Methodology
This page is the rule book. A ranking that does not follow it does not belong on the site. The directory is the provider list published with this edition. It covers processors, payment facilitators, gateways, merchants of record, billing tools, creator storefronts, and crypto checkouts that businesses actually use instead of Stripe, or on top of Stripe.
Who is included in the directory?
The directory is the provider list published with this edition. It covers processors, payment facilitators, gateways, merchants of record, billing tools, creator storefronts, and crypto checkouts that businesses actually use instead of Stripe, or on top of Stripe. A provider is not added because it paid.
Coverage is deepest for businesses that sell online and are based in the United States. Regional providers are included where they are a common substitute: Mollie and Mangopay in Europe, Razorpay in India.
What counts as a fact?
A price, fee, or policy claim is published only when it was read on the provider's own page. The pricing dataset links that page and shows the day it was read. For this edition, that day is November 9, 2026 unless a line names an earlier "last updated" date printed by the provider.
Secondary blogs are not a source, including this site's own earlier sentences. If a provider's page and this site disagree, the provider's page wins, and the correction belongs on the changelog.
A floor is not a price. When a provider says "from" or "starting at," the directory repeats that word and the fee calculator ignores the number. Adyen, Checkout.com, Worldpay, and the platform providers quote instead of listing a rate. Their profiles say so, rather than borrowing a figure from a comparison article.
What is the calculator allowed to do?
The calculator uses this formula, and only this formula:
cost = monthly fee + volume × percent + (volume ÷ average ticket) × fixed fee
It assumes a successful domestic US online charge at the provider's standard published rate. It ignores international cards, currency conversion, subscriptions add-ons, refunds, and disputes. Those are named on the provider profile because they change the bill, but they are not silently folded into the sort order.
Helcim is interchange-plus. The lowest-fee page adds a labeled interchange assumption, 1.80% + $0.10, to Helcim's published margin. That sum is a model. It is not a Helcim quote and it is not ranked as if it were a flat rate.
How do rankings work?
There is no universal ranking. A single score would mix a $15 dispute fee, a European local method, and a telehealth license into one number, and the number would be wrong for everyone.
Each best-of page ranks for one job, states the job, and orders providers by fit for that job. Fee rank is used only on the lowest-fee page, and only among published standard rates. Fit beats fame. Stripe is named as the better choice where that is the honest answer. See the editorial policy.
01What is allowed into the pricing dataset?
A fee is published only when it was read on the provider's own page. For this edition that day is November 9, 2026. A floor, a rate that says "from" or "starting at", is labeled and kept out of the calculator.
02Does the directory have one winner?
No. Each best-of page ranks for one job. A single score would mix a dispute fee, a local payment method, and a license into a number that is wrong for everyone.
03How is the monthly cost calculated?
Cost equals the monthly fee plus volume times the percent plus the charge count times the fixed fee. The charge count is volume divided by the average ticket. International cards are not folded in.
04Why is Helcim not sorted as a flat rate?
Helcim publishes a margin on top of interchange, starting at 0.50% + $0.25 online. The lowest-fee page adds a labeled interchange assumption. That sum is a model, not a Helcim quote.
05Can a provider pay to be listed?
No. A provider is not added because it paid. The directory covers processors, payment facilitators, gateways, merchants of record, billing tools, creator storefronts, and crypto checkouts that businesses use instead of Stripe, or on top of it.
Which sources were checked?
Methodology cites 1 source link. Fee figures are from the edition dated November 9, 2026. A later reading is dated where it is cited.
Last verified .
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