Payment gateways are just one of the merchant services that are necessary for businesses to verify whether an electronic payment is legitimate. For in-person sales, your point-of-sale (POS) system’s card reader acts as the payment gateway. To support online transactions, e-commerce platforms often have built-in payment gateways or integrate with third-party solutions. This roundup focuses on online payment gateways.
Here are our picks for the best payment gateways.
A payment gateway is the technology that allows businesses to securely accept electronic payments, like credit and debit cards, both in person and online. The platform reads, encrypts and transmits customers’ card data to payment processors so that transactions can be completed.
Many times, credit card processing companies offer payment gateways as part of a bundled service. If you already use a physical POS system or have an e-commerce site, going with an in-house, integrated solution is typically your most convenient option. Other factors to consider include overall costs and customizability.
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Best Payment Gateways
Best Payment Gateways
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Monthly fee
$0.00
Learn more
on Helcim's website
Pros
- Businesses save when customers use cards with low interchange rates.
- Offers free POS software.
- Offers volume-based discounts automatically.
- No termination fees, long-term contracts or PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Deposits are available within two business days; same-day deposit option is not available.
- Interchange-plus costs can be difficult to predict.
Helcim
Best for Interchange-plus pricing for businesses of all sizes
Monthly fee
$0.00
Learn more
on Helcim's website
Pros
- Businesses save when customers use cards with low interchange rates.
- Offers free POS software.
- Offers volume-based discounts automatically.
- No termination fees, long-term contracts or PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Deposits are available within two business days; same-day deposit option is not available.
- Interchange-plus costs can be difficult to predict.
Monthly fee
$0.00
Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.
Learn more
on Square's website
Pros
- Offers a free mobile card reader and free POS software plan.
- Can subscribe to related services, such as payroll, that integrate with its POS system.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- No chargeback or PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Complex businesses might prefer a processor that integrates with more specialized POS systems.
Square
Best for Hybrid businesses
Monthly fee
$0.00
Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.
Learn more
on Square's website
Pros
- Offers a free mobile card reader and free POS software plan.
- Can subscribe to related services, such as payroll, that integrate with its POS system.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- No chargeback or PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Complex businesses might prefer a processor that integrates with more specialized POS systems.
Pros
- Highly customizable online checkout options.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- 24/7 chat support.
- Can process transactions in more than 135 currencies.
- No PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Doesn’t sell full countertop POS setups; hardware is limited to handheld terminals and card readers.
- Deposits can take up to two business days.
- No phone or email support.
Pros
- Highly customizable online checkout options.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- 24/7 chat support.
- Can process transactions in more than 135 currencies.
- No PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Doesn’t sell full countertop POS setups; hardware is limited to handheld terminals and card readers.
- Deposits can take up to two business days.
- No phone or email support.
Monthly fee
$0.00
for in-person payments; $9.95 and up for e-commerce payments.
Learn more
on Chase's website
Pros
- Two-in-one processor and acquiring bank.
- No PCI compliance or cancellation fees.
- Using your bank as your processor makes deposits convenient.
- 24/7 phone and online support.
Cons
- Some hardware pricing is not readily available.
- No third-party shopping cart integrations.
- Chase’s Business Complete checking account comes with a $15 monthly service fee for some merchants.
Chase Payment Solutions℠
Best for Built-in banking partner
Monthly fee
$0.00
for in-person payments; $9.95 and up for e-commerce payments.
Learn more
on Chase's website
Pros
- Two-in-one processor and acquiring bank.
- No PCI compliance or cancellation fees.
- Using your bank as your processor makes deposits convenient.
- 24/7 phone and online support.
Cons
- Some hardware pricing is not readily available.
- No third-party shopping cart integrations.
- Chase’s Business Complete checking account comes with a $15 monthly service fee for some merchants.
PayPal Payflow
Best for Payment processor integrations
Monthly fee
$0.00
for Payflow Link; $25 Payflow Pro.
Pros
- PayPal develops different ways for consumers to pay, including Venmo and its own service for buy now, pay later.
- One of the most commonly used payment processing platforms.
- Easy to use and integrate with website hosts and shopping carts.
- Transparent fixed fees in 25 currencies.
Cons
- PayPal’s offerings are vast and can be difficult to grasp quickly.
- Payment processing can be expensive for small purchases.
PayPal Payflow
Best for Payment processor integrations
Monthly fee
$0.00
for Payflow Link; $25 Payflow Pro.
