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Home › Categories › Payment Processing

Online Payment Processing, Compared: Verified 2026 Pricing

Bill BelcaminoBy Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 27, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

Side-by-side pricing for Stripe, PayPal, Square and Polar: entry price, free plan, how each vendor bills for AI, and the date we last checked each figure against the vendor’s own pricing page.

Online Payment Processing, ComparedVerified Sep 27, 2026

Quick answer

  • Lowest published entry price: Square — Square Free $0/mo (2.6% + 15¢ in person); Plus $49/location/mo.
  • Free plans: Square (Square Free, $0/mo; you pay processing fees); Polar (Yes: Starter has no monthly fee, you pay per transaction).
  • No monthly fee: Stripe and PayPal charge per transaction instead.

Most-read in this category: Square vs Stripe · Square to Stripe

Payment Processing pricing at a glance

Every row links to the comparison where the figure was verified and to the vendor’s pricing page.

ToolEntry priceFree planAI billingG2 ratingVerifiedSource
Stripe2.9% + 30¢No monthly fee (per-transaction pricing)—4.2 / 5460 reviewsJuly 29, 2026in Stripe vs PayPalVendor pricing ↗
PayPal3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal Checkout)No monthly fee (per-transaction pricing)—4.4 / 52,748 reviewsJuly 29, 2026in Stripe vs PayPalVendor pricing ↗
SquareSquare Free $0/mo (2.6% + 15¢ in person); Plus $49/location/moYes — Square Free, $0/mo; you pay processing fees——September 19, 2026in Square vs CloverVendor pricing ↗
PolarStarter: no monthly fee, 5% + 50¢ per transaction; Pro $20/mo at 3.8% + 40¢Yes: Starter has no monthly fee, you pay per transaction——September 27, 2026in Polar vs StripeVendor pricing ↗

Head-to-head comparisons

Polar vs StripeUpdated September 27, 2026Square vs PayPalUpdated September 23, 2026Square vs StripeUpdated September 23, 2026Stripe vs PayPalUpdated July 29, 2026

Switching guides

Clover to SquareSwitching guidePayPal to SquareSwitching guidePayPal to StripeSwitching guidePolar to StripeSwitching guideShopify POS to SquareSwitching guideSquare to CloverSwitching guideSquare to PayPalSwitching guideSquare to Shopify POSSwitching guideSquare to StripeSwitching guideStripe to PayPalSwitching guideStripe to PolarSwitching guideStripe to SquareSwitching guide
POS SystemsRelated category
Verified data

Payment Processing: security, offline & remote work

The payment processing tools we track, side by side on compliance, single sign-on, offline access and remote or office controls. Every value links to the vendor page it came from.

What we checkedStripePayPalSquarePolar
Security & compliance
SOC 2 reportSOC 2 Type IIsourceNot publishedNot publishedNot published
ISO/IEC 27001Not publishedNot publishedCertifiedsourceNot published
Other certificationsPCI DSS Level 1 (Service Provider), SOC 1 Type II, SOC 3, EMVCo Level 1 and 2 (Terminal)sourcePCI DSS Level 1 (Service Provider)sourcePCI DSS Level 1sourceNot published
HIPAA (BAA)Not publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
GDPR data processing agreementDPA offeredsourceDPA offeredsourceNot publishedNot published
Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YessourceNot publishedNot publishedNot published
SCIM user provisioningYessourceNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Two-factor authenticationYesEnforcement: Any account (Administrator or Super Administrator setting)sourceYessourceYessourceNot published
Admin audit logYessourceNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Data residency choicesNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
EncryptionCard numbers AES-256 at rest; TLS 1.2+ required in transitsourceNot publishedCard-present payments encrypted end to end; no unencrypted payment data touches the devicesourceNot published
Self-hosting optionNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Offline access
Offline modePartialStripe Terminal can store in-person card payments locally on the POS device or smart reader during an outage and forwards them to Stripe automatically when the connection comes back.sourcePartialOffline card payments work only on a PayPal Reader used through a third-party POS app built on the Zettle SDK; queued payments upload when the device reconnects.sourcePartialSquare POS apps on supported Square hardware can take cash and card payments offline; payments are stored in the app and process automatically on reconnection (ideally within 24 hours, expiring after 72 hours), while online orders, gift cards, Tap to Pay and manual card entry are unavailable offline.sourceNot documented
Desktop appsNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Mobile appsiOS, AndroidsourceiOS, AndroidsourceiOS, AndroidsourceNot published
Offline limitsOffline mode works only with supported Terminal readers; Tap to Pay on Android doesn't support itsourceReconnect within 24 hours of the first offline payment; offline mode requires a PayPal Reader on the latest softwaresourceUpload within 24 hours, no later than 72 hours; not supported on Square Reader 1st gen v1/v2, Kiosk, Tap to Pay, manually entered cards, gift cards, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Invoices app or services mode.source—
Remote, hybrid & in-office
IP allowlistingNot publishedNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Device & session controlsNot publishedNot publishedYesRemote device management: device profiles and codes, printer profiles, monitoring from off-site.sourceNot published
Office & room hardwareStripe Terminal supports pre-certified card readers (Stripe Reader S700/S710, BBPOS WisePOS E, Stripe Reader M2, BBPOS WisePad 3, Verifone) and Tap to Pay.sourcePayPal sells the Bluetooth Card Reader and the PayPal Reader for in-person chip, contactless and mobile-wallet payments through the Point of Sale app.sourceSquare sells its own POS hardware: Reader for contactless and chip ($59), Terminal ($299), Handheld ($399), Stand ($149), Kiosk ($149) and Register ($899).source—
Editorial assessment

