Helcim vs Square: Which Payment Processor Is Best?

Helcim and Square are both excellent merchant accounts that often place high on our evaluations for multiple uses. Helcim is best known for its affordable interchange-plus rates, no monthly fees, and invoicing, point of sale, and ecommerce tools.

Square has fixed-rate pricing but a premium POS system, top-notch free ecommerce and invoicing, and a whole range of additional tools to grow with you.

We compare Square vs Helcim in multiple categories, but for use cases, we suggest the following:

• Helcim: Best for midsize to large businesses with high volume or B2B sales that want a strong payment processor with excellent rates
• Square: Best for startups and small businesses needing a strong POS and all-in-one solution for multiple business needs

Helcim VS Square Quick Comparison

*User scores are averaged from multiple third-party user review sites.

You’ll find both Helcim and Square in our lists for:

• Best merchant services
• Best payment gateways
• Best retail payment processors
• Best online payment processors
• Cheapest credit card processing companies
• Best free merchant accounts

Alternatives

Best for Pricing & Contract Terms: Square

Helcim says that its average rates are 1.8% + 8 cents for in-person processing and 2.4% + 25 cents for online. Like Square, it offers free POS, online tools, and invoicing, but its interchange-plus pricing is generally cheaper. It also reduces rates as your volume increases, making it even more affordable as you do more business.

While Helcim’s fees are lower than Square’s, Square rated better overall for pricing because its hardware is less expensive—in fact, the first card reader is free. Square also offers POS systems that are cheaper, while Helcim requires a computer or tablet. Finally, Square does not charge for chargebacks up to $250 per month, which is generally sufficient for small businesses.

Most Supported Payment Types: Helcim

Helcim earned a perfect score for payment types, offering everything on our list. Of particular note is the Level 2 and 3 payment processing, which makes it a superior choice to Square for B2B merchants. It also handles cross-border payments, which makes it a better choice if you are selling in a different country, such as at an international trade show.

One area where Square has an advantage over Helcim is that it supports buy now, pay later sales through Afterpay. While the fees are higher than regular transaction fees, it’s a great incentive for retailers to encourage patrons to spend more. Square also features greater ecommerce integrations than Helcim and is offered in more countries. However, it does not have cross-border payment functionality. You can only accept payments in your home country—including international payments, if needed.

Best Features: Square

Helcim vs Square Expert Score: Tied

We determined the expert score based on our own experience of ease of use, affordability, and transparency of pricing—all of which both Helcim and Square did well on. We also considered the number and ease of integrations and what real-world users had to say about the services as recorded in third-party user review sites like Capterra and G2.

Helcim, like Square, earned a perfect mark for pricing and transparency. Unlike other interchange-plus merchant services, Helcim does not charge a monthly fee nor does it require a contract. We found the software overall very easy to use, and Helcim has remarkably few complaints for issues like held funds.

It does not offer many integrations, particularly when compared to Square, but it has a strong API for creating your own, and it offers excellent ready-made tools for accepting payments.

Helcim also fell behind Square in popularity because it does have an approval process (one reason why it has fewer held-fund issues), which means it has fewer users.

Its user-review score is slightly lower than Square’s (4.29 vs 4.69 out of 5). People complained about the card terminal, and one customer mentioned a steep learning curve for the software. However, most people praised the customer support and overall product.

Square’s easy-to-use POS and ecommerce tools and transparent pricing make it a favorite with us as well as with small business owners. You’ll find it on many of our best-of lists. Real-world users gave it 4.69 out of 5 averages over multiple review sites. They praise the ease of use and flexibility of the system.

Square also has a plethora of integrations for all aspects of business, although its score, like Helcim’s, was not perfect here because other merchant services (like Stripe) are far better for integrating with other software.

Square lost points because it has a higher number of complaints about held funds and similar issues. Unlike Helcim, it does not vet new customers, so this can lead to issues in the early months or if there are sudden changes in your sales.

Methodology: How We Compared Helcim and Square

Helcim and Square both underwent extensive testing for our list of best merchant services providers. For that list, we evaluate each product for what it offers, ease of use, real-world user response, and more. We compare pricing for methods, fees, terms, and rates. Then, we consider how different products work for individual use cases and types of merchants.

Click through the tabs below for our overall merchant account evaluation criteria:

Helcim vs Square Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is interchange-plus pricing?

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How is Helcim better than Square?

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What does Square offer that Helcim does not?

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Bottom Line

When it comes to Helcim vs Square, the real issue is what you need. Helcim has a reasonably strong toolset for sales and interchange rates that are generally lower than what you’ll get from Square. It’s best for high-volume sales and medium and large companies. Square, on the other hand, has somewhat higher fees, but a first-rate POS system with lots of integrations and additions, from appointments to payroll, that make it great for the small business wanting a complete package.