Payments
Best Payment Processing for Contractors & Trades (2026)
We compare 10 payment processors, grouped by pricing model: the model sets how the processor charges its markup, and your card volume, average ticket and customers' card mix decide what you pay under it. Rates below are the vendors' published rates where they list them, and each review carries an affiliate disclosure.
The short answer
Pick the pricing model first, then the processor. Flat-rate Square and Stripe publish one rate per payment type and have a $0 monthly plan; the markup is built into each rate. Interchange-plus Helcim passes interchange through at cost and adds a published margin that steps down automatically with volume, with no monthly fee. Stax charges a monthly subscription (from $99, per its documentation) and says it adds no percentage markup, so compare that fee with the percentage markup you would pay at your card volume. On large invoices, compare ACH fees too: Stripe charges 0.8% capped at $5, and Helcim 0.5% + 25 cents capped at $6 on transactions under $25,000. No vendor pays for placement.
The headline filter: pricing model
Payment cost depends on the pricing model plus your volume, ticket size and card mix. Flat-rate (Square, Stripe, QuickBooks Payments, PayPal) charges a published rate per payment type, a percentage plus, at Square, Stripe and PayPal, a fixed fee per transaction: simple to read, with the markup built into the rate. Interchange-plus (Helcim, Dharma Merchant Services) shows the card networks' interchange cost and the processor's markup separately; statements are more detailed and the total depends on your customers' card mix. Subscription/membership (Stax, Clover, Authorize.Net) adds a monthly fee: Stax says it charges no percentage markup, Authorize.Net's $25 gateway fee comes with 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction on its All-in-One plan, and this listing quotes no Clover prices, so get its software, hardware and processing costs in writing. Custom quote (pmtbox, formerly National Processing) publishes no rate card. For big-ticket jobs, compare each processor's ACH fee with its card rate.
One published rate per payment type, often a percentage plus a fixed fee (Square Free charges 2.6% + 15 cents in person). Easy to read on a statement; the processor's markup is built into each rate rather than shown separately.
Square
Flat-rate payments, invoicing and POS with a no-monthly-fee plan
$0 (Square Free)
monthly
Rates: Flat-rate. Square Free ($0/mo): in-person 2.6% + 15¢, online and invoices 3.3% + 30¢, manually keyed or card on file 3.5% + 15¢. Square Plus ($49/mo per location): in-person 2.5% + 15¢, online and invoices 2.9% + 30¢. Square Premium ($149/mo per location): in-person 2.4% + 15¢, online and invoices 2.9% + 30¢. ACH bank transfer on invoices 1% ($1 minimum; $10 cap on Plus and Premium). Cards issued outside the US add 1.5%.
- Model
- flat rate
- Founded
- 2009
- Best team size
- 1-20
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Solo and small service businesses that want online sign-up, published flat rates, built-in invoicing and low-cost ways to take cards on site
Stripe
Flat-rate online payments, cheap ACH and billing tools that other software builds on
$0
monthly
Rates: Flat-rate, no setup or monthly fees. Online domestic cards 2.9% + 30¢ (manually entered cards +0.5%, international cards +1.5%, currency conversion +1%); in person with Stripe Terminal 2.7% + 5¢ (Tap to Pay adds 10¢ per authorization); ACH Direct Debit 0.8% capped at $5. Add-ons: Stripe Invoicing 0.4% per paid invoice (Starter) or 0.5% (Plus), Stripe Billing 0.7% of billing volume on pay-as-you-go, Instant Payouts 1.5% (50¢ minimum), $15 per dispute received.
