Helcim
- Helcim publishes five volume bands plus a custom band, not three. They key off monthly volume. They run openly to $5 million a month before anything turns negotiable
- Card-present markup runs from interchange + 0.40% + 8 cents down to interchange + 0.15% + 6 cents. Online runs from interchange + 0.50% + 25 cents down to interchange + 0.15% + 15 cents
- On this site's published pass-through assumption, Helcim is cheapest in 20 of the 24 scenarios modelled. Two channels, three ticket sizes, four monthly volumes. The margin is wide, not narrow. At a $50 card-present ticket on $20,000 a month it's $389.20 against Square Free's $580.00
- It loses four cells, and they matter. PayPal Zettle wins all three $15 card-present cells below $500,000 a month. Stax wins one online cell, at a $25 ticket and $20,000 a month
- On an ordinary card mix, Helcim beats Square's flat 2.6% + 15c above a $9.23 card-present ticket, at any volume. Neither charges a monthly fee. Below that ticket Square is cheaper. Below $19.53, PayPal Zettle beats both. On premium rewards and commercial cards Square wins at every ticket
- Helcim charges $0 for a chargeback resolved in your favour and $15 if you lose. That's the only win-is-free dispute policy among the processors verified for this site
- No monthly fee, no setup fee, no PCI fee, no cancellation fee, no statement fee, and no volume floor
- Stax overtakes Helcim card-present at roughly $58,000 to $70,300 a month, depending on ticket. Online, at roughly $22,100 to $36,200, at Stax's published $199 floor
Helcim is an interchange-plus processor that shows you exactly what you're paying. As your volume grows the markup drops automatically. No renegotiation. Best for merchants who want transparency and no monthly subscription.
Every Helcim fee on this page was read from helcim.com/pricing on 2 August 2026.
You can't compare interchange-plus against flat-rate without assuming what interchange costs. This page uses one assumption and only one. Pass-through of 1.03% + $0.178 card-present and 1.50% + $0.172 online. The derivation, its sources and its unverified inputs are published at Cost Model Assumptions. If your card mix differs, every number below moves. That page tells you by how much.
This page deliberately doesn't link to Helcim's savings calculator. A vendor's calculator is a sales tool. Helcim publishes enough real numbers that you can do the arithmetic yourself. The worked examples below show all of it.
Plenty of comparison content assumes blended interchange of 1.80% + $0.10 card-present and 1.94% + $0.10 online. That first figure isn't a blend of anything. It's roughly the rate for one card type, a consumer rewards credit card, and it overstates card-present pass-through by 79 basis points. On $20,000 of volume that's about $159 a month of phantom cost, all of it charged to the interchange-plus side.
Name the direction plainly. It makes Helcim look worse than it is. On the assumption this page actually uses, the reference card-present comparison against Square is a saving of $190.80 a month. The 1.80% assumption puts it near $10.
When to Use Helcim
You should use Helcim if:
- Your average card-present ticket is above about $9.23 on an ordinary consumer card mix. Helcim beats Square's flat rate from that ticket up, at any volume. Neither charges a monthly fee, so there's no threshold to reach first
- Your average online ticket is above about $9.38 (against Square's free plan) or $14.83 (against Braintree)
- You want to see interchange, network fees, and markup separately
- You want volume discounts that apply automatically with no renegotiation
- Your volume is seasonal or uneven, so a monthly subscription would hurt in slow months
- You have real dispute volume. The $0-if-you-win policy is worth money
Skip Helcim if:
- Your average card-present ticket is under about $19.53. PayPal Zettle's 2.29% + 9 cents is cheaper there, all the way up to $500,000 a month. Above that volume Helcim's crossover falls to $13.96
- Your card-present ticket is under about $9.23 and you don't want a second account. Square's flat 2.6% + 15c wins below that point
- Your card mix is heavy in premium rewards or commercial credit. Interchange alone runs 2.10% to 2.26% card-present on those. Helcim's all-in passes Square's flat 2.6% before ticket size even enters it. A flat rate caps your exposure, and that's a real benefit
- You want the simplest possible statement
- You need the best developer tooling (Stripe is better)
- You're primarily card-present retail and want a full POS (Square is better)
- You're consistently above roughly $58,000 to $70,300 a month card-present, or $22,100 to $36,200 online. Cost is your only criterion and dispute fees don't matter. Stax is cheaper past those points, at its published $199 floor
Pricing Breakdown
How Interchange-Plus Works
You pay: Interchange + Network Assessments + Helcim's Markup
Interchange and network assessments are the same pass-through for every processor. Only the markup differs. So when you compare two interchange-plus processors, the markup table below is the whole comparison.
Comparing interchange-plus against flat rate is a different exercise. There you have to model the pass-through too. Count the network assessments on the interchange-plus side when you do. Leaving them out is the easiest way to rig the comparison in interchange-plus's favour. This site did exactly that in an earlier version.
