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Join For FreeHelcim vs Stripe: Comparison
Helcim and Stripe are both popular payment processors, but they differ in several important ways.
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Key Takeaways
- Helcim and Stripe are similar in terms of their monthly pricing, payment processing hardware, and merchant services contract.
- Helcim and Stripe differ in the areas of customizability, payment processing model, POS, and a few others.
Helcim and Stripe both make our list of the best payment processors for small businesses. Both companies offer transparent processing fees, affordable hardware, and impressive selling features.
However, these two credit card processors also have some important differences that could render either unsuitable for your business needs—for example, international businesses based outside of the US cannot use Helcim, and businesses that sell exclusively in person probably won’t want to use Stripe.
Keep reading our Helcim vs. Stripe comparison to find out which processor will best serve your small business’s payment processing needs.
Table of Contents
Helcim Vs. Stripe: At a Glance Comparison
| Helcim | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider type | Merchant account | Payment service provider |
| Monthly cost | $0/month | $0/month |
| In-person processing fee | Interchange + 0.15-0.40% + $0.06-$0.08 | 2.7% + $0.05 |
| Online processing fee | Interchange + 0.15-0.50% + $0.15-$0.25 | 2.9% + $0.30 (2.2% + $0.30 for nonprofits) |
| Supported countries | US & Canada | 46 countries |
| Contract | Month-to-month | Month-to-month |
| Accepts high-risk businesses? | No | No |
| Equipment cost | $99 or $329 | $59-$349 |
| Best for | Fast-growing businesses that sell online or in-person | eCommerce companies at any stage of growth |
Where Helcim Wins
- Helcim offers a dedicated merchant account. This means that your account is stable and reliable, and the processor is unlikely to withhold your funds or freeze your account just because you process a larger-than-normal transaction.
- Merchant account providers like Helcim also tend to offer more personalized customer support than what payment service providers like Stripe can provide. Helcim also does not charge extra for its high-quality customer support, whereas Stripe charges a premium for higher-tier support.
- Helcim has interchange-plus pricing. Compared to Stripe’s flat-rate pricing, interchange-plus pricing is more affordable for higher-volume businesses and businesses with larger transaction sizes.
- Helcim offers a strong suite of out-of-the-box features for in-person selling, making them well-suited to restaurants and other business types that accept in-person payments. Some Helcim POS features include tipping, split payments, and discount functionality.
Where Helcim Falls Short
- Helcim offers fewer customization and integration options compared to Stripe. If you need a complex, custom-built checkout solution, Helcim may not be able to meet your needs as well as Stripe.
- Although Helcim allows you to accept international payments, your business must be based in the US or Canada.
- Helcim’s interchange-plus pricing works well for businesses processing at least $10K or $15K/month, but very small businesses may find their processing fees expensive.
Where Stripe Wins
- Stripe is incredibly customizable with rich, developer-friendly APIs and an exhaustive list of prebuilt integrations. This makes Stripe an excellent solution for developers who want to build a custom solution and large, enterprise-level businesses with more complex processing needs.
- Stripe has more advanced eCommerce features for accepting online payments. Some of these include advanced subscription management tools and customizable checkouts.
- While large-volume businesses can receive a custom discount on Stripe processing fees, Stripe’s standard flat-rate pricing is highly affordable for very small businesses and businesses that are just starting out.
- Unlike Helcim which limits its merchants to Canada and the US, Stripe is an international payment processor, serving merchants in 46 countries and counting.
Where Stripe Falls Short
- Stripe does not have a built-in POS app; you will need to build a POS yourself using developer tools or integrate it with a supported external POS system.
- Not only will you need developer expertise to build out a POS system with Stripe, but you will also need programming skills to implement most Stripe eCommerce solutions.
- Stripe’s flat-rate pricing isn’t a great deal for mid-volume businesses. While it’s affordable for very low-volume businesses processing less than $10K or so per month, if you process much more than that, you will save with interchange-plus. Stripe does offer volume discounts, but you’ll need to process at least $80-100K/month to receive that discount. This leaves many mid-volume merchants processing ~$15K-$80K with rather expensive transaction fees.
- As mentioned, Stripe is a payment service provider and not a true merchant account solution. This means that even though you can get your account up and go quickly (you can even get same-day account approval), you may have problems down the road with funding holds, account freezes, or account termination, and you will have little recourse if you are not on a premium support plan.
Helcim vs Stripe: Pricing Comparison
Neither Stripe nor Helcim charges a monthly fee. Neither charges a set-up fee, and neither requires a long-term merchant services contract.
