Payment Cost Benchmark
Independent · No provider affiliation

See how your payment processing costs compare to the benchmark

Answer a few quick questions — no statements needed — and see how your card processing costs line up against benchmarks for similar businesses, plus where to look closer.

Free. No credit card required.

Independent recommendations, no sales pressure, no obligation. We compare multiple payment solutions based on your business.

  • Independent recommendations
  • No sales pressure, no obligation
  • We compare multiple payment solutions

How it works

Three simple steps. No account required.

  1. 1

    Enter basic info

    Share a few details about your monthly card sales and business type.

  2. 2

    See your benchmark

    See how your estimated costs compare to benchmarks for businesses like yours.

  3. 3

    Share your feedback

    Tell us whether the benchmark was useful. This tool is in an early public preview.

Payment cost benchmark assessment

Answer a few quick questions — no statements, no account details. We'll show how your card processing costs compare to benchmarks for similar businesses, and where it makes sense to look closer. Takes under a minute.

Your processing profile
Two numbers and your business type are all we need. The last two questions are optional and make the benchmark more precise.

In-person and online cards are priced differently, so this sharpens the benchmark.

We use this to describe how that type of pricing usually works — not to quote any provider's rates.

Illustrative examples

These are fictional, illustrative scenarios created for education only. They are not real customers, not case studies, and not results anyone should expect.

Fictional example: a small café

Mostly in-person card payments, low average transaction value.

With small tickets, the fixed per-transaction fee makes up a large share of the total cost. A café like this would typically look at per-transaction pricing and card-present rates first.

Fictional example: an online shop

Card-not-present payments only, mid-sized average order.

Online payments generally carry higher benchmark rates than in-person ones because of added risk and fraud tooling. Gateway fees and chargeback handling are common places to look closer.

Fictional example: a trades business

A smaller number of larger invoices, mixed payment methods.

With higher-value transactions, the percentage rate matters more than the fixed fee. Manual card entry and invoice payments are worth checking, as they are often priced differently.

Illustrative only. No savings, pricing, or outcome is implied or guaranteed.

Payment technologies, explained

A plain-English overview of how businesses commonly accept card payments, and why the method you use affects what processing costs look like.

Countertop terminals

Fixed card machines at a till. Usually processed as card-present, which carries lower benchmark rates than online payments.

Mobile and tap-to-phone

Accepting cards on a phone or portable reader. Useful for deliveries, markets and on-site work; pricing models vary widely.

Online checkout and gateways

Hosted checkouts and payment gateways for websites. Card-not-present transactions typically cost more and may add gateway fees.

Invoicing and pay-by-link

Sending a payment link with an invoice. Convenient for larger jobs, though usually priced as card-not-present.

Contactless and digital wallets

Tap-to-pay cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Generally priced the same as other card-present transactions.

Pricing models

Flat-rate, interchange-plus and tiered pricing all present costs differently. Knowing which one you are on makes fees easier to compare.

General information only. Availability, features and pricing differ between providers.

Help shape this free tool

Thanks for trying the Payment Processing Benchmark. This tool is currently in an early public preview; we're testing whether it provides value before adding referrals or services. Help us improve this tool. We'd love your honest feedback—whether you found it helpful, confusing, or somewhere in between.

Early preview. This benchmark is being tested with real businesses.