Pros
- PayPal develops different ways for consumers to pay, including Venmo and its own service for buy now, pay later.
- One of the most commonly used payment processing platforms.
- Easy to use and integrate with website hosts and shopping carts.
- Transparent fixed fees in 25 currencies.
Cons
- PayPal’s offerings are vast and can be difficult to grasp quickly.
- Payment processing can be expensive for small purchases.
Payment processing fees
0.6% + $0.13
Plus interchange for Visa and Mastercard; 3.3% + $0.23 for AmEx.
Monthly fee
$0.00
Pros
- No monthly subscription or termination fees.
- Consolidate data across multiple online and in-person sales channels.
- Global payment options available.
Cons
- Pricing models differ by card, which can be confusing.
- No accounting integrations.
- Must give at least two months’ notice before terminating contract.
- Must reach out for hardware costs.
Adyen
Best for Omnichannel option
Payment processing fees
0.6% + $0.13
Plus interchange for Visa and Mastercard; 3.3% + $0.23 for AmEx.
Monthly fee
$0.00
Pros
- No monthly subscription or termination fees.
- Consolidate data across multiple online and in-person sales channels.
- Global payment options available.
Cons
- Pricing models differ by card, which can be confusing.
- No accounting integrations.
- Must give at least two months’ notice before terminating contract.
- Must reach out for hardware costs.
Authorize.net
Best for More complex payment needs
Payment processing fees
2.9% + $0.30
for All-in-One option.
Monthly fee
$25.00
Pros
- You can use Authorize.net with a wide range of merchant account providers.
- Transparent, flat-rate pricing.
- No contracts or early termination fees.
- 24/7 customer support through phone, chat or online form.
Cons
- You’ll pay a $25 monthly fee regardless of usage.
- Authorize.net doesn’t have a robust point-of-sale system for in-person transactions.
- Signing up directly through Authorize.net may be more expensive than going through your merchant services provider.
- Merchant account isn’t directly with Authorize.net.
Authorize.net
Best for More complex payment needs
Payment processing fees
2.9% + $0.30
for All-in-One option.
Monthly fee
$25.00
Pros
- You can use Authorize.net with a wide range of merchant account providers.
- Transparent, flat-rate pricing.
- No contracts or early termination fees.
- 24/7 customer support through phone, chat or online form.
Cons
- You’ll pay a $25 monthly fee regardless of usage.
- Authorize.net doesn’t have a robust point-of-sale system for in-person transactions.
- Signing up directly through Authorize.net may be more expensive than going through your merchant services provider.
- Merchant account isn’t directly with Authorize.net.
Payment processing fees
2.59% + $0.49
credit & debit cards and digital wallets; 3.49% + 49¢ Venmo (U.S. only).
Monthly fee
$0.00
Pros
- No contracts or early termination fees.
- No monthly subscription costs or PCI compliance fees.
- Accepts PayPal and Venmo in addition to credit and debit cards.
- Simple checkout page that looks good on web and mobile.
Cons
- Requires web development.
- Not suited for brick and mortar stores.
PayPal Braintree
Best for Accepting a variety of payment types
Payment processing fees
2.59% + $0.49
credit & debit cards and digital wallets; 3.49% + 49¢ Venmo (U.S. only).
Monthly fee
$0.00
Pros
- No contracts or early termination fees.
- No monthly subscription costs or PCI compliance fees.
- Accepts PayPal and Venmo in addition to credit and debit cards.
- Simple checkout page that looks good on web and mobile.
Cons
- Requires web development.
- Not suited for brick and mortar stores.
Stripe
Best overall payment gateway
Why we like it: Stripe has built its payments product around maximum customizability: Its open API and advanced developer tools allow your business to build a payment experience that meets your specific needs — as long as you or someone on your team knows how to use them. For those who want a low-tech option, Stripe Checkout has prebuilt checkout pages that don't require a high level of technical expertise to use. Read our full Stripe Payments review.
- $0 for standard services.
- $10 for custom domain.
- 2.7% plus 5 cents for in-person transactions.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
- 3.4% plus 30 cents for manually keyed transactions.
- 4.4% plus 30 cents for international card transactions.
Adyen
Best omnichannel option
Why we like it: Adyen offers low prices and doesn’t have any monthly fees. It also offers support for in-person payments. If you’re an omnichannel merchant, Adyen has tools that connect your sales data, wherever you sell — including online, in person and via app or marketplace. Read our full Adyen review.
Free.
- Interchange plus 0.60% and 13 cents per transaction for Visa and Mastercard.
