5 Best Payment Processors for Small Business in 2026

If you want to accept card payments at your business, you’ll need a payment processor.

Below, I’ve listed the top solutions for small businesses. I rated these companies across more than 30 data points to make sure they meet most businesses’ needs.

All of them have these features in common:

If a payment processing company has the features listed above, it’s usually a solid option. But the best fit for you depends on your business’s industry, sales volume and how you typically accept payments (e.g., online or in-person).

Here are the best payment processors and where they stand out.

Square’s free plan includes basic reporting, an online store and low-stock alerts. But the Plus plan is a better value for most businesses (including the brewery). It has a significantly larger feature set and less expensive processing rates.

What I like about Square

Supports businesses in a variety of industries. Square has different versions of its POS software for businesses in retail, beauty, services, and food and beverage. It’s not as detailed as more industry-specific competitors. But it’s cheaper, and you still get some customization.

For example, its food and beverage plans include item and menu management. And all of its beauty and services plans feature an online booking page. Its core offerings — like sales reports, invoicing and online ordering — are also generic enough to work across multiple industries.

Easy to use. I helped set up my husband’s brewery menu in Square, and I work with it behind the bar. The system overall is easy to navigate, and it takes just a minute or two to add new items.

Like with any POS system, some aspects could be more intuitive. It’s easy, for example, to accidentally add discounts to every item on an order instead of just one. Other than that, I haven’t heard any complaints from staff members. I’d consider that a win.

What I don’t like about Square

Free plan processing rates aren’t competitive. Square bumped up its free plan’s processing rates in early 2025. In-person rates rose from 2.6% plus 10 cents to 2.6% plus 15 cents. Online rates jumped from 2.9% plus 30 cents to 3.3% plus 30 cents. The POS system’s free plan and its formerly competitive rates made it a no-brainer for thrifty businesses. Now, it’s a harder sell.

I’m still including Square on this list because its Plus plan meets my rate benchmarks. That said, that plan comes with an extra $49 monthly fee. You do get more for your money. But other flat-rate processors like Stripe and PayPal don’t upsell you to get what are essentially industry-standard processing costs.

Stripe Stripe Payments

5.0

NerdWallet rating How is this rating determined?

Stripe is a powerhouse when it comes to online selling. Enterprise companies like Spotify, PepsiCo, Comcast and Instacart use it. But it’s also a great tool for small-business owners. Most of the local small businesses I notice using Stripe are service-based and accept payments mainly online. They include my wedding photographer and local climbing gym.

It’s rare for a product to be able to support such a wide range of businesses and still remain affordable. Yet Stripe does. It has no monthly fee, and online processing costs 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction.

Stripe’s customization options also make it an especially versatile option for online businesses. You can build your own checkout flow from scratch or integrate Stripe’s flow into an existing website. The process is as easy or complex as you want it to be.

What I like about Stripe

Variety of online checkout options. Stripe gives businesses lots of flexibility for accepting online payments. You can use its prebuilt payment form, send payment links or build your own custom checkout experience. This makes it ideal for both experienced coders and business owners who just want to get their site up and running.

You can choose from more than 100 online payment methods, too. These include multiple buy now, pay later options, crypto and standard digital wallet payments.

Global sales support. Stripe supports cross-border payments in 195 countries and in more than 135 currencies. This is huge for online businesses trying to expand their customer base. Just know that it costs an extra 1.5% per transaction to process international card payments.

Stripe also integrates with international shipping solutions. One of those is Parcelcraft, which gives you access to more than 60 carriers around the world.

What I don’t like about Stripe

Expensive subscription management software. You need to subscribe to Stripe’s billing management software to set up subscription payments for customers. This costs an extra 0.7% of your billing volume. Paired with its standard online rate (2.9% plus 30 cents), that means each subscription transaction actually costs 3.6% plus 30 cents.

Instead of paying a percentage of sales, you could also opt to pay a monthly fee for subscriptions. But those fees are steep, starting at $620 per month. This option also involves a one-year contract. That means you’re obligated to pay an extra $7,440 per year at a minimum. Competitors, like Helcim, charge just 0.4% extra for subscription billing.

PayPal PayPal

4.9

NerdWallet rating How is this rating determined?

PayPal has been a household name among both businesses and consumers for years. Its highlights include free POS software, a $29 card reader and low in-person processing rates. Combine these and you have a very affordable payment system for selling in-person.

It’s especially ideal for solopreneurs who mainly use portable card readers. PayPal comes with enough features for these small retailers, but not too many that you’ll feel overwhelmed. The basics include sales reports, inventory tracking and accounting software integrations.

