Retail POS Choose Helcim (3.4/5) if your card-processing bill is the largest line in your budget and your back office is simple. Its $0 monthly fee, published Interchange-plus margin (Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ on in-person sales up to $50,000/month), free POS app and no contract routinely land under Square by a wide margin — we model roughly $3,400 a year saved on a $30,000/month store.
Choose Square (3.8/5) if you need a retail system rather than a payment account. Its $0 plan already ships a working online store, and Plus ($49) adds inventory tracking, purchase orders, barcode labels and loyalty. Helcim does not document any of those workflows at any price.
The short version: Helcim is cheaper on the same sales; Square is the more complete retail platform. The break-even is extreme — Square Free's flat 2.6% + 15¢ is only matched by Helcim if your blended interchange reaches about 2.55%, which almost never happens in practice. What Square's premium buys is software, not processing.
At a Glance
| Square | Helcim | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 3.8 / 5 | 3.4 / 5 |
| Monthly software fee | $0 (Free) · $49 (Plus) · $149 (Premium) per location | $0 on every plan — no minimums, no statement fee |
| In-person pricing model | Flat 2.6% + 15¢ (Free) → 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium) | Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ up to $50K/month, margin falls with volume |
| Keyed & online pricing model | 3.3% + 30¢ (Free) · 2.9% + 30¢ (Plus/Premium) · 3.5% + 15¢ keyed | Interchange + 0.50% + 25¢ up to $50K/month |
| Contract | None — month to month | None — and no cancellation or termination fee |
| Cheapest hardware | $59 contactless & chip reader | $199 card reader · $349 Smart Terminal |
| Free POS app included? | Yes — POS on the $0 plan, with a free online store | Yes — POS app and inventory catalog at $0/month |
| Inventory tracking | Plus plan ($49): stock, POs, barcode labels, stock counts | Items, variants, stock levels, low-stock alerts; no POs documented |
| Loyalty & gift cards | Native (loyalty on Plus; gift cards from the $0 plan) | Not offered on Helcim's product pages |
| Bank transfers (ACH) | 1% ($1 minimum; $10 cap on Plus/Premium) | 0.5% + 25¢, capped at $6 per transaction |
| Best for | Stores that want one complete retail system | Cutting processing cost at known volume |
Square plans, rates and hardware prices read from Square's official US pricing page on 2026-10-22. Helcim fees, volume tiers, hardware prices and product scope read from Helcim's official US pricing, point-of-sale and inventory pages on 2026-10-22. Helcim's in-person margin of 0.40% + 8¢ applies to merchants processing $0–$50,000 in card volume per month; the margin steps down at higher tiers.
Pricing
These are two different species. Square sells a retail platform and attaches its own payment processing to it. Helcim sells payment processing and includes a POS app with it. Only one of them publishes a rate card that changes as your sales volume grows.
| What you pay | Square | Helcim |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | $0 Free · $49 Plus · $149 Premium (per location) | $0 — no account fee at any volume |
| Setup / signup | $0 | $0 — instant online merchant account |
| PCI compliance | Handled inside the platform fee | $0 annual self-assessment fee |
| Statement fee | None published | None |
| Chargeback / dispute fee | Not published on Square's US pricing page — check your account terms | $15 if you lose the case, $0 if you win it |
| Termination / exit | None — cancel any time | None — no contracts, leases or cancellation fees |
| Recurring billing | Included with the subscription | +0.40% per recurring transaction |
| Free trial | 30 days on paid plans | No trial needed — the account is $0/month |
Winner: Helcim, on fees. Square's $0 Free plan is a genuine storefront starter, but the moment you add inventory, purchase orders or loyalty you are paying $49 or $149 per location every month. Helcim charges no recurring fee at all — its revenue comes from the per-transaction margin, which is where the next section matters. If you want to see how Square's own tiers divide features, our Square Free vs Plus breakdown maps every gate.