The Full Published Schedule
Helcim publishes five bands plus a custom band. All bands are monthly credit card volume.
| Monthly volume | Card-present markup | Online / keyed markup |
|---|---|---|
| $0 - $50K | IC + 0.40% + $0.08 | IC + 0.50% + $0.25 |
| $50K - $100K | IC + 0.35% + $0.07 | IC + 0.45% + $0.20 |
| $100K - $500K | IC + 0.25% + $0.07 | IC + 0.35% + $0.20 |
| $500K - $1M | IC + 0.20% + $0.06 | IC + 0.25% + $0.15 |
| $1M - $5M | IC + 0.15% + $0.06 | IC + 0.15% + $0.15 |
| Over $5M | Custom | Custom |
Source: helcim.com/pricing, verified 2 August 2026.
Adding this site's pass-through assumption gives the all-in rate you'd actually pay on an ordinary card mix:
| Monthly volume | All-in, card-present | All-in, online |
|---|---|---|
| $0 - $50K | 1.43% + $0.258 | 2.00% + $0.422 |
| $50K - $100K | 1.38% + $0.248 | 1.95% + $0.372 |
| $100K - $500K | 1.28% + $0.248 | 1.85% + $0.372 |
| $500K - $1M | 1.23% + $0.238 | 1.75% + $0.322 |
| $1M - $5M | 1.18% + $0.238 | 1.65% + $0.322 |
Those are the formulas every worked example below runs on. Substitute your own pass-through and they'll all move.
- There are five published bands, not three. The three-band version that circulates ($0-50K, $50K-$250K, $250K-$1M) is wrong. The real bands are $0-50K, $50K-100K, $100K-500K, $500K-1M, and $1M-5M.
- "Over $1M = Negotiated" is wrong. Helcim publishes the $1M-$5M band openly at 0.15% + 6 cents card-present. Negotiation starts at $5 million a month, not $1 million. Do $2 million a month and someone will tell you your Helcim rate is negotiable. They're describing a band Helcim already publishes.
- The bands are monthly. Helcim labels them "monthly credit card volume." Stax publishes bands that look similar and are annual. Check the period before you compare the tables. Miss it and you're out by a factor of twelve.
Other Rates
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Keyed-in | Billed at the online rate for your band |
| ACH / EFT-PAD | 0.5% + $0.25, capped at $6.00 |
| Canadian Interac | $0.09, or $0.12 for tap |
| Chargeback resolved in your favour | $0.00 |
| Chargeback lost | $15.00 |
| Monthly fee | $0 |
| Setup fee | $0 |
| PCI compliance fee | $0 |
| Cancellation fee | $0 |
| Statement fee | $0 |
| Volume floor | None |
| Instant deposit | Not published. No instant deposit fee appears on Helcim's pricing page. Any "1%, $1 minimum" figure you find is unsourced. Ask before you rely on it |
Source: helcim.com/pricing, verified 2 August 2026.
The Dispute Policy Is the Underrated Part
| Processor | Cost of a dispute you win | Cost of a dispute you lose |
|---|---|---|
| Helcim | $0 | $15 |
| Square | $0 | $0 |
| Braintree | $15 | $15 |
| Stripe | $15 outright win, $30 partial win | $30 |
| PayPal | $0 on a wallet dispute, $20 on a card chargeback | $15 wallet, $20 card, $30 either way above a 1.5% ratio |
| Moneris | CA$25, plus CA$80 authorization chargeback handling | Same |
All verified 2 August 2026 from each vendor's own pricing page.
Helcim isn't alone at $0 any more. Square charges nothing on disputes at all. PayPal's standard tier charges nothing on a case decided in your favour. What Helcim still has is a $0 win plus published interchange-plus. Square doesn't offer that, and PayPal withdraws it the moment your dispute ratio hits 1.5%.
Run 30 disputes a month and win 60%, and that's 18 free defences on Helcim. Braintree charges $270. Stripe charges $270 to $540, depending on how many are partial wins. Over a year that's $3,200 to $6,500. It's a real line item that never shows up in a rate comparison.
What You Actually Pay: Worked Examples
Every figure in this section runs on the published rates above, plus pass-through of 1.03% + $0.178 card-present and 1.50% + $0.172 online. Nothing is estimated. Nothing is rounded up.