- 3.3% plus 23 cents for American Express.
- 3%-12% plus 13 cents for other payment methods, depending on transaction type.
- 40 cents per transaction for ACH direct payment.
Helcim
Best interchange-plus pricing for businesses of all sizes
Why we like it: Helcim's payment gateway API can integrate with a shopping cart, billing system or compatible third-party software. Businesses with limited monthly volume benefit from Helcim’s no-minimum, interchange-plus pricing, while larger businesses can take advantage of the pricing tiers Helcim offers, which get cheaper the more you process. Read our full Helcim review.
Free.
- Interchange plus 0.4% and 8 cents per in-person transaction (if $50,000 or less in monthly card transactions).
- Interchange plus 0.5% and 25 cents per online or manually keyed transaction (if $50,000 or less in monthly card transactions).
- 0.5% plus 25 cents for ACH payments (capped at $6).
PayPal Payflow
Best for payment processor integrations
Why we like it: PayPal offers in-house payment processing and payment gateway-only options that integrate with third-party shopping carts and payment processors. It’s a leader in developing and accepting payments in innovative ways, including through subsidiary Venmo, QR codes, payment links and buy now, pay later financing. Read our full PayPal review.
- $0 for Payflow Link.
- $25 for Payflow Pro.
10 cents per transaction if you aren’t using PayPal as your processor, plus applicable payment processing fees.
Here are PayPal’s payment processing fees:
- 2.29% plus 9 cents for in-person credit card, debit card and QR code payments.
- 2.89% plus 49 cents for online credit and debit card payments.
- 3.49% plus 49 cents for PayPal Payments transactions (PayPal, Pay Later, Pay with Rewards, Venmo).
Square
Best for hybrid businesses
Why we like it: Square’s easy-to-use tools enable business owners to have a professional online presence without specialized tech skills. Square’s Payments API lets you take payments on third-party sites, or you can build a site for free using Square as a host. Its robust POS hardware options make it a strong option for in-person sellers as well. Read our full Square review.
- $0 for Square POS, Restaurant, Retail and Appointments Free plans.
- $29 for Square Appointments Plus plan.
- $69 for Square Appointments Premium and Square Restaurants Plus plans.
- $89 for Square Retail Plus plan.
- $165 for Square Restaurant Premium plan.
- Custom pricing for Square Retail plan.
- 2.6% plus 15 cents for in-person transactions with all free plans.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions with paid restaurant plans.
- 2.5% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions with paid retail and appointments plans.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
- 3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions.
- 3.3% plus 30 cents for invoices.
Braintree
Best for accepting a variety of payment types
Why we like it: Braintree, which is owned by PayPal, rivals Stripe from a customization standpoint. But unlike Stripe, Braintree allows customers to pay with PayPal and Venmo, another PayPal-owned entity — so you get those options plus the ones Stripe offers (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) all via one gateway. Read our full Braintree review.
- $0 if you use Braintree for a merchant account and a payment gateway.
- $49 per month plus 10 cents per transaction if you use Braintree as a payment gateway only.
- 2.59% plus 49 cents per transaction for credit cards, debit cards and digital wallets.
- 3.49% plus 49 cents for Venmo (U.S. only).
- 0.75% for ACH (maximum fee of $5). Discounts available for enterprise businesses.
Chase Payment Solutions
Best for built-in banking partner
Why we like it: Chase Payment Solutions uses Authorize.net as its payment gateway and offers competitive flat-rate pricing. You’ll get your money the next business day, which is faster than the two-day norm with many other processors, provided you use a Chase business checking account. Read our full Chase Payment Solutions review.
- $0 per month for in-person payments.
- $9.95 per month and up for e-commerce payments.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions.
- 2.9% plus 25 cents for online transactions.
- 3.5% plus 10 cents for keyed transactions and invoicing.
Authorize.net
Best for more complex payment needs
Why we like it: Authorize.net, which is owned by Visa, gives flexibility to businesses that might otherwise have difficulty finding a payment gateway. For example, it lets you work with other merchant account providers, provides high-risk accounts, and, if you are a U.S.-based business, enables you to accept payments from anywhere in the world. Read our full Authorize.net review.
$25 per month.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction for a merchant account plus a gateway.
- 10 cents per transaction plus 10 cent daily batch fee for a payment gateway only.
How do payment gateways work?
