Verified June 2026

What Payment Gateways Actually Cost in 2026

Independent reference for online payment-gateway pricing. 22 vendors with published rates, 8 vendors quote-only. No inferred numbers. No affiliate links. Sorted cheapest first, with the spread, the chargeback fee, and the source page on every row.

Cheapest published rate per vendor, sorted cheapest first
Verified June 2026
3.3x spread between cheapest priced gateway (Razorpay 0.99%) and dearest priced (Klarna 3.29%). 12 vendors do not publish a rate at all.
Apple Pay0.00%No incremental merchant fee, underlyin...Google Pay0.00%No incremental merchant fee, underlyin...Wise Business0.00%Receive USD via ACH, no fee on most ro...Helcim0.15%Interchange-plus margin, $1M to $5M mo...Razorpay0.99%UPI QR codes (India)GoCardless1.00%Standard plan, domestic UK BACS, cappe...BlueSnap1.50%UK / EU Quick Start rateMollie1.80%EEA consumer cards (EUR)Shopify Payments2.25%Online card, Plus plan (indicative)Clover2.30%Retail in-person, Standard planSquare2.40%In-person tap/dip, Square Premium planBraintree (PayPal)2.59%Standard cardsPayPal2.89%Advanced Credit and Debit CardStripe2.90%Online card, US standardAuthorize.net2.90%All-in-One planAmazon Pay2.90%Web and mobile, domesticKlarna3.29%Negotiated rate, $5M+ annual revenueAdyenQuote requiredWorldpay (FIS)Quote requiredCheckout.comQuote requiredStaxQuote requiredPayment DepotQuote required2Checkout (Verifone)Quote requiredAfterpay (Block)Quote requiredNMIQuote requiredChase Payment SolutionsQuote requiredElavonQuote requiredGlobal PaymentsQuote requiredFiserv (First Data)Quote required
Published rateQuote-only vendorCheapest priced gatewayDearest priced gatewaySource: vendor pricing pages, see /methodology.
Direct answer
For a US merchant accepting online cards, the published headline rate ranges from Helcim interchange-plus at 0.15% margin (above $1M monthly volume, on top of an interchange anchor near 1.65%) to Klarna BNPL at 5.99% + $0.30. The most frequently quoted flat-rate anchor is Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30 for online cards, 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH Direct Debit, and $15 per dispute. Eight vendors (Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Fiserv, Chase Payment Solutions, Elavon, Global Payments, NMI) do not publish a rate at all; we flag them and do not infer one.

Master rate table

Every vendor in scope, sorted by cheapest published rate. Quote-only vendors are grouped at the bottom with a visible badge. Each row links to the vendor pricing page and to our dedicated cost page for that vendor.

Master rate table, all vendors
VendorStatusPricing modelCheapest published rateMonthly feeChargeback feeSource
Apple PayPublishedWallet pass-through0.00%
No incremental merchant fee, underlying card rate applies
$0Not publishedPricing page
Google PayPublishedWallet pass-through0.00%
No incremental merchant fee, underlying card rate applies
$0Not publishedPricing page
Wise BusinessPublishedPer method0.00%
Receive USD via ACH, no fee on most routes
$0Not publishedPricing page
HelcimPublishedInterchange-plus0.15%
Interchange-plus margin, $1M to $5M monthly tier, in-person
$0$15Pricing page
RazorpayPublishedFlat rate0.99%
UPI QR codes (India)
$0Not publishedPricing page
GoCardlessPublishedTiered / plan1.00%
Standard plan, domestic UK BACS, capped at GBP 4
$0Not publishedPricing page
BlueSnapPublishedFlat rate1.50%
UK / EU Quick Start rate
Not publishedNot publishedPricing page
MolliePublishedPer method1.80%
EEA consumer cards (EUR)
$0Not publishedPricing page
Shopify PaymentsPublishedTiered / plan2.25%
Online card, Plus plan (indicative)
$39.00$15Pricing page
CloverPublishedTiered / plan2.30%
Retail in-person, Standard plan
$14.95Not publishedPricing page
SquarePublishedFlat rate2.40%
In-person tap/dip, Square Premium plan
$0$0Pricing page
Braintree (PayPal)PublishedFlat rate2.59%
Standard cards
$0$15Pricing page
PayPalPublishedFlat rate2.89%
Advanced Credit and Debit Card
$0$20Pricing page
StripePublishedFlat rate2.90%
Online card, US standard
$0$15Pricing page
Authorize.netPublishedTiered / plan2.90%
All-in-One plan
$25.00Not publishedPricing page
Amazon PayPublishedFlat rate2.90%
Web and mobile, domestic
$0$20Pricing page
KlarnaPublishedFlat rate3.29%
Negotiated rate, $5M+ annual revenue
$0$15Pricing page
2Checkout (Verifone)Quote onlyTiered / planQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
AdyenQuote onlyInterchange-plusQuote required$0Not publishedPricing page
Afterpay (Block)Quote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
Chase Payment SolutionsQuote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
Checkout.comQuote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
ElavonQuote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
Fiserv (First Data)Quote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
Global PaymentsQuote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
NMIQuote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
Payment DepotQuote onlyMembershipQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
StaxQuote onlySubscriptionQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
Worldpay (FIS)Quote onlyQuote onlyQuote requiredNot publishedNot publishedPricing page
Sorted by cheapest published rate, quote-only vendors grouped at the bottom. We do not infer rates for vendors that have not published one.