- Model
- flat rate
- Founded
- 2010
- Best team size
- 1-500
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Contractors who bill online or by invoice, want low-cost ACH on big-ticket and recurring billing, or already use software that runs on Stripe
QuickBooks Payments / GoPayment
Card, ACH and wallet payments that auto-match to your QuickBooks invoices
$0
monthly
Rates: Pay-as-you-go with no monthly fee; rates are flat percentages. In person 2.5%; invoiced and online cards and digital wallets (Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo) 2.99%; keyed-in cards 3.5%; Affirm buy now, pay later 2.99%; ACH bank payments 1% ($1 minimum). Instant deposits 1.75%. Optional payment dispute protection from 0.99% (up to $10,000 per dispute and $25,000 a year). Businesses processing over $2,500/mo can call Intuit about a volume discount of up to 25%. Rates as of 09/18/2026.
- Model
- flat rate
- Founded
- -
- Best team size
- 1-50
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Contractors who already run their books in QuickBooks and want invoice payments that auto-match, with a cash buffer in case a large payment is held for review
PayPal Point of Sale (formerly Zettle)
No-monthly-fee card acceptance with Tap to Pay, invoicing and PayPal and Venmo payments
$0
monthly
⚠ Reputation warning
PayPal's own help pages say it may hold incoming payments, usually for up to 21 days, when a seller is new or its selling pattern changes, such as an unexpected surge in sales.
Rates: Point of sale: card-present and QR code 2.29% + $0.09; manual card entry 3.49% + $0.09. Invoices and online checkout: cards 2.99% + $0.49; PayPal or Venmo 3.49% + $0.49; Pay Later 4.99% + $0.49; ACH bank payment on invoices 1% capped at $10. No monthly or setup fee for PayPal Point of Sale, and sending invoices is free. Card reader $29 for a new business user's first reader, $79 each after; PayPal Terminal $199 ($239 with barcode scanner). Dispute fees $15 standard, $30 high volume. Instant transfer to a bank costs 1.5% (minimum fee applies). Optional paid services such as Payments Pro ($30/mo) are listed on PayPal's fee page.
- Model
- flat rate
- Founded
- 1998
- Best team size
- 1-10
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Solo and small trades that want card acceptance with no monthly fee, Tap to Pay in the field and low-cost ACH on invoices, and that keep a separate business bank account in case of payment holds
You pay the interchange cost set by the card networks plus a separate processor markup. Statements are more detailed than with a flat rate, and your total cost depends on the mix of cards your customers use.
Helcim
Interchange-plus card processing with a published margin and no monthly fee
$0
monthly
Rates: Interchange-plus, no monthly fee. Helcim's margin on top of interchange starts at 0.40% + 8¢ in person and 0.50% + 25¢ keyed and online (up to $50K average monthly volume) and steps down automatically to 0.15% + 6¢ in person and 0.15% + 15¢ keyed and online above $1M. ACH 0.5% + 25¢, capped at $6 for transactions under $25,000.
- Model
- interchange plus
- Founded
- -
- Best team size
- 1-200
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Contractors processing steady card volume who want a published processing margin, automatic volume discounts and no monthly fee, and don't mind reading an interchange-plus statement
Dharma Merchant Services
Interchange-plus card processing from a US processor in business since 2007
Not listed
monthly
Rates: Interchange-plus: you pay the card networks' interchange cost plus Dharma's markup on each transaction. Dharma publishes rate pages for retail and small businesses, e-commerce and online sellers, and B2B processing, plus interchange-plus pricing examples. We could not read those pages for this update, so this listing quotes no rates or fees; check Dharma's site for current margins, monthly fees and any closure or chargeback fees, and get them in writing before signing.
- Model
- interchange plus
- Founded
- 2007
- Best team size
- 1-50
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Established trades with steady card volume that want the processor's markup shown separately from interchange and will compare a written fee schedule
A monthly fee (a subscription, gateway fee or software plan) on top of per-transaction costs. Stax says it passes interchange through at cost with no percentage markup; Authorize.Net and Clover also charge per-transaction processing fees. Compare the monthly fee with your card volume, including slow months.
