Payment Fee Calculator
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Example: $10,000/month, $50 average sale, 50% in person
| Processor | Estimated monthly cost | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Helcim estimate | $254.00 | 2.54% |
| Stripe | $315.00 | 3.15% |
| Clover not re-verified | $324.95 | 3.25% |
| Square (Free plan) | $340.00 | 3.40% |
| PayPal | $347.00 | 3.47% |
Estimates use standard published US rates for domestic cards and exclude hardware, add-ons, international cards, chargebacks and taxes. Your actual cost depends on your card mix, plan and contract. Copy a link to this calculation
How the calculation works
For each processor we apply its in-person rate to the in-person part of your volume and its online rate to the rest:
monthly cost = (in-person volume × in-person %) + (in-person transactions × in-person fixed fee) + (online volume × online %) + (online transactions × online fixed fee) + monthly fee
Number of transactions = volume ÷ average transaction size, rounded to the nearest whole transaction. Effective rate = monthly cost ÷ monthly volume.
Rates used
| Processor | In person | Online | Monthly fee | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helcim | 1.93% + $0.08 | 2.49% + $0.25 | $0 | Official pricing |
| Interchange-plus. Estimated average: published markup (0.40% + $0.08 in-person, 0.50% + $0.25 online, under $50K/month) plus our assumed average interchange. | ||||
| Square (Free plan) | 2.6% + $0.15 | 3.3% + $0.30 | $0 | Official pricing |
| Flat rate. Online includes invoices. | ||||
| Stripe | 2.7% + $0.05 | 2.9% + $0.30 | $0 | Official pricing |
| Flat rate, domestic cards. In-person via Stripe Terminal. | ||||
| PayPal | 2.29% + $0.09 | 3.49% + $0.49 | $0 | Official pricing |
| Online: PayPal Checkout rate (standard card payments are 2.99% + $0.49). In-person: QR code rate. | ||||
| Clover | 2.3% + $0.10 | 3.5% + $0.10 | from $14.95 | Official pricing |
| Commonly published direct rates; could not be re-verified automatically. Software plans start around $14.95/month; rates and contracts vary by seller. | ||||
Assumptions and limits
- Helcim is an estimate. Helcim charges interchange plus a published markup. Interchange depends on the cards your customers use, so we assume an average of about 1.53% for in-person and 1.99% for online card payments. Businesses with many rewards or business cards will pay more; businesses with many debit cards will pay less.
- Flat-rate processors (Square, Stripe, PayPal, Clover) charge the same rate regardless of card type, so their figures are not estimates, but they exclude optional add-ons.
- Monthly software fees are only included where a plan is required to process payments (Clover). Optional paid plans, such as Square Plus, are not included.
- Rates for Helcim, Square, Stripe and PayPal were last checked against the official pricing pages on September 30, 2026. Clover's rates could not be re-verified automatically; confirm them with Clover or your reseller.
Read our full methodology or compare features in the comparison table. Found a wrong rate? Email contact@payclarify.com.