One $100 Transaction, Entry Band
| Component | Card-present | Online |
|---|---|---|
| Interchange (blended, Visa schedule of 18 April 2026, weighted by Federal Reserve transaction counts) | $1.05 (0.89% + $0.158) | $1.51 (1.36% + $0.152) |
| Network assessments (unverified: 0.14% + $0.02) | $0.16 | $0.16 |
| Pass-through subtotal | $1.21 (1.03% + $0.178) | $1.67 (1.50% + $0.172) |
| Helcim markup, $0-50K band | $0.48 (0.40% + $0.08) | $0.75 (0.50% + $0.25) |
| Total | $1.69 (1.69%) | $2.42 (2.42%) |
The assessment line is flagged because it deserves to be. Neither Visa nor Mastercard publishes network assessments on any page this site could read. So 0.14% + $0.02 sits at the conservative end of what's plausible. That's the end that makes interchange-plus look worse. Moving it between 0.10% and 0.25% changes none of the verdicts here.
Run a single card type's interchange as though it were a blend and the same table reads $2.52 card-present and $2.79 online. That's the size of the error.
The Same $100 Against Competitors Whose US Rates Are Verified
| Channel | Helcim, entry band | Competitor | Helcim saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card-present | $1.69 | Square Free, 2.6% + $0.15 = $2.75 | $1.06 |
| Card-present | $1.69 | Stripe Terminal, 2.7% + $0.05 = $2.75 | $1.06 |
| Card-present | $1.69 | PayPal Zettle, 2.29% + $0.09 = $2.38 | $0.69 |
| Online | $2.42 | Braintree, 2.89% + $0.29 = $3.18 | $0.76 |
| Online | $2.42 | Stripe, 2.9% + $0.30 = $3.20 | $0.78 |
| Online | $2.42 | Square Free, 3.3% + $0.30 = $3.60 | $1.18 |
At $40,000 a month with a $100 average ticket (400 transactions), those per-transaction gaps annualise into real money:
| Channel | Helcim | Competitor | Helcim saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card-present | $675.20 (1.69%) | Square Free $1,100.00 (2.75%) | $424.80/month, $5,098/year |
| Card-present | $675.20 (1.69%) | Stripe Terminal $1,100.00 (2.75%) | $424.80/month, $5,098/year |
| Card-present | $675.20 (1.69%) | PayPal Zettle $952.00 (2.38%) | $276.80/month, $3,322/year |
| Online | $968.80 (2.42%) | Braintree $1,272.00 (3.18%) | $303.20/month, $3,638/year |
| Online | $968.80 (2.42%) | Stripe $1,280.00 (3.20%) | $311.20/month, $3,734/year |
| Online | $968.80 (2.42%) | Square Free $1,440.00 (3.60%) | $471.20/month, $5,654/year |
Anyone calling that "not life-changing" is running the 1.80% assumption, which puts the same volume near $92 a month card-present and $164 online. At a $100 ticket the real gap runs $277 to $471 a month. That matters at $40,000 a month.
Stripe Terminal (2.7% + 5c) and Square Free card-present (2.6% + 15c) both come to exactly $2.75 on a $100 sale, which is why those two rows are identical. That's an artefact of this ticket size, not a draw.
Stripe's fixed component is ten cents lower and its percentage is a tenth of a point higher, so the two cross at $100 and diverge either side of it. Stripe is cheaper below a $100 ticket, Square is cheaper above it. At a $20 ticket Stripe is 2.95% against Square's 3.35%. At $500 it's 2.71% against 2.63%. Run it at your own average ticket rather than borrowing this one.
Different Card Types, Same $100, Same Band
Interchange isn't one number. This table is the part flat-rate hides from you. It's also where Helcim loses. All rates are Visa's published US schedule of 18 April 2026, cross-checked against Mastercard's of 17 April 2026. Add 0.14% + $0.02 of assessments and the entry-band markup.
| Card the customer hands you | Card-present interchange | Helcim all-in, in person | Online interchange | Helcim all-in, online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulated debit (large-bank) | 0.05% + $0.22 | $0.91 (0.91%) | 0.05% + $0.22 | $1.18 (1.18%) |
| Exempt debit (small-bank) | 0.80% + $0.15 | $1.59 (1.59%) | 1.65% + $0.15 | $2.71 (2.71%) |
| Exempt prepaid | 1.15% + $0.15 | $1.94 (1.94%) | 1.75% + $0.20 | $2.86 (2.86%) |
| Consumer credit, no rewards | 1.51% + $0.10 | $2.25 (2.25%) | 1.89% + $0.10 | $2.90 (2.90%) |
| Standard rewards credit | 1.65% + $0.10 | $2.39 (2.39%) | 2.05% + $0.10 | $3.06 (3.06%) |
| Premium rewards (Signature Preferred) | 2.10% + $0.10 | $2.84 (2.84%) | 2.50% + $0.10 | $3.51 (3.51%) |
| Top consumer tier (Visa Infinite, MC World Elite) | 2.30% + $0.10 | $3.04 (3.04%) | 2.60% + $0.10 | $3.61 (3.61%) |
| Commercial / business | 2.26% + $0.10 | $3.00 (3.00%) | 2.79% + $0.10 | $3.80 (3.80%) |
| This site's blended mix | 0.89% + $0.158 | $1.69 (1.69%) | 1.36% + $0.152 | $2.42 (2.42%) |
Read the last three credit rows next to Square Free's $2.75 card-present. On a premium rewards card Helcim costs $2.84 and Square costs $2.75. On a Visa Infinite or Mastercard World Elite it's $3.04 against $2.75. On a commercial card, $3.00 against $2.75. No ticket size rescues Helcim on those three. Its all-in percentage already exceeds Square's before the fixed fee counts. If half your counter is business cards, the flat rate is genuinely the better deal.
