Pricing and Comparison
Flat Rate vs Interchange-Plus vs Tiered Pricing: Which Is Cheaper?
Compare flat-rate, interchange-plus and tiered card processing pricing, with a break-even example and guidance on which model fits your volume and ticket size.
Pricing and Comparison
How gateway and processor pricing works, and how to compare options fairly.
This section explains what you actually pay when you accept cards online or in person in the United States: the gateway fee, the processor markup, the card network assessments and the interchange paid to the issuing bank. The guides walk through flat-rate, interchange-plus and tiered pricing, show how to turn a pricing sheet into an effective rate, and list the contract terms that quietly change the real cost.
Start with the overview of the price landscape, then read the guide on cost drivers before you compare quotes. When you are ready to run numbers, use the fee calculator and the comparison table. All figures in examples are illustrative; always confirm current rates with the provider's own pricing page or written quote.
Guides in this topic
Pricing and Comparison
Payment Gateway vs Processor vs Merchant Account: What Is the Difference?
Understand how payment gateways, processors, acquirers, merchant accounts and payment facilitators fit together, and which setup suits your U.S. business.
Pricing and Comparison
Hidden Fees in a Merchant Agreement: A Line-by-Line Review Guide
Learn the fees and clauses in U.S. merchant agreements that raise your real cost, including PCI fees, minimums, reserves, leases and termination charges.
Pricing and Comparison
How to Lower Your Payment Processing Fees: Ten Practical Steps
Ten realistic ways U.S. merchants reduce card processing costs, from reading statements and negotiating markup to ACH, ticket strategy and chargeback control.
Pricing and Comparison
Payment Gateway Comparison: 2026 Price Guide and Typical Cost Structures
A practical guide to what U.S. payment gateways and processors charge, how pricing sheets are built, and how to turn them into one comparable number.
Pricing and Comparison
What Affects the Cost of Payment Processing? Eight Drivers Explained
Learn which factors move your payment processing costs, from card type and ticket size to chargebacks and contract terms, and which ones you can control.