The main area in which Helcim’s and Stripe’s pricing differs is transaction fees. Helcim offers interchange-plus fees, while Stripe has flat-rate fees. Also, Stripe has various optional paid monthly plans for specific services (such as recurring billing and premium support), whereas Helcim does not charge a monthly fee for any of its services.
Ultimately, Helcim vs. Stripe pricing is not an apples-to-apples comparison. The more affordable choice will depend on your particular industry, processing volume, and feature needs.
Helcim Pricing Overview
Note that Helcim’s transaction fee range is so wide because your rate depends on your processing volume, with the highest-volume companies processing $1 million/month receiving the fees at the low end of these ranges. Nonprofits also receive discounted processing fees.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pricing Range | $0/month |
| Contract Length | Month-to-month |
| Account Setup Fee | $0 |
| Processing Model | Interchange-plus & cash discount |
| Card-present Transaction Fee | Interchange + 0.15-0.40% + $0.06-$0.08 |
| eCommerce Transaction Fee | Interchange + 0.15-0.50% + $0.15-$0.25 |
| Keyed-in Transaction Fee | Interchange + 0.15-0.50% + $0.15-$0.25 |
| Equipment Cost | $99 or $329 |
Other Helcim Fees
| Helcim Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| ACH Transactions | 0.5% + $0.25 ($6 cap for transactions <$25K) |
| Tap to Pay on iPhone | Card-present rate + $0.10 |
| In-Person Fee Saver Transactions | 0% when customer pays with credit (customer pays 3%) |
| Online Fee Saver Transactions | 0% when a customer pays with credit (customer pays ~3%); 0.5% + $0.25 when customer pays with ACH (customer pays 0%) |
| Chargeback Fees | $0-$15 (depending on outcome) |
Stripe Pricing Overview
As you can see, Stripe offers a nonprofit discount as well. Stripe also offers volume discounts, though high-volume businesses will have to approach Stripe to receive a custom quote.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Pricing Range | $0+/month |
| Contract Length | Month-to-month |
| Account Setup Fee | $0 |
| Processing Model | Flat-rate |
| Card-present Transaction Fee | 2.7% + $0.05 |
| eCommerce Transaction Fee | 2.9% + $0.30 (2.2% + $0.30 for nonprofits) |
| Keyed-in Transaction Fee | 3.4% + $0.30 |
| Equipment Cost | $59-$349 |
Other Stripe Fees
| Stripe Payments Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| ACH Direct Debit | 0.8% per transaction ($5 cap) |
| International Cards | +1.5% |
| Currency Conversion | +1% |
| Chargeback Fee | $15 |
| Affirm | 6% + $0.30 |
| Klarna | 5.99% + $0.30 |
| Afterpay | 6% + $0.30 |
| Localized Payment Methods (From Outside Region) | 1.5% + variable transaction fee |
| Tap To Pay Transactions | +$0.10 |
| Invoicing | 0.4% per transaction |
| Instant Payouts | 1.5% ($0.50 minimum) |
Paid Stripe Plans
| Stripe Payments Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Domain | $10/month | If you want to use your own domain for customer-facing surfaces hosted by Stripe. |
| Billing | $620+/month (1 year contract) | If you need recurring revenue solutions such as subscription billing or a customer portal with self-managed plans. |
| Tax | $90/month (1 year contract) | If you need to automate tax calculation and collection on all your transactions. |
| Sigma | $10+/month | If you want to analyze your Stripe data using SQL. |
Stripe also offers premium customer support plans in three different tiers; however, they do not publically list pricing for said plans.
Helcim vs Stripe: Hardware Comparison
Helcim and Stripe offer comparable processing hardware, with each offering at least one mobile reader and at least one smart terminal option. Hardware pricing (see Equipment Cost in the above pricing overviews) is also comparable between the two vendors, and both Helcim and Stripe let you purchase the hardware outright rather than forcing you to enter an expensive terminal lease.
The main difference between Helcim’s and Stripe’s processing hardware is not the hardware itself, but its out-of-the-box functionality. Helcim’s terminal comes pre-loaded with POS software (or if you opt for the basic reader, it will connect with the POS app on your phone).
In contrast, Stripe’s hardware is not a plug-and-play POS solution—to use Stripe for in-person selling, you will have to build your own POS system using the Stripe Terminal SDK, or integrate Stripe with a partnered POS system like Lightspeed or ERPLY.
However, you can use Stripe with Tap to Pay as a no-code way to accept in-person payments. This enables you to take in-person contactless payments with just your phone (Helcim also has this feature).