On regulated debit the same comparison is $0.91 against $2.75. That's the spread interchange-plus exists to expose.
The old version of this table used "Rewards credit 1.95% + $0.10" and "Premium card 2.40% + $0.10." Those match neither Visa's card-present schedule nor its online one. It didn't distinguish the channels at all.
Monthly Cost by Volume, Online at a $100 Ticket
| Monthly volume | Band | Pass-through | Helcim markup | Total | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $75,000 (750 txns) | $50K-$100K, 0.45% + $0.20 | $1,254.00 | $487.50 | $1,741.50 | 2.32% |
| $300,000 (3,000 txns) | $100K-$500K, 0.35% + $0.20 | $5,016.00 | $1,650.00 | $6,666.00 | 2.22% |
| $1,500,000 (15,000 txns) | $1M-$5M, 0.15% + $0.15 | $25,080.00 | $4,500.00 | $29,580.00 | 1.97% |
The old figures here were $2,017.50, $7,770.00 and $35,100.00, at effective rates of 2.69%, 2.59% and 2.34%. They ran on a 1.94% + $0.10 online assumption that appeared nowhere else on the site. The page claimed it was "the same assumption used on the processor comparison page." It wasn't. There's one assumption now, and it's published in full.
Against the two online flat rates verified in USD:
| Monthly volume | Helcim | Braintree (2.89% + $0.29) | Square Free (3.3% + $0.30) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $75,000 | $1,741.50 (2.32%) | $2,385.00 (3.18%), Helcim saves $643.50 | $2,700.00 (3.60%), Helcim saves $958.50 |
| $300,000 | $6,666.00 (2.22%) | $9,540.00 (3.18%), Helcim saves $2,874.00 | $10,800.00 (3.60%), Helcim saves $4,134.00 |
| $1,500,000 | $29,580.00 (1.97%) | $47,700.00 (3.18%), Helcim saves $18,120.00 | $54,000.00 (3.60%), Helcim saves $24,420.00 |
Helcim's advantage grows with volume because the markup falls while a flat rate doesn't.
Where Helcim Loses: $15 Card-Present
This is the honest counterweight to everything above. It holds across a very wide volume range. At a $15 card-present ticket, PayPal Zettle's 9-cent fixed fee beats Helcim's combined 25.8 cents at every volume below $500,000 a month.
| Monthly volume | Helcim | PayPal Zettle | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $157.50 (3.15%) | $144.50 (2.89%) | Zettle by $13.00 |
| $20,000 | $630.00 (3.15%) | $578.00 (2.89%) | Zettle by $52.00 |
| $100,000 | $2,933.33 (2.93%) | $2,890.00 (2.89%) | Zettle by $43.33 |
| $500,000 | $14,083.33 (2.82%) | $14,450.00 (2.89%) | Helcim by $366.67 |
The flip happens at exactly $500,000 a month. Helcim enters its $500K-$1M band and its crossover ticket drops from $19.53 to $13.96. Below that volume, at a $15 ticket, Zettle is the answer. Helcim isn't.
Helcim vs Stax: The Comparison That Actually Decides It
Both are transparent. Both pass interchange through. They lose to each other at different volumes. This is the comparison most merchants should run. It isn't the one most articles run.
| Helcim | Stax | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $0 | $99 to $199+, set by annual volume |
| Percentage markup | 0.15% to 0.50% depending on monthly band | 0% |
| Per transaction, card-present | $0.08 entry, dropping to $0.07 above $50,000/month and $0.06 above $500,000 | $0.08 flat |
| Per transaction, online | $0.15 to $0.25 | $0.15 |
| Chargeback you win | $0 | Not published. Optional protection add-on at $25 per chargeback |
| Slow month | You pay nothing extra | You pay the subscription regardless |
| Volume floor | None | Not published |
Both verified 2 August 2026 from helcim.com/pricing and staxpayments.com/pricing.
Interchange is identical for both, so it cancels out entirely. Everything below compares markup and fees only. That's why these crossovers don't depend on the pass-through assumption at all.
Card-Present: The Crossover Is $58,000 to $70,300, Not $50,000
The $50,000 figure comes from setting Helcim's 0.40% markup equal to Stax's $199 and stopping there. The number breaks and so does the reasoning.
