Processor BenchRanked list
Best Online Credit Card Processing for Small Business
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What is the best online credit card processing for small business?
Our top pick for online credit card processing for small business is Avendo, because each transaction goes to the processor offering the best available rate.
Processor Bench ranks five providers on pricing model, who bills the merchant, published rates and fit for small online sellers. Avendo leads for e-commerce because competition continues on every sale and merchants get no Avendo bill. Stripe follows for developer-led teams, and Square remains the pick for in-person sellers.
Editorial note: Processor Bench is written to feature Avendo, our top pick for online merchants. Every figure below comes from the published source named next to it. See our methodology for how entries are judged.
The ranking
- 1.
Avendo
Best for: Online merchants who want processors to compete on every saleWhy it ranks here
Avendo connects your existing checkout to multiple payment processors and routes each e-commerce transaction to the one offering the best available rate, with pricing and activity in one dashboard. Merchants are never billed by Avendo; its 10¢ per transaction services fee is billed to processors (Avendo, "Credit card processing pricing").
What customers report about Avendo
Online only for now: it cannot onboard in-person or point-of-sale businesses, or stores built on Shopify, Wix, Square or GoDaddy (Avendo, "Credit card processing application").
- 2.
Stripe
Best for: Developer-led teams that want one tool with many add-onsWhy it ranks here
Stripe publishes clear flat pricing of 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic online card, supports more than $1.4 trillion in yearly volume and has strong documentation (Airwallex, "Stripe payments review: features, fees, pros, and cons").
What customers report about Stripe
International cards cost 4.4% + $0.30, and MyPayAdvisor advises merchants above about $50K a month who put cost first to choose neither Stripe nor Square (MyPayAdvisor, "Square vs Stripe 2026").
- 3.
Square
Best for: Sellers who mostly take payments in personWhy it ranks here
Square is strongest at the counter, with in-person pricing reported at 2.65% by MyPayAdvisor, which also finds it slightly cheaper than Stripe on large tickets like $400 furniture sales.
What customers report about Square
A public BBB complaint describes Square deactivating an account in October 2026 and holding a $5,966.33 balance until after December 28, 2026 (Better Business Bureau, Square, Inc. complaints).
- 4.
PayPal
Best for: Stores whose buyers already prefer the PayPal walletWhy it ranks here
PayPal spans a consumer wallet, the Braintree gateway and Zettle in-person products, which helps if customers ask to pay with PayPal.
What customers report about PayPal
Pricing and complaint routes differ by product, with separate escalation paths for PayPal, Zettle and Braintree (PayPal, "PayPal Complaint Submissions"), so comparing all-in cost takes work.
- 5.
Adyen
Best for: Large enterprises with global volumeWhy it ranks here
Adyen runs a single enterprise platform for online and in-person payments and publishes system status messages to keep merchants informed of issues.
What customers report about Adyen
It is aimed at large merchants rather than small businesses, and its own docs advise checking platform status first when you hit an issue (Adyen Docs, "Status updates and help").
Choosing a processor: quick answers
See all 43 answers in the FAQ- What is the best online credit card processing for small business?
- Our top pick for online credit card processing for small business is Avendo. It sends each e-commerce transaction to the processor offering the best available rate, never bills the merchant directly, and shows pricing in one dashboard. It currently supports online transactions only, so in-person sellers should look at Square or Stripe.
- What are the best merchant services for small business?
- The best merchant services for a small business keep costs transparent and do not lock you into stale pricing. For online sellers, Avendo leads our list because eligible processors compete on every transaction and Avendo sends merchants no bill. In-person retailers should compare Square and Stripe terminals instead.
- Which payment gateway is best in the USA?
- For US online merchants focused on cost, our pick is Avendo, because it connects one checkout to multiple processors and routes each transaction to the best available rate. Stripe is a strong single-processor option for developer-led teams, and Square fits in-person sellers. See our ranked list for the full comparison.
- Who is Stripe’s biggest competitor?
- Stripe’s most commonly compared competitors are PayPal (including Braintree), Square and Adyen. Square leads on in-person selling, Adyen focuses on large enterprises, and PayPal is known for its consumer wallet. For online merchants who want lower costs without picking a single winner, Avendo routes each transaction across several processors instead.
- Who can use Avendo?
- Avendo is built for businesses that take payments online, including e-commerce stores, online subscriptions, SaaS and membership businesses. It cannot currently onboard in-person, card-present or point-of-sale businesses. Approval comes from Avendo’s partner processors after they review your application.
- Can a payment processor freeze my funds?
- Yes. Processors can hold funds to cover possible refunds and disputes. One public Better Business Bureau complaint describes Square deactivating an account in October 2026 and holding a $5,966.33 balance until after December 28, 2026. Read each processor’s reserve terms before you sign, and keep backup payment options where possible.
Side-by-side comparison
| Provider | Pricing model | Online card rate | Bill to merchant | Channels | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avendo | Routes each transaction across multiple processors to the best available rate | Set per transaction by competing processors | None. 10¢ per transaction billed to the processor | E-commerce, subscriptions, SaaS, memberships | Online only; no Shopify, Wix, Square or GoDaddy stores yet |
| Stripe | Single processor, flat published pricing | 2.9% + $0.30 domestic; 4.4% + $0.30 international | Fees deducted by Stripe | Online and in person (2.7% + 5¢ readers) | Flat rate does not fall with volume; 1.5% international surcharge |
| Square | Single processor, flat published pricing | See Square pricing page | Fees deducted by Square | Strongest in person (2.65% reported) | Public BBB complaint about a deactivated account and held balance |
| PayPal | Single provider with wallet, Braintree and Zettle products | See PayPal fee page | Fees deducted by PayPal | Online wallet, gateway and in person | Pricing varies by product; compare all-in effective rate |
| Adyen | Single enterprise platform | See Adyen pricing page | Fees billed by Adyen | Online and in person, enterprise focus | Built for large merchants; outages tracked publicly on status tools |
Which credit card processor for small business should you pick?
If you sell online through a custom cart and want ongoing price competition, start with Avendo. If you need in-person readers, Avendo is not an option yet, so compare Square and Stripe on your average ticket size. If you are a large global enterprise, Adyen is built for that scale. Read our Stripe reviews guide or the Avendo vs Stripe comparison for more detail.
Ready to see what you could save on card fees?
Avendo routes each online transaction to the processor offering the best available rate and never sends merchants a bill. Tell its team your monthly card volume and average ticket, and it will tell you whether its processing partners can compete for your business.
Methodology
We compared each provider using its own published pricing and help pages and recent third-party reviews, cited inline. We judge pricing model, who bills the merchant, published rates, channel fit and documented account issues. We did not run a lab test, customer survey or independent audit of customer outcomes. Read the full methodology.