Stax
Subscription pricing: a monthly fee instead of a percentage markup on card payments
From $99
monthly
Rates: Subscription pricing. Stax's documentation says plans start at $99/month, with interchange passed through at cost and no percentage markup. Your plan and any per-transaction, ACH or hardware fees are quoted, so get the full fee schedule in writing.
- Model
- subscription
- Founded
- -
- Best team size
- 10-500
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: High-volume, higher-ticket contractors who process enough to cover a monthly subscription and want to avoid a percentage markup on card payments
Clover
Fiserv's all-in-one POS hardware and software: get the full quote and contract terms in writing
Not listed
monthly
Rates: Clover pricing combines a monthly software plan, hardware (bought or rented) and per-transaction processing fees, and terms can differ depending on whether you buy on Clover's website or through a reseller. We could not confirm Clover's current published prices for this update, so this listing quotes none. Get the software plan cost, hardware cost or rental terms, processing rates, contract length and any early-termination fee in writing before signing.
- Model
- subscription
- Founded
- -
- Best team size
- 1-50
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Trades that also run a counter or showroom and want one point-of-sale system for the counter and the field, and that will compare written quotes before signing
Authorize.Net
A no-contract payment gateway with an optional built-in merchant account, invoicing and recurring billing
$25
monthly
Rates: Every plan: $25/mo gateway fee, $0 setup, no contract and no early-termination fee. All-in-One (merchant account included, subject to eligibility): 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Gateway Only (for businesses that already have a merchant account): $0.10 per transaction plus a $0.10 daily batch fee, on top of your processor's own fees. Gateway + eCheck adds eCheck payments at 0.75% per transaction, with a $10 monthly eCheck minimum, a $25 fee per eCheck chargeback and a $3 fee per returned eCheck (US businesses only). Account Updater costs $0.25 per update.
- Model
- subscription
- Founded
- 1996
- Best team size
- 1-50
- Verified
- 2026-10-10
Best for: Trades that already have a website, software or merchant account and want a no-contract gateway to add online, invoice, phone and recurring payments
No public rate card: pricing is set in a sales quote. Get the full fee schedule, contract term and any early-termination fee in writing before you sign.
pmtbox (formerly National Processing)
Payments and fraud platform (formerly National Processing) with quote-only pricing
Quote-only
monthly
Rates: Quote-only: pmtbox publishes no rate card. Its help center says a sales representative sends pricing after you complete the contact-sales form, which asks for your estimated annual sales. pmtbox says it handles payments, fraud and chargebacks for e-commerce brands under one fee and guarantees every transaction it approves. Merchants who signed as National Processing were told their rates and account terms stay the same after the November 1, 2025 rename.
- Model
- custom quote
- Founded
- 2007
- Best team size
- 1-50
- Verified
- 2026-09-30
Best for: Merchants already on National Processing, or businesses with meaningful online and card-not-present volume that want payments and fraud handling from one provider and are willing to negotiate a quote
Where to start
Taking cards on site with no monthly fee: Square (Free plan, 2.6% + 15 cents in person) or PayPal (2.29% + 9 cents card-present, with Tap to Pay). Billing online or by invoice: Stripe (2.9% + 30 cents for online cards, ACH Direct Debit 0.8% capped at $5) or, if your books are in QuickBooks, QuickBooks Payments (payments auto-match to invoices; 2.99% for invoiced cards, 1% for ACH). Steady card volume and a published margin with no monthly fee: Helcim (interchange plus 0.40% + 8 cents in person at its entry tier, lower as volume grows). High card volume and larger tickets: Stax (from $99/mo per its documentation, no percentage markup), after you get the full fee schedule in writing. On any large invoice, compare your processor's ACH fee with its card rate.
Missing from this list?
We list 10 payment processors for contractors today, and we know that is not all of them. If you build one and it is not here, you can submit it for editorial review. An evaluation can end with or without a listing.
Listings are free. We do not accept payment for inclusion, for placement, for a score, or to remove a documented con. We publish the cons next to the pros, so read an existing review before you decide you want one.