In Helcim's entry band the cents genuinely cancel. The first crossing is easy to compute:
0.40% x V = $199 -> V = $49,750/month
But Helcim's band improves at exactly $50,000 a month, to 0.35% + 7 cents. Its cent charge is now a penny below Stax's, not equal to it. That step reclaims the lead almost immediately. So the durable crossover sits higher. And it depends on ticket size. The 7-cent advantage is worth more when there are more transactions:
Helcim ($50K-$100K band) = 0.0035 x V + $0.07 x (V / A)
Stax (at the $199 floor) = $0.08 x (V / A) + $199
0.0035V - 0.01V/A = 199
V = 199 / (0.0035 - 0.01/A)
| Average card-present ticket | Stax overtakes Helcim at about |
|---|---|
| $15 | $70,235/month |
| $50 | $60,303/month |
| $100 | $58,529/month |
| $150 | $57,961/month |
Note the direction. Card-present, the crossover falls as tickets get bigger. Helcim's 7-cent advantage is worth less when there are fewer transactions to apply it to.
There's one narrow exception, worth knowing if you're sitting on it. Between about $49,750 and $50,000 a month, Stax at its $199 floor edges ahead. Then Helcim's band step takes the lead straight back. That's a $250-wide window. It's a sawtooth artefact, not a reason to switch.
Online: The Crossover Depends on Ticket and on Which Stax Tier You're In
A single "$50 ticket, roughly $20,000 a month, below that Helcim and above it Stax" doesn't hold. It's false between $20,834 and $28,429. There Stax's subscription steps to $199 and Helcim retakes the lead.
Helcim entry online = 0.005 x V + $0.25 x (V / A)
Stax = $0.15 x (V / A) + subscription
At a $50 ticket that reduces to 0.007 x V = subscription:
| Stax subscription | Solves to | Valid at that tier? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| $99 (up to $150K/yr) | $14,143/month | No. That's $169,714/year, past the tier | No $99 window exists at this ticket |
| $139 ($150K-$250K/yr) | $19,857/month | Yes ($238,286/year) | Stax wins from $19,857 to $20,833 |
| $199+ (above $250K/yr) | $28,429/month | Yes | Helcim retakes $20,834-$28,428; Stax wins durably above $28,429 |
At other tickets, at Stax's $199 floor:
| Average online ticket | Stax overtakes Helcim at about |
|---|---|
| $25 | $22,111/month |
| $50 | $28,429/month |
| $75 | $31,421/month |
| $100 | $33,167/month |
| $200 | $36,182/month |
Here the crossover rises with ticket size. That's the opposite of the card-present pattern. Stax's cheaper cent charge is doing the work. Bigger tickets mean fewer transactions to apply it to.
At a $25 ticket the lower Stax tiers open earlier windows, and they sawtooth. Stax wins from $11,000 to $12,500. Helcim retakes it to $15,444. Stax wins to $20,833. Helcim retakes it to $22,111. Stax wins above that. Crossing a Stax tier boundary can make your bill go up while your volume goes up. Stax's own page documents the sawtooth in full.
Worked Check at $75,000 a Month Online
1,500 transactions at $50. Pass-through is $1,383.00 for both and cancels out, so only the markup column decides it:
| Markup and fees paid | Total including pass-through | Effective | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helcim ($50K-$100K online, 0.45% + $0.20) | $337.50 + $300.00 = $637.50 | $2,020.50 | 2.69% |
| Stax ($900K/year, $199+ subscription, 0% + $0.15) | $199.00 + $225.00 = $424.00 | $1,807.00 | 2.41% |
Stax is $213.50 a month cheaper at that volume and ticket. That's expected. $75,000 is well past the $28,429 crossover for a $50 online ticket.
So Which Should You Pick?
- Card-present, under about $58,000 a month: Helcim, at any ticket above $9.23. Under $19.53, look at PayPal Zettle before either of them
- Card-present, above roughly $58,000 to $70,300 a month (it depends on ticket, so use the table): get a Stax quote. Don't assume the $199 floor is your price
- Online at a $25 ticket: the sawtooth matters. Price both between $11,000 and $22,000 a month
- Online at a $50 ticket, under $19,857 a month: Helcim
- Online at a $100 ticket, under about $33,167 a month: Helcim
- Above the crossover with real dispute volume: Helcim can still win. Stax publishes no base chargeback fee and sells protection at $25 a chargeback. Helcim charges $0 when you win. Price your own dispute book before deciding
- Seasonal or unpredictable volume: Helcim. A subscription you pay in a dead month is a pure loss
One caveat on all of it. Stax publishes "$199+" for $250,000 a year and up. The plus sign is unbounded. Every Stax figure above uses $199. So these are the earliest volumes at which Stax could overtake Helcim. Not the volumes at which it will. Get the actual number in writing first.
