Square vs Helcim, the two models, both published.

The short answer

Helcim is usually cheaper. Square is usually simpler. Both are honest about their pricing, which makes this a comparison you can actually do.

Square charges 2.6% + 15¢ for every card-present transaction, whatever card it is. Helcim charges interchange — the networks’ own cost, which varies by card — plus a published margin of 0.40% + 8¢ under $50,000 a month, falling across five tiers to 0.15% + 6¢ above $1 million. Neither has a monthly fee or a monthly minimum.

Whether Helcim comes out cheaper depends on the interchange your card mix actually attracts. Regulated debit interchange is low; premium consumer rewards credit interchange is high. A business taking mostly regulated debit on small tickets does markedly better on interchange-plus. A business taking mostly premium rewards cards does less well, though still usually better than 2.6%.

The practical answer is to work out your own effective rate on Square and compare it to interchange plus 0.40% plus 8¢ at your own average ticket. Both numbers are knowable, which is unusual in this industry.

InterchangeThe issuing bank's cut. Most of your cost.

AssessmentsThe networks' own cut. Same for everyone.

Margin — 0.40% + 8¢The only part anybody competes on.

Published pricing, side by side

Square: squareup.com — read 2026-10-08. Helcim: www.helcim.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.

Square, also published:

• ACH via invoice 1%, $1 minimum
• Afterpay 6% + 30¢
• EBT 1.8% + 5¢
• Custom pricing available above $250,000 a year

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

Where they actually differ

What you can see. On Square you see one number and cannot tell what interchange cost, so you cannot tell whether a transaction downgraded, whether your card mix shifted, or whether an interchange update affected you. On Helcim interchange is itemised. That visibility is the thing interchange-plus is actually for. Interchange-plus explained.

Fees Helcim publishes as zero. No account 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). That is an unusually clean fee schedule and it is published rather than promised.

Volume tiers. Helcim’s margin falls automatically as your three-month average volume rises, through five published tiers. You do not renegotiate; the schedule does it. Square’s equivalent is its paid plans, which lower the rate in exchange for $49 or $149 a month per location, and custom pricing above $250,000 a year.

Funding. Helcim publishes next-business-morning deposits and lets you choose gross or net — gross meaning your deposits match your sales and the fees arrive as a separate line, which is much easier to reconcile. Square publishes next business day free. Both fine; Helcim’s gross option is the better accounting arrangement. Daily versus monthly discount.

The account. Helcim underwrites you as a merchant in your own right. Square is an aggregator and you are a sub-merchant. This is the difference that shows up when something goes wrong. Merchant account versus aggregator.

The software. Square’s business platform is deeper and better-known: till app, inventory, staff, payroll, appointments, loans. Helcim has a competent payment-focused toolset — invoicing, recurring billing, a virtual terminal, hosted pages — and is not trying to be a business operating system.

Recurring billing. Helcim adds 0.4% per transaction on recurring payments, which is published and worth factoring in if that is most of your volume. Subscription pricing.

Who each one suits

Square suits a business just starting, a business with very low volume where the arithmetic barely matters, and a business that wants the operational software and will happily pay a small premium for not having to think about pricing.

Helcim suits any established business doing real volume that would rather see interchange separately from the margin, wants no monthly fees at all, and is comfortable reading a statement with more than one line on it. It suits debit-heavy and small-ticket businesses particularly well, because that is where flat rates are least generous.

The honest crossover is somewhere between $10,000 and $40,000 a month for most businesses, and it moves with card mix and average ticket. Below it the difference is small enough that convenience should win. Above it the difference compounds every month.

What the comparison does not show

Interchange-plus looks more expensive on the statement and is usually cheaper in total. The statement has more lines, including interchange broken out, and people reading one for the first time often conclude they are being charged more. The number to compare is the effective rate, not the line count.

Helcim’s tier is set on a three-month average, so a seasonal business sits in a tier that lags its current volume in both directions.

Square’s paid tiers change the comparison. At $49 or $149 a month per location Square’s rate drops to 2.5% or 2.4%. If you would be on a paid tier, compare that, not the free one.

Neither is the cheapest possible arrangement at high volume. Above a few hundred thousand a month, negotiated interchange-plus through an ISO can go below Helcim’s published tiers, and interchange optimisation and Level 2 data start to matter more than the margin.

How to settle it with your own numbers

These two are not the same kind of price, which is why comparing the headline numbers gets you nowhere. Square quotes one rate covering everything; Helcim passes interchange through at cost and charges its margin separately. Until you know what interchange your own card mix attracts, the two are not on the same scale.

Your effective rate puts them on it: total fees for a month divided by total card volume. Work out what you pay now, then apply Helcim’s published margin to the same volume and average ticket. The gap between those two figures is the whole decision.

Flat rate against interchange-plus is the model comparison in general terms, and the calculator does the arithmetic on yours.

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 Square, Helcim 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

Is Helcim cheaper than Square?

Usually, for an established business — and whether it is for you depends on your card mix and average ticket. Both publish enough to work it out.

Does Helcim have monthly fees?

Its pricing page states no account monthly fees, no minimums, no software fees, no statement fees, no setup fee, no cancellation fee and no PCI fee.

Is interchange-plus harder to understand?

The statement has more lines. That is the point — you can see interchange separately from the markup, which is the only way to tell where your cost is coming from.

Can I get a better margin than Helcim's published one?

At high volume, often yes, through a negotiated interchange-plus arrangement. Helcim’s advantage is that its figure is published and needs no negotiation.