Helcim Hardware
Helcim offers a card reader called Helcim Reader. This Bluetooth reader features a PIN pad and a small LCD screen. It can accept NFC (contactless) and EMV (chip card) payments.
Additionally, Helcim sells a smart terminal called Helcim Terminal, which is another way to accept chip and tap cards. Helcim Terminal comes preloaded with the full Helcim POS app so no external hardware is needed. The device also has a built-in receipt printer.
Stripe Hardware
Stripe’s mobile card reader is more like Square’s credit card reader than Helcim’s, both in form and function; the Stripe Reader doesn’t have a screen or a PIN pad, just basic EMV and NFC functionality. Stripe does offer a terminal with PIN pad in some countries (BBPOS WisePad 3), but it is not available in the US.
Stripe also has two Android-based smart terminal options: the BBPOS WisePOS E and the Stripe Reader S700. Neither of these wireless terminals has a built-in receipt printer like Helcim’s terminal, but they both have a smaller form factor, fitting in the palm of your hand, and can accept magstripe payments.
Helcim vs Stripe: Features Comparison
Helcim and Stripe offer many of the same features, which you can compare below. Some notable differences include:
- Helcim has a cash discount program (Stripe does not)
- Helcim has a ready-to-use POS system (with Stripe, you have to build your own POS app)
- Helcim offers traditional merchant accounts (Stripe has aggregated merchant accounts)
- Stripe is an international payment processor (Helcim is only available in the US and Canada)
- Stripe offers more customization with APIs and third-party software integrations (BNPL, POS, shopping carts, etc.)
- Stripe has more in-depth features for eCommerce payments
Helcim Features
Here’s a look at Helcim’s top features:
| Helcim Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Dedicated Merchant Account | |
| PCI Compliance | |
| High-Risk Accounts | |
| International Accounts | US & Canada only |
| Contactless Payments | |
| ACH Processing | |
| Digital Wallet Acceptance | |
| EBT Acceptance | |
| Virtual Terminal | |
| Mobile POS Reader & App | |
| Hosted Online Store | Hosted payment pages (not a fully featured store) |
| Payment Links | |
| Payment Gateway Integrations | Uses its own Helcim payment gateway API |
| Shopping Cart Integrations | Using Helcim API |
| POS Integrations | Uses its own POS |
| BNPL Integrations | |
| API Documentation | |
| Currency Conversion | |
| Recurring Billing | |
| Invoicing | |
| Cash Discount Program | |
| Cryptocurrency Processing |
Stripe Features
Here’s a look at Stripe’s top features:
| Stripe Payments Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Dedicated Merchant Account | |
| PCI Compliance | |
| High-Risk Accounts | |
| International Accounts | |
| Contactless Payments | |
| ACH Processing | |
| Digital Wallet Acceptance | |
| EBT Acceptance | |
| Virtual Terminal | |
| Mobile POS Reader & App | With Stripe Terminal (requires programming experience) |
| Hosted Online Store | Hosted payment pages (not a fully featured store) |
| Payment Links | |
| Payment Gateway Integrations | Stripe is its own payment gateway. |
| Shopping Cart Integrations | |
| POS Integrations | With Stripe Terminal (requires programming experience) |
| BNPL Integrations | |
| API Documentation | |
| Currency Conversion | |
| Recurring Billing | |
| Invoicing | |
| Cash Discount Program | |
| Cryptocurrency Processing |
Which Is Best For My Business?
Again, whether you should choose Helcim or Stripe depends largely on your unique business needs.
Helcim is best for:
- Businesses that take most sales in-person (for example, they are good for restaurant payment processing).
- Businesses that need relatively basic selling features with an easy-to-use POS
- US & Canadian small businesses that want the stability of a dedicated merchant account
- Mid-and high-volume small businesses processing at least $10K-$15K/month
Stripe is best for:
- Business owners with developer expertise (or the $ to hire a developer) who want to build a custom processing solution using payment APIs
- Low-volume eCommerce businesses processing less than $10K-$15K/month
- High-volume eCommerce businesses processing at least $100K/month
- International eCommerce businesses
To see how Helcim stacks up against another popular competitor, read our Helcim vs. Square comparison. I also recommend reading our full Helcim review and Stripe review to learn more details about these providers.
Shannon Vissers
Expert Contributor at Merchant Maverick
Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.
View Shannon Vissers's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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With Helcim, you get everything you need to accept credit card payments online or in-person with a free account, plus high-quality support from real humans. Start For Free.
Credit Card Processing With Superior Support
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With Helcim, you get everything you need to accept credit card payments online or in-person with a free account, plus high-quality support from real humans. Start For Free.
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