What Helcim Does Well
1. Pricing Transparency
Helcim shows interchange, network assessments and its own markup separately on every transaction. You can see when premium cards cost you more. Then you can decide whether to do anything about it.
2. Automatic Volume Discounts
Your markup drops when you cross a band. No renegotiation, no contract amendment, no sales call. Go from $75,000 to $150,000 a month online and you move from 0.45% + $0.20 to 0.35% + $0.20. That's $150 a month on the new volume.
3. No Junk Fees
No PCI compliance fee, no statement fee, no batch fee, no annual fee, no minimum monthly fee, no cancellation fee. Helcim states all of these as zero on its pricing page.
4. $0 Chargebacks When You Win
Covered above. Worth restating. It's the most merchant-friendly policy verified for this site. It's why a dispute-heavy business might pick Helcim over a marginally cheaper competitor.
5. Month-to-Month
No long-term commitment, no early termination fee, no volume commitment.
What Helcim Does Poorly
1. Interchange-Plus Takes Learning
Your effective rate varies month to month with your card mix. Predicting next month's processing cost is harder than with flat-rate. Budget a couple of weeks to get comfortable reading the statement.
2. Not Plug-and-Play
Pre-built plugins are straightforward, but custom API work is less capable than Stripe's. Terminal configuration takes setup. Days, not minutes.
3. Smaller Ecosystem
Fewer integrations than Stripe, less hardware range than Square, and no full POS suite. Helcim is a payments processor rather than a business operating system.
4. It Loses on Small Card-Present Tickets
At a $15 ticket in person, PayPal Zettle is cheaper at every volume below $500,000 a month. Square is cheaper below a $9.23 ticket. Helcim's combined fixed component in the entry band is 25.8 cents. That's the largest of any interchange-plus option this site ranks. Small tickets are where a low fixed fee wins, and Helcim doesn't have one.
5. Stax Is Cheaper Above the Crossover
Worth being direct about, since this page is on a site that sells nothing. Helcim's percentage markup keeps scaling with volume. Stax's doesn't, because there isn't one. Above roughly $58,000 to $70,300 a month card-present, or $22,100 to $36,200 online, Stax wins on cost at its published floor. Helcim's answer is the dispute policy and the absence of a subscription, not the markup.
6. Smaller Company
Helcim is smaller than Stripe, Square, and PayPal. If that becomes a problem, it becomes a migration.
Pricing Comparison Tables
$20,000/Month Card-Present, $50 Ticket
400 transactions. This is the reference cell. It's the one that most exposes the old error on this page.
| Processor | Model | Monthly | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helcim | IC + 0.40% + $0.08 | $389.20 | 1.95% |
| Stax | $139 subscription ($240K/year), 0% + $0.08 | $448.20 | 2.24% |
| PayPal Zettle | 2.29% + $0.09 | $494.00 | 2.47% |
| Square (Free) | 2.6% + $0.15 | $580.00 | 2.90% |
Savings against Square Free: $190.80 a month, or $2,290 a year. Under the old 1.80% + $0.10 assumption this read as roughly $10 a month. That would reasonably have changed nobody's mind.
$75,000/Month Online, $100 Ticket
750 transactions.
| Processor | Model | Monthly | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stax (unranked) | $199+ subscription, 0% + $0.15 | $1,565.50 | 2.09% |
| Helcim | IC + 0.45% + $0.20 | $1,741.50 | 2.32% |
| Braintree | 2.89% + $0.29 | $2,385.00 | 3.18% |
| PayPal standard card | 2.99% + $0.49 | $2,610.00 | 3.48% |
| Square (Free) | 3.3% + $0.30 | $2,700.00 | 3.60% |
| PayPal Checkout | 3.49% + $0.49 | $2,985.00 | 3.98% |
Savings against Braintree: $643.50 a month, or $7,722 a year. Against Square's free plan: $958.50 a month, or $11,502 a year.
Stax is shown first because it's genuinely cheaper here. It's marked unranked because $900,000 a year puts it in the "$199+" tier with no published ceiling. Square Plus and Premium publish lower card rates but not their plan prices, so they can't be ranked either.
$300,000/Month Online, $100 Ticket
3,000 transactions.
| Processor | Model | Monthly | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stax (unranked) | $199+ subscription, 0% + $0.15 | $5,665.00 | 1.89% |
| Helcim | IC + 0.35% + $0.20 | $6,666.00 | 2.22% |
| Braintree | 2.89% + $0.29 | $9,540.00 | 3.18% |
| Square (Free) | 3.3% + $0.30 | $10,800.00 | 3.60% |
| PayPal Checkout | 3.49% + $0.49 | $11,940.00 | 3.98% |
Stax's markup here is a $199 subscription plus 3,000 transactions at 15 cents. That's $649, against Helcim's $1,650. Pass-through is identical for both at $5,016.00. Stax is $1,001 a month cheaper at $300,000 online, if the $199 tier holds at $3.6 million a year. It publishes that tier as "$199+". Get the actual number in writing before switching.