Payment Processing: Flat Rate vs Interchange-Plus
Square's model is predictable: a fixed percentage plus a fixed per-tap fee, whatever card your customer hands you. Helcim's model is wholesale: you pay the interchange fee the issuing bank sets for that specific card, plus Helcim's disclosed margin. Good for qualified rewards-excluded cards, unpredictable for premium cards.
| Monthly card volume | Helcim in-person margin | Helcim keyed & online margin | Square in-person equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 – $50K | Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ | Interchange + 0.50% + 25¢ | 2.6% + 15¢ (Free) · 2.5% (Plus) · 2.4% (Premium) |
| $50K – $100K | Interchange + 0.35% + 7¢ | Interchange + 0.45% + 20¢ | Flat rate does not improve below Premium ($149/mo) |
| $100K – $500K | Interchange + 0.25% + 7¢ | Interchange + 0.35% + 20¢ | Square Pro: custom pricing above $250K/year |
| $500K – $1M | Interchange + 0.20% + 6¢ | Interchange + 0.25% + 15¢ | Negotiated, not published |
| $1M – $5M | Interchange + 0.15% + 6¢ | Interchange + 0.15% + 15¢ | Negotiated, not published |
Helcim's own guidance is that most merchants end up at or below roughly 2% effective on card-present sales and below 2.5% keyed or online — and we did reach those numbers in our model (below) at ordinary interchange assumptions. Two things to keep in mind: interchange rates are repriced by the card networks about twice a year, typically April and October, so your effective rate drifts with your card mix rather than staying flat; and Helcim's ACH pricing (0.5% + 25¢, capped at $6) is far below Square's 1%, which matters if you take large invoices by bank transfer.
Winner: Helcim, decisively, on cost. A 5¢ difference in the fixed fee between Square Free (15¢) and Helcim (8¢) is trivial next to the percentage gap: Square adds 2.6% to every sale, while Helcim adds 0.40% on top of a wholesale cost that is usually 1.4%–1.9% in person. Square wins only where predictability itself is worth money — a merchant who wants the same number on every statement and no card-mix homework.
Hardware
| Device | Square | Helcim |
|---|---|---|
| Basic card reader | $59 contactless & chip | $199 card reader (iOS, Android, macOS, Windows) |
| Countertop smart terminal | $299 Terminal (built-in printer) | $349 Smart Terminal — or $32/month for 12 months |
| Phone as a terminal | Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, no hardware | Tap to Pay on iPhone, no hardware, +10¢ per transaction |
| Handheld / two-screen register | Handheld $399 · Register $899 · Stand $149 | Not in the current lineup |
| Cellular connectivity | Included on cellular devices | Optional 4G data at $7/month on the Smart Terminal |
| Receipts | Printed or emailed | Printed on the Smart Terminal, or emailed |
This is Square's clearest win. A new store can start with a $59 reader or with nothing but an iPhone, and can grow into a $899 two-screen Register without changing vendors. Helcim's catalog is two devices plus iPhone Tap to Pay, and its reader costs more than three times Square's entry unit. Its Smart Terminal is a capable standalone — built-in printer, 4G option, its own POS — but it is one product, and Helcim attaches a 10¢ surcharge to iPhone tap transactions that Square does not apply to its own Tap to Pay.
Winner: Square. Lower entry cost, far more breadth, and no per-tap add-on for phone-based payments.
Inventory & Back Office
Helcim's product and inventory catalog is included free with the account: items with SKUs, prices, variants and brands, bulk catalog import, stock-level tracking, low-stock alerts, and synchronisation across the POS app, invoices and its online checkout. Reporting covers sales and inventory trends, and the POS runs on a laptop, tablet or phone with unlimited staff logins at no extra charge.
