Roundup
The best payment processors for small business in 2026
There is no single best payment processor, only the best one for how you sell. A café, a SaaS company, a Shopify store and a consultant sending invoices need different things, and the cheapest rate on paper is not always the cheapest processor once monthly plans, payout fees and international cards are counted. Here are eleven options, judged on the same four questions, with Anytime Capital Payments included and the cases where another pick is better named plainly.
Updated October 2026. Figures from each company's published fees, terms and filings, and the public sources named on this page.
What is the best payment processor for a small business?
It depends on where you sell. For online payments, invoices and links without a developer, Anytime Capital Payments charges 2.75% + 30¢ with no monthly fee (2.5% + 30¢ for the first 30 days), pays out instantly to a business account and puts employee cards and global payouts on the same balance. Stripe is the pick when you need the broadest API. Square and Clover win at a counter, Shopify Payments wins on a Shopify store, Helcim has the lowest blended rate for many small businesses, and Adyen, Checkout.com and Worldpay suit enterprises that negotiate interchange++.
How we judged them
All-in cost on a typical sale
The percentage, the fixed fee and any monthly plan together, on the sale sizes you actually take. A low percentage with a 49¢ fixed fee is expensive on a $10 sale.
How fast you can use the money
Payout schedules run from instant to three business days or more, and instant payouts often cost 1.5% to 1.95% of the amount.
What works without a developer
Payment links, invoices and in-person payments from a dashboard, or an API project before the first sale.
What the price does not include
International cards, currency conversion, disputes and minimum invoices, which can cost more than the card rate itself.
Payment processors compared on published US pricing
| Provider | Online card rate | Monthly fee | Fast access to funds | In person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anytime Capital Payments | 2.75% + 30¢ (2.5% + 30¢ for your first 30 days with the launch offer) | $0: no monthly, setup or PCI fees | Instant, 24/7, to your Anytime Capital business account | Customers scan and tap to pay on their own phone; no terminal to buy or rent |
| Stripe | 2.9% + 30¢ | $0 on standard pricing | 1.5% of the payout, 50¢ minimum (US) | 2.7% + 5¢ on Stripe Terminal; Tap to Pay adds 10¢ per authorization |
| Square | 3.3% + 30¢ on Free; 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium | $0 Free, $49 Plus, $149 Premium, per location | 1.95% of the transfer | 2.6% + 15¢ Free, 2.5% + 15¢ Plus, 2.4% + 15¢ Premium |
| PayPal | 3.49% + 49¢ for PayPal Checkout; cards 2.89% + 29¢ to 2.99% + a fixed fee, by product | $0 | Not published for business accounts | 2.29% + 9¢ for QR code and card payments in person |
| Shopify Payments | 2.9% + 30¢ Basic, 2.7% + 30¢ Grow, 2.5% + 30¢ Advanced | Plan required: $29, $79 or $299 billed yearly ($39, $105 or $399 monthly) | None to an outside bank; Shopify Balance in as little as 1 business day | 2.6% + 10¢ Basic, 2.5% + 10¢ Grow, 2.4% + 10¢ Advanced |
| Braintree | 2.89% + 29¢ for cards and digital wallets | $0; custom and interchange-plus pricing for established businesses | Not published | No in-person product on Braintree's fee page |
| Adyen | Interchange++ plus a processing fee: $0.13 + 0.60% to 0.80% on US Visa and Mastercard (Adyen's pages differ) | $0, but a minimum monthly invoice set by industry (US amount not published) | Not offered; sales-day payout for supported methods | Interchange++; US terminal rates not published |
| Checkout.com | Quote-only: interchange++ or a flat rate set by business profile and risk | No setup or account-maintenance fees, per its pricing page | Not published | Not published |
| Worldpay | Quote-only in the US | Small-business pricing with no monthly commitment or setup fee, by quote | Not published in the US | Quote-only in the US |
| Clover | 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in and card-not-present; no separate ecommerce rate published | $0 to $89.95 a month in software by plan, plus hardware | 1.75% with Rapid Deposit, up to $10,000 per request | 2.3% + 10¢ on Station Solo bundles and some service plans; 2.6% + 10¢ on Clover Go Starter |
| Helcim | Interchange + 0.50% + 25¢ (Helcim cites a US average of about 2.29% + 25¢) | $0 | Not published | Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ (about 1.78% + 8¢ on average, per Helcim) |
Each processor's own published US pricing as of October 2026. "Not published" or "quote-only" means no official figure was found, not that the fee is zero. Shopify Payments rates require a Shopify plan.
The picks
1. Best for getting paid and paid out in one place
Anytime Capital Payments
2.75% + 30¢ per card or wallet payment ($3.05 on $100) with no monthly, setup or PCI fees, and 2.5% + 30¢ for your first 30 days with the launch offer. Payment links, branded invoices, subscriptions and in-person scan-and-tap with no hardware; instant payouts to your Anytime Capital business account; employee cards and payouts on local rails in 71+ countries on the same balance; and custom pricing at $1M+ a year. It is not a POS for a busy counter and its API is smaller than Stripe's.
See Anytime Capital Payments2. Best for developer-led SaaS and marketplaces
Stripe
The broadest payments API there is, with Connect for marketplaces, Billing for complex subscriptions and a long list of local payment methods. Its published 2.9% + 30¢ is $3.20 on a $100 sale, Instant Payouts cost 1.5%, and new accounts wait 7 days for a first payout. Pick it when engineering depth matters more than the rate.
Stripe vs Anytime Capital3. Best for selling at a counter
Square
Free point-of-sale software, a $59 reader and in-person rates of 2.4% to 2.6% + 15¢ make Square the easiest way to take cards in a shop. Online it is 3.3% + 30¢ on Free; 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium, so 2.9% + 30¢ online means paying $49 a month per location. Instant transfers cost 1.95%; there is no dispute fee today.
