Card reader / mobile POS · United States

PayPal (Zettle) alternatives in United States, ranked by the share of card sales they take

0 of the 2 nearest providers we hold take a smaller share of card sales than PayPal (Zettle), which costs 2.67% at $5,000 a month over three years.

None of them is cheaper: PayPal (Zettle) takes the smallest share of card sales in this group at that volume.

The group, by effective rate

Every provider in the same category and market that publishes a rate a total can be built from, in order.

Cheapest published plan at each provider, United States pricing, ordered by the share of card sales it takes at $5,000 a month over three years. Ordering is that number and nothing else — see Method.
Provider	In person	Monthly fee	Hardware	Effective at $5,000	You keep
PayPal (Zettle) (this page)	2.29% + $0.09	none	$29 once	2.67%	97.33%
SumUp	2.60% + $0.10	none	not stated	3.00%	97.00%
Square	2.60% + $0.15	none	free	3.20%	96.80%

Scroll sideways on a phone.

How that is worked out

transactions = monthly card sales / average sale processing = monthly card sales x rate + transactions x per-transaction fee monthly cost = software fee + terminal rental + PCI fee + processing (never below the provider's monthly minimum) three-year cost = monthly cost x 36 + hardware bought outright effective rate = three-year cost / (36 x monthly card sales) what you keep = 100% - effective rate

The average sale is an assumption of this site, not a published figure: $25.00 in the United States and £20.00 in the United Kingdom. It decides how heavily a per-transaction fee lands, so the calculator lets you change it. Interchange, chargebacks, refunds, currency conversion, sales tax and VAT are not in any figure on this site, because the pricing page does not price them for a given shop. Every figure here is a floor. The full method is at Method.

When to stay where you are

Conditions under which the table above should not move you.

Nothing in this group takes a smaller share, so rate alone is not a reason to move away from PayPal (Zettle).
If the shop takes under $2,000 a month, the ranking is different — put your own takings in rather than reading the $5,000 column.

Who this is not for

This is a price ranking, not a shortlist of better products. We have not used any of these providers. If your reason for moving is the hardware or the support, the order on this page tells you nothing about that.

Sources

PayPal (Zettle) pricing page. checked 2026-08-25
SumUp pricing page. checked 2026-08-25
Square pricing page. checked 2026-08-25

Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.