All rates verified from each vendor's own pricing page on 2 August 2026, with Stripe's US card and Terminal rates read from a US connection on 4 August 2026.
Who Helcim Is Best For
Perfect Fit
| Business Type | Why Helcim Wins |
|---|---|
| Card-present above about a $9.23 ticket | Cheaper than Square's flat rate on an ordinary card mix, at any volume, with no subscription to earn back first |
| Debit-heavy retail | The strongest case on the page. Regulated debit costs $0.91 on a $100 sale against Square's $2.75. Flat-rate keeps that saving |
| Seasonal businesses | No monthly fee means a dead month costs nothing |
| Dispute-heavy merchants | $0 when you win is unmatched among the processors verified here |
| B2B with Level 2 and 3 data | Level 2 and 3 support can lower commercial-card interchange. Worth checking carefully, because at standard commercial rates Helcim's 3.00% all-in on a $100 sale is worse than Square's $2.75. The saving only exists if your data actually qualifies |
Poor Fit
| Business Type | Better Alternative |
|---|---|
| Card-present under about a $19.53 ticket | PayPal Zettle at 2.29% + 9c, up to $500,000 a month |
| Card-present under about a $9.23 ticket, one account only | Square |
| Card mix heavy in premium rewards or commercial credit | Square. A flat rate caps your exposure when interchange itself runs 2.1% to 2.3% |
| Above roughly $58,000-$70,300/month card-present, or $22,100-$36,200 online, cost-only | Stax, at its published $199 floor. Get the quote first |
| Want simple, predictable pricing | Flat-rate |
| Need best developer tools | Stripe |
| Primarily card-present retail wanting a full POS | Square |
Common Gotchas
1. Premium Card Shock
Interchange-plus shows you the true cost of premium rewards cards. Some months are dearer because your customers used more of them. This isn't Helcim doing anything to you. You always paid it. Flat-rate just hid it inside an average.
2. Statement Complexity
Helcim statements itemise interchange categories. There can be a lot of lines. Focus on the effective rate summary rather than trying to read every category.
3. Not Cheaper on Every Single Transaction
On a premium rewards card, Helcim's entry band is 2.84% on a $100 sale in person against Square Free's 2.75%. On a commercial card it's 3.00% against 2.75%. Helcim wins on the blend, not on every line. If nearly all your customers carry premium rewards or business cards, you may not save at all.
4. The Bands Are Monthly, and Stax's Are Annual
This trips people up constantly. Helcim's $100K-$500K band is $100,000 to $500,000 per month. Stax's $150,000 to $250,000 band is per year. Compare the tables without checking the period and you're wrong by a factor of twelve.
5. Instant Deposit Is Not Published
Helcim's pricing page doesn't state an instant deposit fee. If same-day access to funds matters, ask for the rate in writing. Don't assume it's cheap.
Test to Run
Interchange-plus savings calculation, using published numbers only:
Week 1: Get your real inputs
- Pull your last three statements. Record total volume, total transaction count, and total fees
- Calculate your current effective rate:
total fees / total volume - Calculate your average ticket:
total volume / transaction count. This is the variable that decides the answer, not your volume - Ask your current processor for the interchange breakdown. If they won't provide it, that answer is itself informative
Week 2: Build the Helcim number
5. Find your monthly volume band in the published schedule above
6. Helcim cost = (pass-through % x volume) + (pass-through cents x count) + (band % x volume) + (band cents x count)
7. If you don't know your own pass-through, use this site's figures as a placeholder. 1.03% + $0.178 card-present or 1.50% + $0.172 online. Mark the answer an estimate. Read how those were derived before you rely on them
8. Compare to your current effective rate
Week 3: Build the Stax number too
9. Stax cost = (pass-through x volume) + (count x $0.15 online or $0.08 card-present) + subscription
10. Stax's subscription is set by annual volume: $99 up to $150,000 a year, $139 for $150,000 to $250,000, $199+ above that. Multiply your monthly volume by twelve before you pick a tier
11. Whichever of Helcim or Stax is lower, that's your real alternative to flat-rate
Week 4: Price your disputes
12. Count disputes in the last twelve months, split into won and lost
13. On Helcim: lost x $15. On most competitors: total x $15 or more
14. Add this to the comparison. For a dispute-heavy business it can reverse the ranking
Success criteria: a number for flat-rate, Helcim and Stax, built from published rates and your own statement. And you know which one wins at your ticket size and volume, not which one an article recommended.
