Restaurant credit card processing: what it costs in 2026

Restaurant credit card processing costs most independent restaurants 2.3% to 3.5% of each card sale, plus up to 30¢ per charge, on the flat rates Square, Toast and Clover publish. On a month of 1,280 in-person tickets at $25 ($32,000 in card sales), card fees run from $796.80 on Toast’s Traditional plan to $1,024 on Square Free. Interchange-plus pricing, like Helcim’s, lands from $902 to $1,062 on the same month if every guest pays with a Visa credit card, and lower when guests pay with debit.

What do restaurant card processors charge?

These are the rates on each company’s own pages on November 5, 2026. None of these pages lists a fee charged to the guest.

Helcim’s margins are for $0 to $50,000 a month in card sales; they drop at higher volumes. Square says a business processing over $250,000 a year can ask about custom pricing, and Toast quotes custom pricing on its Build Your Own plan. Toast’s pricing page also lists a Point of Sale plan from $69 a month, including the first terminal subscription, for new single-location customers. Stripe has no restaurant POS of its own, so you use it through an ordering site or a POS that builds on it or integrates it.

What does a month of in-person tickets cost?

Take a counter-service restaurant with 1,280 card tickets at $25, or $32,000 a month in card sales. This is the card fee alone, from the rates above.

Add the monthly fees and the order changes. Square Free at $1,024 costs less than Square Plus ($992 + $49 = $1,041) and Square Premium ($960 + $149 = $1,109). Square Premium’s lower rate only pays for its $149 when card sales pass $74,500 a month, since it saves 0.2 points against Free. Clover’s card fees plus its $135 Starter subscription come to $999.

Is interchange-plus cheaper for a restaurant?

Interchange-plus means you pay what the card’s bank charges (interchange) and what the card networks charge, plus the processor’s margin. Visa’s table, effective October 24, 2026, puts an in-person restaurant sale on a Visa Signature or Infinite credit card at 2.60%, and on a Visa Traditional card at 2.10%. Online restaurant orders are 2.70% and 2.20%.

So the guest’s card decides it. On a $25 ticket paid with a Visa Signature card, Helcim’s cost before network fees is 65¢ in interchange plus 18¢ in margin, 83¢ in all, against 80¢ on Square Free and 67.5¢ on Clover. On a Visa Traditional card it is 70.5¢. Debit is cheaper: Visa’s regulated debit rate for restaurants is 0.05% + 21¢, so the same $25 ticket costs about 40¢ through Helcim. Visa’s exempt debit rate is 1.19% + 10¢, about 58¢ on the same ticket through Helcim.

If most of your guests pay with rewards credit cards, a flat rate can cost the same or less. If many pay with debit, interchange-plus usually wins. Your last three statements show the mix.

How does ticket size change the rate?

The flat cents in “2.6% + 15¢” weigh more on small tickets. Toast’s rates have no per-charge cents.

A cafe with $8 tickets pays Square Free nearly 4.5% of every card sale. A restaurant with $60 checks pays Clover and Toast Traditional about the same.

What do online orders cost to process?

Online card payments cost more at every processor here that lists an online rate, because the card is not present. Clover’s FAQ says its rates “come in pairs”, with a higher typed-in rate for sales “like an online sale or phone order.” For 320 online orders at $25 ($8,000):

Our Toast online ordering cost breakdown covers what Toast charges for online ordering. Clover’s online ordering is included in its plans, and what Clover online ordering costs a month works through the same typed-in rate.

Can you pass the card fee to guests?

Sometimes, within limits set by the card brands and by state law. Our post on credit card surcharges in California covers the California rules and what a 3% surcharge recovers.

Which processor fits which restaurant?

• You want no monthly bill and little hardware cost: Square Free or Toast Pay-as-you-Go. Toast’s 3.09% is cheaper than Square Free on tickets under about $30.60 and dearer above.
• You have larger checks: Clover’s quick-service plans at 2.3% + 10¢ and Toast Traditional’s 2.49% are the lowest published in-person rates here. Both need a POS bought or subscribed to. Our Toast vs Clover comparison prices both systems in full.
• Many guests pay with debit: interchange-plus through Helcim, on its Smart Terminal, Card Reader or Tap to Pay on iPhone.
• You already process over $250,000 a year: ask Square for custom pricing before you switch.

Card fees are only one line of cost. Our restaurant profit margin breakdown shows where they sit among the rest, and Toast vs Square compares those two systems beyond the rate.

Where does Expresso fit?

Expresso is an online ordering system, not a POS. It takes pickup, curbside, dine-in QR and to-go orders paid by card online, and does not run card payments at your counter. There is no monthly fee, no setup fee and no contract; the kitchen tablet is $149 once. Card processing of 3.2% + 30¢ per order comes out of your weekly payout through Stripe, and guests pay a 2.5% convenience fee shown at checkout. In the online table above, that rate sits near Square Free’s. It suits a restaurant that keeps its current processor at the counter and wants online orders without another monthly fee.