Twelve processors take payments with no monthly fee, and since every one of them charges per transaction, the Free Score here measures the rate and what it buys: Helcim’s interchange-plus is the cheapest for in-person volume, Stripe and Braintree sit at 2.9% online, PayPal’s wallet checkout costs 3.49%, and the merchant-of-record trio — Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad — charge 5–10% because they also handle global sales tax. Authorize.net and Shopify Payments are excluded for mandatory monthly fees. Prices are USD and were checked on 22 October 2026. How we score · All Kurums Free lists
TL;DR — the free payment processor that fits
- Selling online, developer on the team: Stripe — 2.9% + 30¢, no monthly fee, the broadest stack.
- Selling in person: Square Free at 2.6% + 15¢, or Helcim interchange-plus for higher tickets.
- Selling software globally and don’t want to register for VAT: Paddle or Lemon Squeezy — 5% + 50¢ as merchant of record.
- Collecting recurring invoices by bank debit: GoCardless Standard — 1% + 20p capped at £4 in the UK, no monthly fee.
- European customers paying by iDEAL or SEPA: Mollie — pay per transaction, no monthly fee, business account free for a year.
Which payment processing with no monthly fee tools have a free plan in 2026?
Every processor below charges nothing monthly; you pay a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction. We group them by what the rate buys. Straight processors (Stripe, Square, PayPal, Braintree, Helcim, SumUp, Zettle, Mollie) hand you the money and leave tax to you. Merchants of record (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad) take a bigger cut and handle global sales tax and VAT in your place. GoCardless is bank debit only, no cards.
The fixed costs that do exist are hardware — Square and Zettle readers from $29, Helcim’s from $199, SumUp’s unstated — and the optional paid tiers that lower the rate (Square Plus $49 a month) or add features (PayPal Payments Advanced $5). Authorize.net charges a mandatory gateway fee and Shopify Payments needs a paid Shopify plan, so neither is here.
The table shows the headline rate and Free Score; the Score weights Capacity on the rate and Core job on whether the tool covers online, in person and recurring. Open a row for every stated rate, the merchant-of-record status and the page we checked.
| Company | Free as | Key limit | Card | Free Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S |
Free forever | 2.9% + 30¢ · no monthly fee | No | 90 | Scorecard ↓ |
| S |
Free forever | 2.6% + 15¢ in person · 3.3% + 30¢ online | No | 86 | Scorecard ↓ |
| H |
Free forever | Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ in person | No | 84 | Scorecard ↓ |
| B |
Free forever | 2.89% + 29¢ · Venmo 3.49% | No | 78 | Scorecard ↓ |
| P |
Free forever | 3.49% + 49¢ checkout · 2.99% cards | No | 76 | Scorecard ↓ |
| Z |
Free forever | 2.29% + 9¢ in person · reader $29 | No | 74 | Scorecard ↓ |
| M |
Free forever | 1.80% + €0.25 EU cards · SEPA €0.35 | No | 72 | Scorecard ↓ |
| G |
Free forever | 1% + 20p capped £4 · bank debit only | No | 70 | Scorecard ↓ |
| S |
Free forever | 2.6% + 10¢ in person · reader purchase | No | 66 | Scorecard ↓ |
| P |
Free forever | 5% + 50¢ · merchant of record · SaaS only | No | 64 | Scorecard ↓ |
| L |
Free forever | 5% + 50¢ · merchant of record | No | 62 | Scorecard ↓ |
| G |
Free forever | 10% + 50¢ · 30% on Discover | No | 52 | Scorecard ↓ |
Free tiers verified 22 October 2026 on each vendor’s pricing page (third-party sources named in the Scorecard where the vendor page was silent). Order is by Free Score only; sponsorship never changes it.
What do the free payment processor plans actually include?
Open any row for the eight-field Scorecard. The “Why it ranks here” note under each row explains the score in plain terms.
1S
StripeUS · no setup or monthly fees; cards, wallets, ACH, invoicing, subscriptions and standard payouts freeFree forever2.9% + 30¢ · no monthly feeNo card90⌄
- What’s free
- The full payments stack with no setup, monthly or hidden fees; standard payouts free
- Hard limits
- 2.9% + 30¢ domestic cards · +1.5% international cards · +1% currency conversion · ACH 0.8% capped at $5 · instant payouts 1.5% (50¢ minimum) · Managed Payments merchant of record adds 3.5%
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. Account verification only; no subscription.