Scale Callout
Under $30K/month:
- The savings are already real at this size, and bigger than most comparisons show. At $20,000 a month card-present on a $50 ticket, Helcim is $389.20 against Square Free's $580.00. That's $190.80 a month, or $2,290 a year
- Even at $5,000 a month on the same ticket it's $97.30 against $145.00, a gap of $47.70 a month or $572 a year
- Helcim costs nothing to hold, so there's no downside to it being your processor while you grow
- Stax's subscription wouldn't pay for itself card-present at these volumes. Online at a $25 ticket, Stax's $99 tier does beat Helcim from about $11,000 a month. Check that one
$30K-$50K/month:
- Online at a $100 average ticket, expect about $227 a month against Braintree and $353 against Square's free plan at $30,000, rising to $429 and $639 at $50,000
- Card-present at a $50 ticket, $25,000 a month saves $238.50 against Square Free and $50,000 a month saves $512.00
- Stax still isn't in it card-present at these volumes, and online it depends entirely on your ticket
$50K-$500K/month:
- Helcim keeps improving automatically as you cross bands. At $100,000 a month card-present on a $50 ticket it's $1,776.00 against Square Free's $2,900.00
- Run the Stax comparison. Card-present, above roughly $58,000 to $70,300 a month depending on ticket. Online, above roughly $22,100 to $36,200 at Stax's $199 floor
- If you run real dispute volume, Helcim's $0-on-win can close that gap
$500K-$5M/month:
- Helcim publishes bands the whole way. Nothing is negotiable and nothing needs to be
- At $1,000,000 a month card-present on a $75 ticket, the $1M-$5M band lands at 1.18% + 23.8c all-in. That's $14,973 a month at a 1.50% effective rate, against Square Free's $28,000 and 2.80%. A gap of about $13,027 a month, or $156,300 a year
- At $1M-$5M the markup is 0.15% + 6 cents card-present. That's lower on both components than Adyen's own indicative markup of 0.60% + $0.13. Adyen still carries no cost verdict here. It labels those rates indicative and requires a minimum monthly invoice it doesn't publish. Online, Adyen's indicative markup is actually lower than Helcim's entry band below a $120.00 ticket
- Stax is still likely cheaper on pure markup. Get a written quote, since the $199 tier is published as "$199+"
Over $5M/month:
- This is where Helcim's pricing genuinely becomes custom
- Bring the published $1M-$5M band as your anchor and negotiate down from it
Where This Breaks
-
Card mix decides the size of the win, and can erase it. A book that's mostly premium rewards and commercial cards saves nothing and may pay more. A debit-heavy book saves far more than the examples here. The card-type table above is the one to check first.
-
The pass-through is an assumption, and one input in it is unverified. Network assessments of 0.14% + $0.02 come from no published schedule. They're carried at the conservative end. Everything else is sourced, and the derivation is published.
-
Small card-present tickets go the other way. Below $19.53, PayPal Zettle wins up to $500,000 a month. Below $9.23, Square wins. This page's headline result doesn't apply there.
-
Stax is cheaper above the crossover. Card-present that's roughly $58,000 to $70,300 a month, online roughly $22,100 to $36,200, both at a $199 floor that Stax publishes as "$199+" with no ceiling. Stated plainly because it's true.
-
Variable costs are harder to budget. Your rate moves monthly. Flat-rate is worse but more predictable.
-
It requires engagement. You have to read the statement. If you want set-and-forget, flat-rate is easier. You'll pay for the convenience.
-
Smaller company risk. Helcim is smaller than the household names. That's a migration risk, not a pricing risk.
Next Steps
Considering Helcim?
- Read the published band schedule yourself and find your band. It's keyed to monthly volume
- Work out your average ticket before anything else. It decides this more than your volume does
- Run the calculation above with your own statement. Don't use anyone's calculator, including Helcim's
- Run the same calculation for Stax. At most volumes one of the two clearly wins
- Request a sample statement so you know what you'll be reading every month
Currently on flat-rate?
- Calculate your current effective rate
- Model Helcim with your card mix, not with an average
- Add your dispute costs to both sides. On Stripe a partial win costs $30 and on Helcim a win costs $0
Already on interchange-plus elsewhere?
- Compare markup to markup. Pass-through is identical, so the markup table is the whole comparison
- Helcim's schedule is published. That makes it a useful anchor for renegotiating with your current provider, even if you never switch
- Only switch for a difference that survives your switching costs
See Also
- Cost Model Assumptions - The pass-through every number on this page runs on, with its sources and its unverified inputs
- Processor Comparison - All 24 scenarios and every crossover, with the arithmetic
- Stax - No percentage markup, cheaper above the crossover
- PayPal - Zettle wins the small card-present tickets
- Square - Flat-rate alternative with a full POS, and cheaper on premium and commercial cards
- Adyen - Enterprise, indicative rates only, and no cost verdict here
- Buying Payments - Interchange-plus vs flat-rate
- Interchange Reference - Understanding interchange
- Reading Statements - Decoding interchange-plus statements