Payments
Best Payment Processing for Contractors & Trades (2026)
Every contractor takes payments — and most overpay on card fees without realizing it. We compare the processors trades actually use, organized by the one thing that decides your cost: the pricing model. Real rates, honest trade-offs, affiliate-transparent.
The headline filter: pricing model
Payment cost is decided by the pricing model, not the brand. Flat-rate (Square, Stripe) is simplest and best at low volume. Interchange-plus (Helcim) is the most transparent and usually cheapest as you grow, with no monthly fee. Subscription/membership (Stax) drops the percentage markup entirely and wins at high volume once the monthly fee is amortized. The right pick depends on your monthly card volume and average ticket — and for big-ticket trades, steering large invoices to ACH beats every card model.
Simple, predictable per-transaction rates (for example 2.6% + 10 cents). Easiest to understand and start with; best for lower-volume shops where simplicity beats squeezing out basis points.
Square
Flat-rate payments and POS, the default for small service businesses
$0 (free plan); $49 or $149/mo for lower rates
monthly
Rates: Flat-rate. In-person 2.6% + 15¢ (free plan); online/invoice 3.3% + 30¢; keyed/card-on-file 3.5% + 15¢. Paid plans ($49/mo and $149/mo per location) lower in-person rates to 2.5% and 2.4%. No monthly fee on the free plan.
- Model
- flat rate
- Founded
- 2009
- Capterra
- —
- Best team size
- 1-20
Best for: Solo and low-to-mid-volume service businesses that want the simplest possible setup with predictable flat-rate pricing and free hardware
Stripe
Developer-friendly flat-rate payments, strongest for online and integrations
$0
monthly
Rates: Flat-rate, no monthly fee. Online 2.9% + 30¢; in-person (Stripe Terminal) 2.7% + 5¢; international cards +1.5%; ACH is far cheaper (good for recurring and large invoices). No setup or monthly fees on standard accounts.
- Model
- flat rate
- Founded
- 2010
- Capterra
- —
- Best team size
- 1-500
Best for: Contractors whose payments are mostly online or invoiced, who want cheap ACH on big-ticket and recurring billing, or whose software already runs on Stripe
You pay the interchange cost set by the card networks plus a transparent fixed markup. Usually the cheapest and most transparent model, especially for higher-volume businesses.
Helcim
Transparent interchange-plus pricing with no monthly fee or contracts
$0
monthly
Rates: Interchange-plus, no monthly fee, no contracts. Starts at interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ in-person and interchange + 0.50% + 25¢ online; average effective ~1.93% + 8¢ in-person and ~2.49% + 25¢ online. Automatic volume discounts above $50K/mo.
- Model
- interchange plus
- Founded
- 2006
- Capterra
- —
- Best team size
- 1-200
Best for: Higher-volume contractors who want the lowest transparent processing cost with no monthly fee or contract, and don't mind reading an interchange-plus statement
A flat monthly fee plus interchange and a small per-transaction fee, with no percentage markup on processing. Saves money once monthly volume is high enough to amortize the subscription.
Stax
Subscription (membership) pricing — flat monthly fee, no percentage markup
$99+
monthly
Rates: Subscription pricing: $99/mo (up to $150K/yr volume), $139/mo ($150K-$250K), $199+/mo ($250K+), plus interchange and a flat per-transaction fee (8¢ terminal / 15¢ online or mobile). No percentage markup on processing.
- Model
- subscription
- Founded
- 2014
- Capterra
- 3.1 / 5
- Best team size
- 10-500
Best for: High-volume, higher-ticket contractors who process enough to amortize a monthly subscription and want to eliminate percentage markup on processing
Where to start
Low volume or want the simplest setup? Square or Stripe (flat-rate, no monthly fee). Processing real volume and want the lowest transparent cost with no monthly fee? Helcim (interchange-plus). High-volume, big-ticket shop that can amortize a subscription? Stax. And for large invoices on any processor, push customers to ACH — it beats card fees by a wide margin on big-ticket jobs.