- Upgrade trigger
- Volume or custom pricing through sales
- Cheapest paid step
- None required
- Best free for
- Online businesses with a developer, selling anywhere
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · stripe.com/pricing
2S
SquareUS · Square Free at $0 a month: POS, invoices and online checkout, with the lowest in-person rate among the big namesFree forever2.6% + 15¢ in person · 3.3% + 30¢ onlineNo card86⌄
- What’s free
- $0/month with no subscription: POS, invoices, online checkout, card-on-file
- Hard limits
- In person 2.6% + 15¢ · online 3.3% + 30¢ · keyed and card-on-file 3.5% + 15¢ · ACH invoices 1% ($1 minimum) · API online 2.9% + 30¢
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. Processing only.
- Upgrade trigger
- Lower rates or advanced POS (Plus)
- Cheapest paid step
- Plus $49/month per location — in person 2.5% + 15¢, online 2.9% + 30¢
- Best free for
- Retail, food and service businesses taking cards at a counter
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · squareup.com/us/en/pricing
Why it ranks here. The in-person leader at the free tier; online is pricier than Stripe unless you use the API. Not a merchant of record.
3H
HelcimCanada · interchange-plus with no monthly, minimum, software or statement fees and automatic volume discountsFree foreverInterchange + 0.40% + 8¢ in personNo card84⌄
- What’s free
- Interchange-plus processing with no monthly fee, minimums or statement fees; rates fall automatically with volume
- Hard limits
- Under $50K/month: interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ in person, + 0.50% + 25¢ online or keyed · ACH 0.5% + 25¢ capped at $6 · Tap to Pay on iPhone +10¢ · US and Canada only
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. No subscription.
- Upgrade trigger
- None; custom pricing above $5M a month
- Cheapest paid step
- None; Card Reader $199, Smart Terminal $349 or $32/month
- Best free for
- Higher-ticket or higher-volume businesses that want to see interchange
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · helcim.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. The cheapest effective rate on the list for most card mixes, and the only interchange-plus option with no monthly fee. Hardware is pricier and it is US and Canada only.
4B
BraintreeUS · PayPal’s developer gateway: cards, wallets, Venmo, PayPal and ACH in one API with no monthly feeFree forever2.89% + 29¢ · Venmo 3.49%No card78⌄
- What’s free
- Gateway and processing for cards, wallets, Venmo, PayPal and ACH with no monthly fee stated
- Hard limits
- 2.89% + 29¢ cards and wallets · Venmo 3.49% + 49¢ · ACH 0.75% capped at $5 · +1% non-USD · +1% non-US card · chargeback $15 · nonprofits 2.19% + 29¢
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No.
- Upgrade trigger
- Custom enterprise pricing
- Cheapest paid step
- None required
- Best free for
- Marketplaces and apps that need PayPal and Venmo alongside cards
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · paypal.com/us/enterprise/paypal-braintree-fees (the Braintree pricing URL redirects here)
Why it ranks here. A hair cheaper than Stripe on cards and the only way to get Venmo in the same API; weaker on in-person and invoicing, and the redirect to a PayPal enterprise page tells you who it is aimed at.
5P
PayPalUS · a standard merchant account with no monthly fee: PayPal Checkout, card processing, invoicing and QR paymentsFree forever3.49% + 49¢ checkout · 2.99% cardsNo card76⌄
- What’s free
- Standard account with no monthly fee: PayPal Checkout, standard and advanced card processing, invoicing, QR codes
- Hard limits
- PayPal Checkout 3.49% + 49¢ · standard cards 2.99% + 49¢ · advanced cards 2.89% + 29¢ · QR and in-person 2.29% + 9¢ · +1.5% international · 3% FX spread · pay-by-bank 1% capped at $10
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. Standard account.
- Upgrade trigger
- Hosted checkout or a virtual terminal (Payments Advanced $5, Pro $30)
- Cheapest paid step
- Payments Advanced $5/month
- Best free for
- Consumer-facing sellers whose customers expect the PayPal button
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · paypal.com/us/business/paypal-business-fees
Why it ranks here. The most expensive checkout rate among the straight processors, offset by the conversion lift the PayPal wallet brings to consumer sales. Not a merchant of record.
6Z
PayPal ZettleUS · now PayPal Point of Sale: no monthly or setup fees, with the lowest in-person rate on this list and a $29 readerFree forever2.29% + 9¢ in person · reader $29No card74⌄
- What’s free
- POS app, inventory and invoicing with no monthly or setup fees
- Hard limits
- Card-present and QR 2.29% + 9¢ · manual entry 3.49% + 9¢ · invoices 3.49% + 49¢ (PayPal) or 2.99% + 49¢ (cards) · reader $29 first, $79 additional · terminal $199
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. Hardware purchase only.
- Upgrade trigger
- None
- Cheapest paid step
- None; hardware from $29
- Best free for
- In-person sellers already running on PayPal
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · pep.paypal.com (zettle.com/us redirected to the UK site)
Why it ranks here. Cheaper than Square at the counter and the reader costs the same; online and invoicing are PayPal rates, which is why core job is lower.