Cost estimator at your volume

Pick a volume preset or enter your own numbers. The estimator uses each vendor's cheapest published online-card tier and the vendor's published chargeback fee. Quote-only vendors are excluded from the estimate and listed separately, because we do not infer numbers.

Cost estimator (illustrative example, not a real company)
Volume preset
VendorMonthly costEffective %Annual cost
GoCardless$707.061.41%$8484.71
Razorpay$1060.002.12%$12,720
Helcim$1092.352.18%$13,108
Mollie$1118.822.24%$13,426
Shopify Payments$1444.592.89%$17,335
Square$1686.473.37%$20,238
Braintree (PayPal)$1687.353.37%$20,248
Stripe$1730.593.46%$20,767
Amazon Pay$1745.293.49%$20,944
PayPal$1852.063.70%$22,225
Clover$1883.773.77%$22,605
Klarna$3275.596.55%$39,307
16 vendors do not publish a rate and are excluded from the estimate (Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Fiserv, Chase Payment Solutions, Elavon, Global Payments, NMI, Stax, Payment Depot, 2Checkout, Afterpay). See the quote-only vendor index.

Estimate uses each vendor's cheapest published online-card tier plus the vendor's published chargeback fee, applied to your inputs. For interchange-plus vendors we add a 1.65% interchange anchor on top of the published margin. International share applies a 1.5% uplift on that portion of volume. Illustrative only, not a real company.

Three pricing models, in 30 seconds

Pricing model
Flat rate

One published percentage and a fixed fee per transaction. Stripe, PayPal Advanced Card, Square, Braintree.

Best for: Best under ~$80K monthly volume. Predictable, no negotiation.

Pricing model
Interchange-plus

Pass-through interchange plus a published margin. Helcim publishes margins by volume; Adyen and Checkout.com keep theirs quote-only.

Best for: Best above ~$80K monthly volume, especially card-present or low-AOV mix.

Pricing model
Subscription / membership

Monthly fee in exchange for pass-through interchange and a fixed cents add-on. Stax, Payment Depot.

Best for: Best above ~$80K monthly volume with predictable mix; do the break-even maths.

Common questions

How much does a payment gateway cost?

Published headline rates for online cards in 2026 run from 2.25% + $0.30 (Shopify Payments Plus, indicative) to 2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe, PayPal Advanced Card, BlueSnap US, Amazon Pay) for flat-rate gateways, and from 0.15% to 0.50% margin on top of interchange for published interchange-plus (Helcim). Eight major vendors do not publish a rate.

What is the cheapest payment gateway?

For high-volume merchants, Helcim's published interchange-plus margins are the cheapest gateway with a verifiable number on the open web (0.15% margin above $1M monthly). For low-volume merchants the answer depends on basket size: Square Free has the lowest in-person rate among flat-rate vendors at 2.6% + $0.15, while Stripe and PayPal Advanced Card share the cheapest standard online-card rate at 2.89% to 2.9%.

What is the average payment processing fee?

Across the published rates in our matrix, the simple mean flat-rate online card is around 2.85% + $0.30. The effective rate a merchant actually pays depends on card mix, dispute rate, international share, and any cross-border / FX uplift, and is usually 30 to 80 bps higher than the headline.

What does 'quote only' mean?

The vendor does not publish a rate card on their open public website. To get a number you have to start a sales conversation. We flag every such vendor on every page they appear on, and we do not infer rates from secondary sources or industry estimates.

Last verified June 2026. Next review September 2026. Rates change without notice; always confirm directly with the vendor before signing a contract.