Established brick-and-mortar businesses often need more support than this. That could mean in-house payroll, marketing tools or advanced inventory. PayPal doesn’t offer these add-ons.

What I like about PayPal

Low in-person processing rates. PayPal’s in-person processing fees come in at 2.29% plus 9 cents. That’s a lower percentage rate and flat fee than most of its competitors offer — even in their top-tier plans.

Brand recognition. PayPal has over 430 million active consumer and merchant accounts. If that doesn’t render it ubiquitous, I don’t know what does. Customers seem to trust the brand and feel comfortable interacting with it. This is a plus. Credit card data is sensitive, and customers should feel rest assured you’re processing it securely.

What I don’t like about PayPal

Expensive to accept PayPal payments. You would think PayPal wants businesses to accept more PayPal payments from customers. But those cost a hefty 3.49% plus 49 cents per transaction. Compare that rate to the costs of taking payments between Venmo accounts (a PayPal product). Businesses pay just 1.9% plus 10 cents for those.

Businesses can accept online card payments via PayPal for better rates. It charges anywhere from 2.89% plus 29 cents to 2.99% plus 49 cents per online card transaction.

I’d be willing to bet all the add-ons give customers decision fatigue, too. You think you’re getting a great deal on online processing, but that’s not necessarily the case if you add on services like chargeback protection.

For example, PayPal’s Expanded Checkout functionality charges 2.89% plus 29 cents per online card transaction. Optional chargeback protection tacks on 0.4%, though. Now, your grand total is 3.29% plus 29 cents per purchase.

Helcim Helcim

5.0

NerdWallet rating How is this rating determined?

Unlike the payment processors above, Helcim uses interchange-plus pricing instead of a flat-rate model. Interchange fees vary from one transaction to the next. They can be more or less depending on which payment method and type of card a customer uses.

For lower-volume businesses, Helcim’s pricing might not be worth the hassle. Interchange-plus can be complicated and make it difficult to predict your monthly processing costs.

Plus, Helcim doesn’t include as many add-ons as its competitors. You can’t upgrade POS plans either. So while we recommend it for high-volume businesses, we don’t recommend it for complex businesses that need advanced inventory tracking or staff management tools.

What I like about Helcim

Automatic volume discounts. Helcim doesn’t make you request volume discounts like some other payment processors. It automatically applies them to your account once you begin processing more than $50,000 in card sales each month.

New additions at no cost. Helcim released a feature called Payment Extension in January 2026. Usually when companies roll out new capabilities, they come with extra fees. That’s not the case with Helcim’s tool.

Payment Extension is a browser extension that lets you use Helcim to process payments in other business software programs. For instance, you could send an invoice to a customer from within QuickBooks Online and process the payment through Helcim. I haven’t seen other companies doing this — and the fact that it’s free (minus standard processing fees) is even cooler.

On top of that, Helcim’s free POS software includes an online ordering page, inventory management and customer tracking.

What I don’t like about Helcim

Limited hardware options. Helcim only offers a handheld terminal and a credit card reader. You can download the POS software to a tablet or computer for increased functionality. But there are no countertop POS systems for brick-and-mortar spaces.

Finix Finix

4.9

NerdWallet rating How is this rating determined?

Finix earns high marks in lots of categories. It doesn’t require long-term contracts, and it offers free trial periods. Finix also has 24/7 emergency support and pairs each business with a dedicated implementation specialist. However, its pricing model isn’t for everyone.

Finix pairs a sizable $250 monthly fee (it’s $79 for NerdWallet readers) with very low interchange-plus rates. This is cost-effective for larger businesses in the long run, but not necessarily for very small ones. That’s why we recommend it for growing, high-volume businesses.

What I like about Finix

Personalized approach. Finix stands out as a top choice for quickly growing small businesses because of its personalized approach. After chatting with some of its representatives, it seems like it may be more willing to consider your business’s evolution than other big-name processors. Maybe that means lower processing rates as your volume increases. Obviously there are no guarantees, but I got this impression from the representatives.

Low interchange-plus rates. Finix charges a monthly fee for its payment processing services. This makes it seem expensive on the surface. But its lower interchange-plus fees could make up for it.

For example, you don’t pay a percentage of each transaction with Finix. Instead, it charges 8 cents per card-present purchase. Helcim’s base rate is 0.4% plus 8 cents for in-person transactions. That makes Finix a better deal than Helcim if you process more than $19,750 in in-person transactions each month.

What I don’t like about Finix

No direct accounting software integrations. Finix’s team told me in 2025 that out-of-the-box accounting software integrations are in the works. But they haven’t released them yet. This makes Finix a little less approachable for businesses without coding expertise.