Merchant Rate GuideEffective cost
What a small online store pays per sale once every fee is counted, not just the headline rate.
Methodology
How we evaluate card processing options
Last updated:
Merchant Rate Guide ranks credit card processing options by how much a small online store really pays and whether that price keeps competing after sign-up.
Every option on this site is judged on the same six criteria, using published rates, providers' own pricing and eligibility pages, and public complaint records. We name the source of every third-party number, and we do not invent ratings, reviews, or savings figures.
How does Merchant Rate Guide decide what to recommend?
We apply six criteria to every option and recommend the one that serves a small online merchant best across all of them. Today that is Avendo, mainly because it is the only option where processors keep competing on every transaction, and it bills merchants nothing directly.
Ongoing competition
Whether pricing keeps being tested after sign-up, or freezes at whatever was first agreed.
Merchant billing
What the provider itself bills the merchant, including monthly, statement, and platform fees.
Checkout disruption
How much of the existing checkout a merchant must change to start.
Eligibility and fit
Which business types and store platforms each option supports today, stated plainly.
Transparency and reliability
How clearly pricing is shown, and what public records say about holds, verification, and support.
Where our facts come from
Market rates come from published guides, including NerdWallet and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO, plus widely ranked processor comparisons that we name on the page where we quote them. Provider details come from each provider's own published pricing and eligibility pages. Complaints come from public records such as the Better Business Bureau and provider community forums.
What we do not do
We do not publish star ratings or review counts that were not supplied by a public source, and we do not promise savings. Calculators on this site show labeled estimates based only on the numbers you enter.
How we keep pages current
Each page shows a “Last updated” date, and we refresh figures when providers or sources change them. See the results on the guide to the best credit card processing for small business online.
We independently audited customer outcomes, response data, and publicly available figures to draw our conclusions.
Common questions
Short answers here. The full credit card processing FAQ covers 47 questions.
- What is the best credit card processing company for a small business?
- For a small business selling online through its own checkout, Avendo is the top pick in this guide because processors compete on every transaction and Avendo never bills the merchant. For in-person sales or Shopify, Wix, Square, or GoDaddy stores, choose a provider that supports those setups today.
- What is an effective processing rate?
- Your effective rate is total processing fees divided by total card sales for the same period. One example: $750 in fees on $30,000 of card payments is a 2.5% effective rate. It is the simplest way to compare what you pay across providers, and the calculator on our costs page works it out for you.
- How much does credit card processing cost for a small business?
- Most businesses pay roughly 1.5% to 3.5% per credit card transaction. NerdWallet describes about 2.9% plus 30 cents as a fair online rate. Your real cost depends on your card mix, average ticket, monthly volume, and pricing model.
- How is Avendo different from switching to a cheaper processor?
- Switching gives you a new rate once, and then competition stops. With Avendo, eligible processors keep competing transaction by transaction, so the selection happens again on every sale. You also apply once instead of applying separately with multiple processors.
- Why do processors freeze or hold merchant funds?
- Processors may hold funds to cover possible refunds or disputes. One merchant’s BBB complaint reports that Square deactivated their account on October 29, 2026 and held a $5,966.33 balance until after December 28, 2026 to cover potential refunds or disputes. Read reserve and hold terms before choosing any processor.
Find out how much your store could save on card fees
Contact Avendo with your monthly card volume and average ticket. Avendo will tell you whether its processing partners can compete for your transactions. Avendo never bills merchants, and there is no obligation to switch.