To kick off the payment process, a customer either taps, dips or swipes their card using the business’s POS hardware in person or manually enters their card information in an online checkout portal. The payment gateway captures that card data, encrypts it and electronically delivers it to the business’s payment processor. From there, information gets passed between the processor, the issuing and acquiring banks and the card network. Here’s a closer look at the process:
NerdWallet selects the best payment gateways by evaluating their scores in more than 10 categories, including the following:
- Payment processing rates.
- Pricing transparency.
- POS features.
- Deposit timing.
- Contract length.
- Integrations.
The majority of our picks receive a 4-star rating or higher and offer additional merchant services, like payment processing.
Processing transactions involves a handful of parties, including a payment gateway, payment processor, payment networks, the customer’s card-issuing bank and the business’s acquiring bank. Though they’re both involved in the process and often bundled under the same provider, payment gateways and payment processors play different roles.
After a customer taps their credit card to a reader or manually enters their card information online, the payment gateway encrypts and communicates that payment information to the payment processor. From there, the processor verifies that the transaction is legitimate and that there’s enough money in the customer’s bank account to make the purchase. After communicating the approval to the payment gateway, the payment processor then facilitates the transfer of funds from the customer’s issuing bank to the business’s acquiring bank.
Learn more about payment gateways vs. payment processors
Payment gateways kick off the card authentication process and processing companies take it from there.
All businesses accepting card transactions need some sort of payment gateway, but they aren’t always advertised as stand-alone products. For businesses accepting in-person transactions, the credit card terminal or reader acts as the payment gateway. It’s what the customer interacts with to pass along their credit card information and complete their purchase.
For businesses accepting online transactions, payment gateways are often built right into e-commerce sites and shopping carts as part of a bundled payments service. If you built your website from scratch, however, you may need to integrate it with a stand-alone payment gateway that you can customize to match your brand.
The best payment gateway depends on the specific needs of your business. You’ll want to take into account the payment gateway’s total cost, which will include the monthly fee, transaction fees and any additional fees. Also important to consider are factors such as your business’ transaction volume, whether you require a full POS system and how much coding knowledge is needed to integrate and customize the gateway.
Payment gateway costs
The cost of using a payment gateway is generally broken down into two main components:
- Monthly fees. This is like your Netflix subscription — you pay the same amount every month in exchange for access to the service. Not all gateways charge a monthly fee.
- Transaction fees. You’re charged every time a customer buys something online.
Some companies have additional costs, like PCI compliance fees or setup fees. Our top picks generally don’t charge these additional fees. If you're trying to keep costs down, see NerdWallet's selections for cheapest payment gateways for more options.
Pricing models
If you’re using a payment gateway that offers payment processing services, you’ll have to choose between flat-rate pricing, which is consistent, and interchange-plus pricing, which is variable.
- Flat-rate: For new or seasonal businesses or for those that process less than about $5,000 a month, a flat-rate pricing model, like Square or PayPal uses, may make more sense. Flat-rate pricing is more expensive per transaction than interchange-plus pricing, but providers that use this pricing model often don’t charge a monthly fee. This pricing model also makes it easier to predict and forecast transaction costs because the fees are less variable over time than with interchange-plus pricing. Flat-rate pricing is usually found with payment service providers, which make setting up an account easy.
- Interchange-plus: If you process more than about $5,000 a month and particularly if you value having more transparency into your processing fees, then an interchange-plus model like the one Adyen or Helcim uses could be a better fit for your business. You’ll need a merchant account, which takes a bit more effort to set up, but the savings can be worth the time and effort.
Technical expertise
Some gateways, like PayPal Payflow, allow for a high level of customization but require coding skills to make the most of the customizable features. Other gateways, like those from Stripe and Adyen, offer a simple copy/paste coding option or options with no coding at all for those who are less tech-savvy in addition to a more code-heavy option that requires development skills.
If you want to take advantage of a more advanced and customizable payment gateway option but don’t have the necessary coding expertise within your team, it’s possible to hire freelance development help to get up and running. Stripe, for example, partners with several agencies that offer this service.
Payment processing needs
Payment gateway providers might also offer point-of-sale systems for in-person transactions, multiple-location support and other related services. Unless you want to work with multiple payments companies, find a payment gateway that can address all of your current and future payments needs.
Last updated on January 2, 2025
Methodology
NerdWallet’s ratings of payment processing providers rewards companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including overall cost, hardware and software options, system capabilities, customer service, contract requirements and integrations. Learn more about how we rate payment processing providers.
These ratings are a guide, but fees, hardware, software and contract requirements can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.