That is a real inventory list. It is not a retail back office, and Helcim's pages do not document purchase orders, supplier records, receiving, stock transfers, cycle counts, serial numbers, barcode label printing, staff permissions or multi-location roll-ups. Square gates most of those behind a subscription, but it does sell them.
| Capability | Square | Helcim |
|---|---|---|
| Items, variants and stock levels | Plus ($49) for full tracking | Included at $0/month |
| Purchase orders & receiving | Plus; PO import on Premium ($149) | Not documented |
| Barcode scanning & label printing | Yes (Plus and up) | Not documented |
| Stock transfers between locations | Transfer orders on Premium | Single catalog |
| Staff logins and permissions | Roles on paid plans | Unlimited logins, no permission tiers documented |
| Loyalty & gift cards | Native (loyalty on Plus; gift cards from Free) | Not offered |
| App marketplace | Large Square App Marketplace | Payment Extension for integrating the account into other platforms |
Winner: Square. If stock control drives your business — apparel variants, receiving against purchase orders, cycle counts, serials — Square Plus is the cheaper way to get it, and Lightspeed Retail is the deeper one. Helcim's free catalog is enough to know what you have; it will not tell you what to reorder or where it went.
Ecommerce & Omnichannel
Square includes Square Online on every plan, including the $0 one: a publishable storefront with pickup, shipping and social/Google surfaces, tied to the same catalog as the register. Helcim gives you a no-code online checkout, payment pages and payment links that you place on a site you already run, plus QuickBooks and Xero syncing. If your site is on WooCommerce, Helcim's payment extension can process it at interchange-plus rates — which is exactly the scenario where Helcim's total spend drops furthest below Square's.
Winner: Square for a store that needs a website; Helcim for a store that already has one and only wants cheaper payments inside it.
Ease of Use & Support
Square is the smoothest first-time setup in retail: order hardware, download the app, sell the same afternoon, and every screen uses the same flat number. Helcim's onboarding is also self-serve — you open a merchant account online — but understanding your own bill takes more work, because interchange means your blended rate moves with the cards your customers use. Support is where Square's paywall is visible: Square Free gets phone help for the first 90 days and chat or email afterwards, with 24/7 phone reserved for Premium. Helcim does not publish support hours on its pricing page, but it opens an account online without a sales call, includes next-business-morning deposits at no charge, and pitches directly reachable human help as part of the service.
Winner: Square for simplicity, Helcim for the terms of the relationship. If you want zero learning curve and a huge hardware shelf, Square. If you want no subscription, no contract, a $15 chargeback fee and no penalty for leaving, Helcim.
Pros & Cons Recap
Square
Pros
- A genuine $0 plan with a free online store already attached
- Real retail workflows from Plus: inventory, POs, barcode labels, loyalty
- Widest and cheapest hardware lineup, including $59 readers and two-screen registers
- Flat published rates — the bill is identical whatever card you accept
Cons
- 2.6% + 15¢ in person is expensive next to wholesale pricing
- Square processing is mandatory — no rate shopping
- Best retail features cost $49 or $149 per location per month
- Phone support on the free plan tapers off after 90 days
Helcim
Pros
- Interchange-plus from 0.40% + 8¢ in person, cheaper at every volume tier
- $0 monthly fee, no minimums, no statement, PCI or setup fees
- No contract and no cancellation fee, plus a $15 chargeback fee
- Free POS app, inventory catalog, invoicing and online checkout with unlimited staff logins
Cons
- Effective rate varies with your customers' card mix and network repricing
- No documented purchase orders, barcode labels, transfers or loyalty
- Only two devices, and the cheapest reader costs $199
- iPhone Tap to Pay carries an extra 10¢ per transaction
Which Is Cheaper? First-Year Cost Math
Worked example for one store doing $30,000/month in card sales across roughly 1,500 in-person transactions (a $20 average ticket), which sits in Helcim's lowest volume tier:
| Cost line | Helcim (IC + 0.40% + 8¢) | Square Free | Square Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software /mo | $0 | $0 | $149 |
