers a variety of customization options for one-time and recurring transactions. Stripe features a simple invoicing tool that you can set up from your dashboard, or you can use its API for more advanced features that allow you to automate the collection, tracking, and reconciliation of your invoices. For subscription-based businesses, you can use Stripe Billing, which lets you create a variety of subscription models—whether it’s per-seat or metered, flat rate, or usage-based. You can customize it further by adding coupons, free trials, prorations, add-ons, and other options. Once your customer selects their preferred plan, you can automatically generate a corresponding invoice with Stripe invoicing. When to Use PayPal Use PayPal if you need to send out local invoices on occasion and if you prefer receiving e-check payments over ACH. PayPal’s tools are easy to use, and the PayPal for Business app lets you create professional invoices and schedule send-out requests for recurring transactions from your mobile phone with a few clicks. It creates a link, which you can then send to your customers via email or messaging. PayPal lets you create invoices from the PayPal for Business app. It also shows you a list of your customers, their transaction history, and the status of their invoices. (Source: PayPal) Best for Security: Stripe Both Stripe and PayPal offer significant security for online payments, but Stripe provides more customization, including identity verification. Dispute fees for Stripe are refundable and lower compared to PayPal. On the other hand, PayPal only charges dispute fees for transactions that are not processed through a buyer’s PayPal account. Why We Choose Stripe Stripe is clearly miles ahead when it comes to online payments security and has built a strong infrastructure for monitoring tools to protect your transactions. It provides advanced machine-learning fraud detection features and allows you to customize your acceptable payment risk level, so you won’t miss out on sales that regular fraud monitoring tools might rule as suspicious and block the transaction. Real-time risk assessment is also central in Stripe’s chargeback protection features. Its Dynamic 3D Secure tool is built in on every checkout page and screens medium-risk buyers to protect any size of business from potential disputes. When to Use PayPal Consider PayPal if your customers are primarily domestic and mostly PayPal account holders as well. This ensures that your transactions are covered by PayPal’s Seller Protection policy. Also, while Stripe provides more sophisticated payment security features, PayPal is still one of the most trusted security seals in the payments industry, making it an ideal choice if you’re trying to boost sales. Best for Ease of Use & Setup: PayPal Signing up for Stripe and PayPal is free, and both can be set up in minutes. However, you will need some level of technical skills if you want to thoroughly take advantage of Stripe’s payment and security features. PayPal customer access to support is also broader (though you may encounter difficulties reaching a live person over the phone) and lists thousands of integrations for a variety of functions. Why We Choose PayPal PayPal provides you with a more rounded business solution that you can set up in minutes, with a business app, POS software, and hardware options for selling online and in person. This means you need fewer third-party integrations, and if you do, PayPal offers plug-and-play integrations, so you can easily add PayPal checkout to any website and online marketplace. While PayPal’s phone support is limited, it has an active seller community that provides almost every answer for using PayPal, along with access to customer service via text messaging and social media. It also has a long list of integrations, including payments, business management, operations, ecommerce, and marketplaces. When to Use Stripe Stripe is the better option if you want a more customized payment solution for your business. B2B businesses that deal with large volumes of international transactions will require a more sophisticated fraud detection system to minimize risk and provide maximum seller protection—and Stripe provides this. It also offers a number of plug-and-play integrations, including access to its invoicing and recurring billing tools. Stripe is also compatible with many popular POS and ecommerce software. Best for Cash Flow & Money Management: PayPal While Stripe’s deposit speed is faster and costs less to opt for instant payout, we have to give it to PayPal for its broader range of money management solutions. PayPal also provides a number of alternatives for users to access their funds directly from the platform. Why We Choose PayPal We considered PayPal’s ability to provide its users with a means of accessing their funds instantly from their PayPal account. While it takes PayPal three business days to transfer funds to your card or bank account, you can still use your PayPal balance to make payments online. And, if you sign up for a PayPal Debit Card, you can earn rewards while being able to spend the funds in your PayPal account for in-person purchases or withdrawing money from any ATM that accepts Mastercard. PayPal also offers two different financing options for business account holders: PayPal Working Capital and PayPal Business Loan. Both allow you to tailor your terms based on your requirements, and then PayPal will calculate the repayment amount and fixed fee. When to Use Stripe Similar to PayPal’s Working Capital, Stripe offers financing options for active merchant accounts. While its website does not list the maximum loan amount possible, the examples show a loanable amount of up to $25,000. Stripe also indicates that each loan is payable for up to 18 months, meaning Stripe Capital is best suited for businesses that need short-term financing. Best for Integrations: Stripe While PayPal is integrated into just about any retail application you can think of, Stripe takes the lead for integrations because of its app marketplace and developer tools. Why Stripe Is Best for Integrations Stripe offers over 700 partner apps, and it’s very easy to find them on its website. You can search for apps by name or use the menus to narrow them down by industry, need, and location. You’ll find popular apps like Salesforce, Harvest, Shopify, QuickBooks, and Eventzilla. Can’t find the app you need? Stripe offers excellent API and SDK support with documentation, video tutorials, and live chat with developers through Freenode IRC. Build, test, and manage your integration from your terminal through its CLI. Use the Visual Studio Code extension to generate sample code, view API request logs, forward events to your application, and use Stripe within your editor. When to Use PayPal Taking the lead for retail is PayPal, with integrations to thousands of shopping and mobile applications, from eBay to Facebook. However, that’s from the consumer’s POV. Businesses will have a harder time finding integrations when looking from the PayPal page. The app center is focused on PayPal apps, with only a handful of third-party apps listed. When using the search bar, it does not pull up apps that we know work with PayPal—QuickBooks, for example. It may be easier to look at your other software and see if it has a PayPal API. PayPal has native apps for adding pay buttons, processing subscriptions, invoicing, or accepting money casually. It also has native apps for digital advertising, messaging customers, offering digital gift cards and discounts, and fundraising, to name a few. It even has developer programs for marketplaces and enterprise-level businesses. It offers documentation on existing APIs, a sandbox for development and testing, and a community for support. Live tech support is by ticket only. Stripe vs PayPal Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What does Stripe do differently than PayPal? Stripe is known for its ability to provide a range of customization options for different types of payment methods. While it does support simple hosted payment links, Stripe stands out for its level of customization, including payment security and fraud detection features. This is made possible through higher-level coding, which Stripe makes available through APIs. Is Stripe or PayPal better for small businesses? PayPal and Stripe are outstanding choices for online payment processing. However, PayPal is ideal for low-volume, seasonal, small businesses. It charges cheaper in-person transaction fees and supports peer-to-peer payments like Venmo. Stripe is the better option for merchants with regular monthly sales, especially for B2Bs. Is Stripe cheaper than PayPal? Stripe is cheaper than PayPal for processing international payments and accepting online transactions, which makes it the best option for B2Bs. Bottom Line In the debate of PayPal vs Stripe, there is no clear winner. However, even if you have your own payment processing service or choose to go with Stripe, PayPal makes a good addition because it is a trusted service, expands your payment processing capabilities, and has no additional fees if it’s not used regularly. You May Also Like… Learn how to accept payments online Read more about merchant accounts and how they work