Stax Review: Savings for Mid-Volume Businesses, but Watch for Hidden Fees
Stax’s subscription model can help mid- to high-volume businesses save big in processing costs. Low-volume businesses may not process enough to justify the $99+ monthly fee.
The bottom line:
Stax assigns each business its own dedicated merchant account and onboarding specialist. This is a big plus for growing small businesses that want more control over their funds. The subscription model can cut processing costs for them too. However, low-volume businesses are better off opting for a flat-rate alternative.
Software details
Payment processing fees
In-person: 0% + $0.08
Online: 0% + $0.15
Plus interchange
Monthly fee
$99
and up.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Subscription model can help mid- to high-volume businesses save money.
Each business gets a dedicated onboarding specialist.
No long-term contracts.
Cons
No direct accounting integrations.
$10-per-month PCI compliance fee.
Monthly subscription fee can be expensive for low-volume businesses.
Compare to other products
Payment processing fees
In-person: 0% + $0.08
Online: 0% + $0.15
Plus interchange
Payment processing fees
0.2% + $0.00
to 1.95%, plus interchange.
Payment processing fees
In-person: 0% + $0.08
Online: 0% + $0.15
Plus interchange
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.25
Need more options? Check our picks for best payment processing systems
Payment Depot: Better for tailored interchange-plus rates. Payment Depot is another payment processing company owned by Stax. But instead of charging monthly fees, it uses interchange-plus pricing. Rates vary by business. You’ll need to get a quote to tell if the exact amounts you’ll pay will save you money. Still, if you like everything about Stax, minus the monthly fee, it can be a solid option. Read our full Payment Depot review.
Finix: Better API flexibility. If you have web development experience and want a fully customizable solution, you might consider Finix. It lets you build your own integrations and payment workflows. It also charges monthly subscription fees, but they’re higher than Stax’s (starting at $250). Read our full Finix review.
Chase Payment Solutions: Better for flat-rate processing. Like Stax, Chase Payment Solutions provides businesses with their own dedicated merchant accounts. However, it uses flat-rate pricing instead of a subscription model. This can be a more cost-effective solution for low-volume businesses. Read our full Chase Payment Solutions review.
Full review
Instead of charging a flat rate for all transactions, Stax charges a monthly fee ($99 and up) plus a small markup on top of interchange. This is a payment processing company meant for high- and mid-volume businesses, and its stats back that up.
Stax was founded in 2014. The company says it now processes more than $23 billion annually, and that more than 39,000 businesses and platforms use it. That’s not a lot of businesses for such a large processing volume.
So, I did the math. Each business using Stax processes more than $589,000 annually on average. That comes out to a monthly sales volume of more than $49,000.
Of course, that’s likely not a fair representation of a “typical” Stax customer. (I’d guess Stax’s work with larger enterprises and SaaS platforms tips the scales.) So, I did some more math to estimate when Stax’s pricing model makes sense for small businesses. I assumed the following:
- Stax customers processing less than $150,000 per year pay $99 per month.
- Customers processing between $150,000 and $250,000 pay $139 per month.
- All customers owe 8 cents for every in-person transaction and 15 cents for every online one.
- The average in-person interchange rate is 1.7%. The average online interchange rate is 1.9%. (I looked at Visa and Mastercard interchange rates to find this middle ground.)
- The processing competitor charges 2.6% plus 10 cents per in-person transaction and 2.9% plus 30 cents per online one. There’s no monthly processing fee.
Whether you sell more online or in-person determines when Stax becomes worth it. Here’s what I found:
- If you process all in-person transactions: Savings kick in when you process around $11,000 per month.
- If you process all online transactions: Savings kick in when you process around $10,000 per month.
- If you process both 50% of the time: Savings kick in when you process around $11,000.
A monthly volume of $10,000 to $11,000 still isn’t low. But it’s much more approachable than some other subscription-based options. Finix, for instance, charges $250 and up per month plus the same per-transaction markups as Stax. That means it doesn’t pay for itself until you process closer to $25,000 to $30,000 per month.
Stax might be more affordable than some competitors. But it also has more hidden fees. For example, you’ll pay extra for PCI compliance and accounting integrations even though Stax’s website doesn’t mention it.
Stax is best for:
✔️ Mid- to high-volume businesses.