Square vs Anytime Capital4. Best for buyers who want a PayPal or Venmo button
PayPal
The button most US shoppers recognise, with Venmo and Pay Later built in. PayPal Checkout costs 3.49% + 49¢ ($3.98 on $100), international transactions add 1.5% and currency conversion carries a 3% spread. Worth offering as a button; expensive as your only processor.
PayPal vs Anytime Capital5. Best for stores built on Shopify
Shopify Payments
On a Shopify store, any other processor adds a 2%, 1% or 0.6% third-party fee, so Shopify Payments is usually right there. Its Grow and Advanced plans price online cards at 2.7% and 2.5% + 30¢, at or below our standard rate, for $79 and $299 a month. Payouts take at least 3 business days.
Shopify Payments vs Anytime Capital6. Best for PayPal, Venmo and cards in one API
Braintree
PayPal's gateway at 2.89% + 29¢ for cards and wallets, with ACH at 0.75% capped at $5 and interchange-plus for established businesses. It needs a developer and has no in-person product, and does not publish an instant payout option.
Braintree vs Anytime Capital7. Best for enterprise omnichannel retail
Adyen
Local acquiring in many markets and terminals and online on one platform, priced at interchange++ plus $0.13 and 0.60% to 0.80% for US Visa and Mastercard. Often the cheapest option at real scale, with a minimum monthly invoice that makes it a poor fit for small businesses.
Adyen vs Anytime Capital8. Best for high-volume global ecommerce
Checkout.com
An enterprise acquirer priced by quote on your risk profile, with decline optimisation and, since June 2026, stablecoin settlement for most US merchants. No published US rate, so it is a call for a business with a payments team.
Checkout.com vs Anytime Capital9. Best for large merchants that want a global acquirer
Worldpay
Part of Global Payments since January 2026. US pricing is by quote, with no-commitment per-transaction pricing for small businesses and custom pricing at volume; settlement is next business day on some products.
Worldpay vs Anytime Capital10. Best for restaurants that want bundled hardware
Clover
Countertop hardware and POS software from Fiserv, with in-person rates as low as 2.3% + 10¢ on Station Solo bundles that carry $84.95 to $89.95 a month in software. Keyed-in payments are 3.5% + 10¢, and Rapid Deposit costs 1.75%.
Clover vs Anytime Capital11. Best for the lowest blended rate with no monthly fee
Helcim
Interchange-plus with published margins and no monthly fee; Helcim's own figures put its US averages at about 1.78% + 8¢ in person and 2.29% + 25¢ online ($2.54 on $100), below any flat rate including ours. The bill moves with your customers' card mix, and payout timing is not published.
Helcim vs Anytime Capital
Flat rate, interchange-plus or a quote
Processors price in three ways. A flat rate (Stripe, Square, PayPal, Anytime Capital Payments) is one percentage and fixed fee for every card, so you know the cost of a sale before it happens. Interchange-plus (Helcim, and Braintree for established businesses) passes through what each card actually costs and adds a published margin, which is usually cheaper and always variable. A quote (Adyen, Checkout.com, Worldpay) is interchange++ or a flat rate negotiated on your volume and risk, and is where large merchants pay least.
None of these is a trick. Pick the model that matches how predictable you need costs to be and how much volume you have to negotiate with.
The fixed fee matters more than it looks
On a $10 sale, PayPal Checkout's 3.49% + 49¢ costs $0.84 and 2.75% + 30¢ costs $0.58. On a $1,000 invoice the same two rates cost $35.39 and $27.80. Run your own average sale through every rate before you compare percentages.
Fees that are not the card rate
International cards (often +1% to +1.5%), currency conversion (from 1% to a 3% spread), disputes ($15 to $20 each where published), instant payouts (1.5% to 1.95% where published) and monthly plans or minimum invoices can each add more than the difference between two card rates. The table above lists what each processor publishes; where a line says not published, ask for it in writing.
Why payout speed belongs in the comparison
A processor that takes three business days to pay out holds a weekend's sales until Wednesday, and paying to get them sooner can cost more than the card fee. Anytime Capital Payments pays out instantly to an Anytime Capital business account, 24/7, where the money is already spendable on employee cards and can go on by RTP, wire, ACH, local rails in 71+ countries or stablecoins.
Launch offer
Try Anytime Capital Payments: 2.5% + 30¢ for your first 30 days
Then 2.75% + 30¢ per card or wallet payment, with no monthly, setup or PCI fees. Payment links, invoices and in-person payments from day one, instant payouts to your Anytime Capital business account, and a live US business team.
- 2.75% + 30¢ online, 2.5% + 30¢ for 30 days
- No monthly, setup or PCI fees
- Instant payouts to your business account, 24/7
- Live US business team
Questions
Best payment processors: FAQ
Where to go next
Other roundups
Important Disclosures
- Information about other processors is drawn from their published US pricing, help centers, terms and announcements as of October 2026. Prices change often; where a figure was unpublished or the company's own pages disagreed, this page says so rather than giving a number. Check each processor's current pricing before you sign up.
- Anytime Capital and the companies named are independent. This page is not endorsed by or affiliated with any of them. Third-party names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used only to identify the companies compared.
- This comparison is for information only and is not financial, tax or legal advice.
- Anytime Capital is a fintech company, not a bank. Payment processing, banking and payout services are provided by Anytime Capital's licensed partners. Rates shown are for US card payments; international cards, currency conversion and disputes may carry additional fees shown in your dashboard before you accept a payment.