Helcim vs Dharma, margin against a monthly fee.

The short answer

Dharma is cheaper for almost any established business, and the crossover is low enough that it is cheaper for most small ones too.

Dharma publishes interchange + 0.15% + $0.08 per authorization for retail (Amex 0.25% + $0.08, and 0.10% + $0.08 above $100,000 a month), with a $20 monthly fee, no PCI fee, no early termination fee and a $49 closure fee.

Helcim publishes interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ in person under $50,000 a month, with no monthly fee at all, falling across five published tiers to 0.15% + 6¢ above $1 million.

The margin difference at entry level is 0.25%, and $20 is 0.25% of $8,000. So above roughly $8,000 a month in card volume, Dharma’s monthly fee pays for itself and then saves. At $50,000 a month the saving is about $105 a month; at $100,000 Dharma’s high-volume schedule drops to 0.10% and the gap widens further.

Helcim’s margin does fall with volume, but its tiers do not reach 0.15% until above $1 million a month — so for the great majority of businesses, Dharma’s published margin is lower.

Helcim — 0.40% + 8¢, $0/mo$173.40

Dharma — 0.15% + 8¢, $20/mo$118.40

Published pricing, side by side

Helcim: www.helcim.com — read 2026-10-08. Dharma Merchant Services: dharmamerchantservices.com — read 2026-10-08.

Published prices change. These were read on the dates above and are list prices for a business buying direct — a quote you are given may differ, and should be compared as a quote rather than against a price list.

Helcim, also published:

• Recurring payments add 0.4% per transaction
• ACH 0.5% + 25¢, capped at $6
• No PCI fee
• Volume tier is set on the average of the last three months

Dharma Merchant Services, also published:

• No PCI compliance fee
• Interchange and assessments passed through at cost
• Separate published rate pages for retail, restaurant, e-commerce, B2B, non-profit and high volume

Where they actually differ

Industry-specific schedules. Dharma publishes separate rate pages for retail, restaurant, e-commerce, B2B, non-profit, lodging, high volume and low volume. That is unusual and useful: you read the number that applies to you. Helcim publishes one schedule with volume tiers.

Fee disclosure. Both are unusually good. Helcim publishes no monthly fee, no minimum, no setup fee, no cancellation fee, no PCI fee, and $0 for a chargeback resolved in your favour ($15 if lost). Dharma publishes no PCI fee, no early termination fee, and names a $49 closure fee. Neither hides much.

Funding. Helcim publishes next-business-morning deposits and lets you choose gross or net funding — gross meaning your deposits match your sales and the fees arrive as a separate line, which is much easier to reconcile. Dharma publishes next-day funding for card-present merchants. Daily versus monthly discount.

How the tier moves. Helcim’s tier is set automatically on your three-month average volume, so it tracks you without a conversation. Dharma’s high-volume schedule kicks in above $100,000 a month. Either way, neither requires annual renegotiation.

Amex. Dharma charges a higher margin on Amex — 0.25% + $0.08 rather than 0.15% + $0.08. Helcim publishes one margin. If Amex is a large share of your volume, that narrows Dharma’s advantage.

Recurring billing. Helcim adds 0.4% on recurring transactions. If recurring is most of your volume, that is a material addition and moves the comparison toward Dharma. Subscription pricing.

ACH. Helcim publishes 0.5% + 25¢ capped at $6. Dharma does not publish an ACH rate on its retail page. B2B processing.

Who each one suits

Dharma suits essentially any business above $8,000 a month in card volume, and particularly one in a category it publishes a dedicated schedule for — restaurant, B2B, non-profit, lodging. The low margin plus the published non-fees make it one of the cleanest arrangements publicly available.

Helcim suits a very small or very seasonal business where $20 a month is worth avoiding, a business whose volume swings hard enough that a fixed fee is unwelcome, and one that wants the gross-funding option for easier reconciliation.

Both beat a flat rate at these volumes by a wide margin. If you are currently on Square, Stripe or a bundled point-of-sale rate and comparing these two, you have already made the decision that matters. Flat rate versus interchange-plus.

What the comparison does not show

The margin is not most of your cost. Interchange is 70% to 80% of what you pay under either. The levers that move it are how cards are read, how fast you settle, and whether commercial cards carry their data. Interchange optimisation and Level 2 data.

Read the schedule for your own industry on Dharma. The retail figures quoted here are not the restaurant or e-commerce figures, and Dharma publishes those separately.

Both are small operations compared to the processors they sit on. That is generally a positive — you get a human — and it is worth asking about support hours and escalation before committing, as you would with any provider.

Check hardware separately. Both sell outright. Neither bundles a point-of-sale system, so if you need one, price that alongside. Choosing a retail POS.

How to settle it with your own numbers

Both of these pass interchange through at cost, which means the interchange half of your bill is identical either way and the only thing being compared is the margin. That is unusual and it makes the arithmetic unusually clean.

Work out the margin each would charge at your own monthly volume and average ticket — Helcim’s and Dharma’s are both published above — and ignore interchange entirely, because it does not differ. Then sanity-check the result against your current effective rate: total fees for a month divided by total card volume.

Interchange-plus pricing explains what is being passed through, and the calculator turns your statement into the one number worth comparing.

What we charge

Interchange + 0.50% + 10¢ in person, interchange + 0.75% + 25¢ keyed, with no contract, no monthly fee and no monthly minimum.

Send us one page of a statement and we will work out your effective rate on what you pay now, and what Helcim, Dharma and we would each cost on the same volume and card mix. Three figures of the same kind. If one of the other two wins, that is what we will tell you.

While we are on the subject

Which is cheaper, Helcim or Dharma?

Dharma above roughly $8,000 a month in card volume, because its 0.25% lower margin outweighs its $20 monthly fee. Helcim below that, and for very seasonal businesses.

Does either charge a PCI fee?

Neither. Both publish PCI compliance as a fee they do not charge, which is unusual and worth noting.

Do both pass interchange through at cost?

Both publish interchange-plus pricing and say interchange and assessments are passed through at cost. Verify it on your first statement by checking interchange is itemised.

What is the catch with margins this low?

Mostly that neither bundles a point-of-sale system or an account manager in the way a bundled provider does. If you need software, price it separately.