✔️ Dedicated merchant accounts.
Stax overview
| Payment processing model | Subscription based. |
| Payment processing fees |
|
| Monthly fee |
|
| Hardware cost |
|
| Contract length | No long-term contracts. |
| Customer support | Phone, chat and email support on weekdays 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST. |
Where Stax stands out
Transparent subscription model
Businesses processing at least $10,000 to $11,000 per month will save more money with Stax than with a flat-rate processor. That’s the great thing about a subscription-based model. The monthly fee seems high at first glance, but the lower interchange markups can ultimately make up for it.
Stax is also transparent about how subscription fees increase with your sales volume. It defines ranges for each subscription tier. For example, your monthly fee is $99 if you process less than $150,000 per year. It increases to $139 if you process between $150,000 and $250,000.
Competitors, like Finix, say monthly subscription fees start at a certain amount per month. But they don’t specify how much they increase as your volume climbs. This can make it difficult to predict your costs and compare providers.
Dedicated merchant account
Stax provides dedicated merchant accounts to businesses. These kinds of accounts are tailored specifically to your business, so you have more control over how your money moves.
Flat-rate processors, like Square and Stripe, combine multiple businesses’ funds into a shared account instead. These types of accounts are more prone to account freezes, which can disrupt your cash flow.
The downside to dedicated merchant accounts is the application process. It’s often longer and more complex, since it involves underwriting. That said, a representative from Stax told me that most businesses can start accepting payments within three days.
Where Stax falls short
Extra fees
Stax charges extra for PCI compliance and accounting integrations. Plenty of alternatives, like Helcim and Stripe, skip these fees.
It’s one thing to charge extra — it’s another to not clearly list these costs on the website. I had to reach out to confirm that the PCI compliance fee is $10 per month.
Stax is maybe more egregious about accounting integrations. Its website lists "accounting reconciliation” as a free feature. That sounds nice, but it’s not the same as an integration.
Reconciliation tools make it easy to check your books — manually. An integration syncs your data to your accounting software, saving you time and potential errors. That’s more valuable. It’s also only possible through third-party gateways, which cost extra.
Expensive for smaller businesses
Stax isn’t the most cost-efficient choice for small businesses processing less than $10,000 per month. This could include solopreneurs, pop-up businesses and side hustles. The $99+ monthly fee just doesn’t make sense for them.
Flat-rate alternatives, like Square and PayPal, are often the better deal for these types of businesses. Plus they have free POS software plans and fewer hidden fees.
What small-business owners think of Stax
I checked online forums like Reddit and reviews from sites like TrustPilot, G2, the App Store and Google Play to gauge how users feel about Stax. I used an AI tool to help analyze this feedback. Here are the major trends I spotted.
👍 Customer support
Lots of positive reviews on Trustpilot mention Stax’s high-quality customer support. Online commenters call Stax’s representatives out by name and say they were both prompt and helpful.
This is refreshing for a payment processor — it’s not what I see for most other companies when I look at this info. Yes, Stax has some negative reviews regarding customer support. But the majority are positive. It might even help make up for the fact that it doesn’t offer 24/7 support.
👎 High overall rates
Multiple online commenters say Stax’s overall cut has seemed to increase over the years. The reasons they cite for that vary.
One points to a surprise price hike. It's possible this was due to entering a new revenue tier, at which point monthly fees increase. Stax publishes that info, but I'd find it frustrating if that crossover wasn't flagged to me.
Another commenter points to fees that take up "several pages" of their statement. (One of which is simply for "misc. fees.") I reached out to a Stax spokesperson and asked for a list of all the fees the company charges. I will update this review based on their response.
My advice? Bring up fees with your sales rep. Ask them what you should expect outside of subscription fees, markups and PCI compliance. Get their response in writing, and make sure it matches any contractual language.
How we evaluated Stax
NerdWallet’s writers and editors independently review payment processing solutions, like Stax, by analyzing more than 30 data points. I also collected data from Stax’s public-facing website, help articles and company representatives.
I looked through individual reviews and feedback on sites like Trustpilot, the App Store, Google Play and Reddit as well. Then I used AI tools to help spot larger trends within those comments.
Since our team cannot verify each user’s individual experience, we don’t incorporate user reviews in our star ratings. For more information on how we score POS systems, see our full methodology.