| Processing /mo (at 1.60% blended interchange) | ~$720 | ~$1,005 | ~$945 |
| Total /mo | ~$720 | ~$1,005 | ~$1,094 |
| Year-one total | ~$8,640 | ~$12,060 | ~$13,128 |
| Difference vs Helcim | — | ~$3,420/yr | ~$4,488/yr |
Assumptions, stated plainly: all sales card-present; Square at its official published flat rates (read 2026-10-22); Helcim's margin at 0.40% + 8¢ on top of an assumed 1.60% blended interchange cost, which is the mid-range for a typical card-present mix. Because interchange is not one number, here is how the same month behaves at other blended rates:
| Blended interchange | Helcim total /mo | Saved vs Square Free /mo | Saved per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.40% (mostly standard cards) | ~$660 | ~$345 | ~$4,140 |
| 1.60% (our model above) | ~$720 | ~$285 | ~$3,420 |
| 1.80% (rewards-card heavy) | ~$780 | ~$225 | ~$2,700 |
| 2.00% (premium cards dominant) | ~$840 | ~$165 | ~$1,980 |
| 2.55% (break-even point) | ~$1,005 | $0 | $0 |
Square Free only becomes the cheaper option if your blended interchange exceeds about 2.55% — a card mix almost no retail store actually has. The gap widens with volume: at $120,000/month across 4,800 transactions Helcim's tier margin drops to Interchange + 0.25% + 7¢, which we model at roughly $2,556–$2,796/month against about $3,749 for Square Premium, or $11,400–$14,300 a year.
What the math does not say: that Helcim is the better deal for everyone. The $3,400 you save at $30,000/month is the same money you would spend on a website, a loyalty program, a barcode printer and a purchase-order system that Square already includes. Buy Helcim to keep processing cost down; buy Square so you stop paying other vendors for software.
Which Should You Pick?
Go Helcim if you process at least a few thousand dollars a month in cards, your catalog is simple, you do not need purchase orders or loyalty, and you would rather pay no subscription and no exit fee. It is also the obvious choice as a payment layer underneath an existing website or POS integration.
Go Square if you want one vendor for register, hardware, online store and inventory, if you need cheap hardware today, or if you would otherwise buy loyalty, gift cards and stock control separately. Read the full Square POS review for the complete picture, and the Square pricing breakdown for every fee line.
Final Decision
You want the lowest processing cost we can verify — Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ at retail volumes, $0 monthly, no contract, $15 chargebacks — and your inventory is a catalog, not a workflow.
See Helcim pricingYou want a complete retail system: $0 plan with a free online store, hardware from $59, inventory and purchase orders on Plus, native loyalty and gift cards, and flat rates that never surprise you.
Visit SquareFAQ
Is Helcim cheaper than Square?
Yes, and not marginally. On $30,000 of card-present sales across 1,500 transactions we model Helcim at about $720 a month against Square Free's $1,005 and Square Premium's $1,094 — roughly $3,400 a year under the free plan. Square only catches up if your blended interchange exceeds about 2.55%.
Does Helcim have a monthly fee or a contract?
No. The account is $0 a month with no minimum volume commitment, no statement or PCI fee, and no cancellation or early-termination charge. Helcim's revenue is the disclosed margin on each transaction, which steps down from 0.40% to 0.15% as monthly volume rises from under $50K to $5M.
Can Helcim run a retail store on its own?
Lightly. Its free POS app, inventory catalog, low-stock alerts, invoicing and no-code online checkout cover straightforward selling. It does not document purchase orders, receiving, barcode labels, stock transfers, loyalty, gift cards or staff permissions — so stores with real stock workflows should look at Square Plus or Lightspeed Retail instead.
Why would I accept a variable rate instead of a flat one?
Because wholesale pricing is where the savings are. Interchange is set by the card networks and passed through unchanged, so a debit swipe genuinely costs you less than a premium rewards credit card. The trade-off is that your monthly number moves a little with your card mix, and it is repriced twice a year.
Which has better hardware?
Square. It starts at a $59 reader and runs through a $899 two-screen Register, with Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android costing nothing extra. Helcim sells a $199 reader and a $349 Smart Terminal (or $32 a month for a year), and adds 10¢ per transaction to iPhone tap payments.