What card processing really costs you
Every number below is worked out from rates the vendor publishes. Where a vendor will not publish one, this tool says so rather than inventing it.
Move the sliders. Watch what each system would actually cost you.
Card processing is the bill that never stops. These are the published rates, run against your numbers, updating as you drag.
Card sales only, not total revenue. It is on line one of your statement.
Drag this down toward a coffee shop and watch the flat fee per swipe take over.
Some systems charge per terminal, some per location. This makes that difference visible.
What a processor keeps on top of the card networks' cost. It is the one number in a quote you can negotiate.
Drag a slider to begin.
Square, Genius and Shift4 software figures are published by those vendors and were read on their own pages on 8 August 2026. Toast publishes no processing rate anywhere, so Toast figures are reported by Merchant Maverick and Expert Market, cross checked against each other. Interchange is assumed at 1.95% plus 10c, which is a typical card present restaurant blend and moves with the cards your guests actually use. Clover is left uncomputed because its rate depends entirely on the reseller. This is an estimate for comparison, not a quote.
Three things this makes visible that a sales call will not
The flat fee per swipe is the hidden tax on small tickets
Fifteen cents on a $4.25 coffee is 3.5% on its own, before any percentage rate applies. Drag the average ticket down and watch the coffee shop numbers separate from the steakhouse numbers.
Free plans stop being free at a volume you will hit
Square's free plan charges 0.2 points more per swipe than the paid one. Somewhere around $25,000 a month the monthly fee becomes cheaper than the higher rate.
Per terminal pricing punishes bigger rooms
Move the terminal slider. Systems that charge per terminal climb in steps while per location pricing stays flat. For a four terminal dining room that difference is a real number.
Published rates are a starting point. Your statement is the answer.
Interchange varies with the cards your guests actually carry, so no calculator can be exact. Send last month's statement and we will work out your real effective rate, free.
Send your numbers
About a minute. It goes straight to the Equip team.
It reaches Judd Alsup and the Equip team. If we have a crew near you, that is who calls. If we do not, Judd handles it himself. We never ask for card or bank details on this site.