What this means for your team

  • Audit reports: Stripe states a SOC 2 report on its own site; we found no SOC 2 statement for PayPal, Square and Polar. If your security team requires SOC 2, ask PayPal, Square and Polar directly before shortlisting.
  • Single sign-on: Stripe includes it. PayPal, Square and Polar don’t document single sign-on with your own identity provider. If your team signs in through Okta, Microsoft Entra ID or Google, price the plan that includes SSO, not the entry plan.
  • Working offline: Stripe, PayPal and Square work offline only in part; Polar doesn’t document an offline mode. Details are in the Offline mode row above.
  • In the office: Stripe: Stripe Terminal supports pre-certified card readers (Stripe Reader S700/S710, BBPOS WisePOS E, Stripe Reader M2, BBPOS WisePad 3, Verifone) and Tap to Pay. PayPal: PayPal sells the Bluetooth Card Reader and the PayPal Reader for in-person chip, contactless and mobile-wallet payments through the Point of Sale app. Square: Square sells its own POS hardware: Reader for contactless and chip ($59), Terminal ($299), Handheld ($399), Stand ($149), Kiosk ($149) and Register ($899).

Stripe: worth knowing

  • SecurityAPI access can be restricted by access policies to specific IPv4 addresses or CIDR ranges (this applies to API keys, not Dashboard sign-in). source
  • OfficeStored offline payments survive a POS reboot and are forwarded once the SDK reconnects. source
  • SecurityThe Dashboard security history can be filtered by action across hundreds of event types and exported as CSV. source

PayPal: worth knowing

  • RemoteA business account owner can add users and choose each user's account privileges from Account Settings. source
  • OfflineUninstalling the POS app, clearing the device cache or factory-resetting it while offline payments are pending permanently deletes those stored payments. source

Square: worth knowing

  • OfflineOffline payments not uploaded within 72 hours expire; Square recommends reconnecting within 24 hours. source
  • OfficeOffline payments will be enabled on all devices automatically unless the seller opts out (change rolled out March–April 2026). source
  • RemotePhone support is 6am–6pm PT on weekdays for Square Plus (first 90 days only on Square Free); only Square Premium includes 24/7 phone support. source
  • SecuritySquare is the merchant of record and maintains PCI certification, so sellers do not validate PCI compliance individually. source

Polar: worth knowing

  • RemotePolar acts as merchant of record and takes on the liability for international sales taxes such as US sales tax, EU VAT and Canadian GST. source

Checked September 27, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

Frequently asked questions

Which payment processing tool is cheapest?

Of the 4 payment processing tools HelpCompare tracks, the lowest published entry price belongs to Square (Square Free $0/mo (2.6% + 15¢ in person); Plus $49/location/mo, verified September 19, 2026). Entry prices are the cheapest paid tier each vendor publishes; the right answer at your team size depends on seat minimums and add-ons, which each head-to-head comparison breaks down.

Which payment processing tools have a free plan?

Free plans: Square (Square Free, $0/mo; you pay processing fees); Polar (Yes: Starter has no monthly fee, you pay per transaction).

Where does this pricing data come from?

Every figure was recorded from the vendor's own pricing page during research for a HelpCompare comparison, and is dated. The most recent check in this category was September 27, 2026. Nothing is estimated: where a vendor publishes no price, we say so. The full dataset is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 at helpcompare.com/data/.

Sources

Figures come from each vendor’s pricing page, recorded on the date shown. Download the full dataset from Open Data (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0).

Cite this page: HelpCompare, “Online Payment Processing, Compared: Verified 2026 Pricing”, helpcompare.com/payment-processing/ (updated ).

Source links on this site are checked every month; last check . How sources are checked.

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Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
About the author

Bill Belcamino

Founder and author, HelpCompare

Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent eight and a half years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

“I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 27, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

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