7M
MollieNetherlands · pay only for successful transactions; European cards from 1.80%, iDEAL, SEPA and local methodsFree forever1.80% + €0.25 EU cards · SEPA €0.35No card72⌄
- What’s free
- Online payments with no monthly fee; in-person Pay-as-you-go at €0 a month
- Hard limits
- EU consumer cards 1.80% + €0.25 · EU commercial 2.90% + €0.25 · non-EEA 3.25% + €0.25 · SEPA direct debit €0.35 · business account €9/month after 12 free months · iDEAL rate unclear on the page
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No.
- Upgrade trigger
- In-person Pro at €20 a month per terminal
- Cheapest paid step
- In-person Pro €20/month per terminal
- Best free for
- European merchants whose customers pay by iDEAL, Bancontact or SEPA
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · mollie.com/pricing (EUR)
Why it ranks here. The cheapest European card rate here and the local methods Stripe charges more for; the business account turns paid after a year, which is a small but real trap.
8G
GoCardlessUK · no setup or monthly costs on Standard; Direct Debit and ACH collection for recurring invoices, no cardsFree forever1% + 20p capped £4 · bank debit onlyNo card70⌄
- What’s free
- Bank-debit collection — Direct Debit, ACH, SEPA — with no setup or monthly costs on Standard
- Hard limits
- UK domestic 1% + 20p capped at £4 · international 2% + 20p (+0.3% over £2,000) · optional add-ons £50/month · no card acceptance
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No.
- Upgrade trigger
- Custom plans with setup and monthly costs for volume or features
- Cheapest paid step
- None required on Standard
- Best free for
- A service business collecting monthly retainers by bank debit
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · gocardless.com/pricing (served UK rates in GBP; US rates not shown)
Why it ranks here. The cheapest way on this list to collect a recurring invoice — and it does nothing else. Scored high on rate, low on breadth.
9S
SumUpUK · a $0 a month plan with card acceptance after a one-time reader purchase; POS Plus is $49Free forever2.6% + 10¢ in person · reader purchaseNo card66⌄
- What’s free
- Free plan at $0 a month: card acceptance with a reader, online and keyed payments
- Hard limits
- In person 2.6% + 10¢ · online and keyed 3.5% + 15¢ · reader price on a separate shop page
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No, but a hardware purchase is required.
- Upgrade trigger
- POS Plus at $49 a month or SumUp POS from $99
- Cheapest paid step
- POS Plus $49/month
- Best free for
- Market stalls, mobile trades and micro-merchants
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · sumup.com/en-us/credit-card-processing-fees
Why it ranks here. Square’s rate with a slightly lower fixed fee and a simpler app; online is expensive and the reader price is hidden on another page.
10P
PaddleUK · pay-as-you-go merchant of record for software: no monthly, migration or hidden fees; 5% + 50¢ covers global taxFree forever5% + 50¢ · merchant of record · SaaS onlyNo card64⌄
- What’s free
- Merchant of record for global SaaS billing with no monthly, migration or hidden fees
- Hard limits
- 5% + 50¢ per Checkout transaction · approval required, software and SaaS only · custom pricing at volume
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No.
- Upgrade trigger
- High-volume custom pricing
- Cheapest paid step
- None required
- Best free for
- B2B SaaS selling worldwide without registering for VAT anywhere
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · paddle.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. The 5% is not comparable to Stripe’s 2.9%: it includes tax registration, filing and liability in every jurisdiction. Capacity is scored on the rate; core job gets credit for the tax work.
11L
Lemon SqueezyUS · a Stripe-owned merchant of record for digital products and SaaS, no monthly charge, 5% + 50¢ with tax handledFree forever5% + 50¢ · merchant of recordNo card62⌄
- What’s free
- Ecommerce and merchant-of-record billing with no monthly charge; email marketing free to 500 subscribers
- Hard limits
- 5% + 50¢ per transaction · ‘small additional fees’ outside the US, unquantified · payouts twice monthly
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No.
- Upgrade trigger
- Volume pricing through sales; email tiers above 500 subscribers
- Cheapest paid step
- None required
- Best free for
- Indie SaaS and digital products that want tax handled from day one
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · lemonsqueezy.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Paddle’s offer without the software-only approval gate; docked for unquantified international fees and twice-monthly payouts.
12G
GumroadUS · no monthly fee; a storefront, digital delivery and worldwide sales tax as merchant of record for 10% + 50¢Free forever10% + 50¢ · 30% on DiscoverNo card52⌄
- What’s free
- Storefront, digital delivery and merchant-of-record tax handling with no monthly fee
- Hard limits
- 10% + 50¢ per direct sale · 30% on sales through the Discover marketplace · processor and payout fees not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No.
- Upgrade trigger
- None
- Cheapest paid step
- None
- Best free for
- A creator selling a few digital products who wants zero setup
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · gumroad.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. The highest rate on the list by a wide margin, in exchange for the least setup. Fine for a first product; expensive at any volume.
Which free payment processor has no credit-card requirement?
None of the twelve charges a monthly fee or asks for a card to subscribe; all of them verify your identity and business, and some (Paddle) approve you as a merchant before you can sell. The fixed costs are hardware — Zettle’s reader at $29, Square’s similar, Helcim’s at $199, SumUp’s unstated — and one deferred fee: Mollie’s business account becomes €9 a month after twelve free months.
The rate comparison that matters is online versus in person. For a card at a counter, Zettle (2.29% + 9¢), Square (2.6% + 15¢) and SumUp (2.6% + 10¢) are close and Helcim usually beats all three on interchange-plus. For a card online, Braintree (2.89% + 29¢) and Stripe (2.9% + 30¢) lead; PayPal Checkout at 3.49% + 49¢ is the price of the PayPal button.
When does the free plan stop being enough?
Kurums Match: which free payment processor fits your situation?
Online store with a developer
Stripe.
Café, salon or shop
Square Free, or Zettle if already on PayPal.
Average ticket over $100
Helcim interchange-plus.
Global SaaS, no tax department
Paddle (SaaS only) or Lemon Squeezy.
Monthly retainers from UK or EU clients
GoCardless Standard.
Dutch, Belgian or German customers
Mollie.
First digital product, zero setup
Gumroad.
Which paid payment processing providers can you move to?
When the free tier stops being enough, these are the providers in the Kurums Solutions Directory. Every company there is listed free and A–Z by our editors, with a buyer’s guide for the category — no one pays for a position.
How we score free tiers
Duration (30): free forever scores 30, a 30-day-plus trial 15, a trial of 14 days or less 8, credit-based tiers 12. Capacity (30): whether the limits carry a team of three for twelve months. Core job (25): whether the free tier does the category’s main work — here, accepting card and bank payments online or in person and paying out to your bank, with no fixed monthly cost. Friction (15): no card 15; card but no auto-charge 8; auto-charge 0; self-hosting deducts for setup and maintenance.
Each free tier was checked on the vendor’s pricing page on 22 October 2026; where the vendor page was silent, the Scorecard names the third-party source used. Free tiers change, so this list is re-verified every quarter and a discontinued free plan stays listed for one month with a notice. Order is by Free Score only. Kurums Free sells no placement; sponsorship, affiliate links and vendor requests never change a score, a rank or a label. Vendors can submit corrections to the Kurums editorial team.
How did we verify these free tiers?
We opened each processor’s pricing page and recorded the per-transaction rates for in-person, online, keyed and bank payments, hardware costs, merchant-of-record status and any paid tier. Braintree’s pricing URL redirects to a PayPal enterprise page and Zettle’s US URL to the UK site; we used the official PayPal pages. GoCardless served UK rates in GBP and Mollie EUR, as quoted. Authorize.net (mandatory gateway fee) and Shopify Payments (requires a paid Shopify plan) were excluded without fetching.
Rates are those published for standard accounts on 22 October 2026 and change without notice; interchange-plus effective rates depend on your card mix.
Frequently asked questions
Which payment processor has no monthly fee and the lowest rate?
For in-person cards, PayPal Zettle at 2.29% + 9¢; for most mixes Helcim’s interchange-plus (interchange + 0.40% + 8¢) is cheaper still. Online, Braintree at 2.89% + 29¢ and Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢ lead.
Does Stripe have a monthly fee?
No. Stripe states no setup, monthly or hidden fees; you pay 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card transaction, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion.
Is Square free?
Square Free costs $0 a month with no subscription. You pay 2.6% + 15¢ in person and 3.3% + 30¢ online; Plus at $49 a month per location lowers both.
What is a merchant of record and why does it cost 5%?
A merchant of record (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad) is the legal seller, so it registers, collects and files sales tax and VAT worldwide. The higher rate pays for that; Stripe offers it as Managed Payments for an extra 3.5%.
Which processor takes bank debit without a monthly fee?
GoCardless Standard — 1% + 20p capped at £4 in the UK — for Direct Debit and ACH. Stripe (0.8% capped at $5) and Braintree (0.75% capped at $5) handle ACH alongside cards.
Why isn’t Shopify Payments or Authorize.net listed?
Shopify Payments requires a paid Shopify plan and Authorize.net charges a mandatory monthly gateway fee, so neither is free of fixed costs.
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