Whether it’s your first time hearing about PayHawk or perhaps you have heard of us and you’re in the market for a merchant service provider to deal with the payment processing process – you’ve come to the right place.
Today, we’ll be comparing ourselves (PayHawk) to some of the biggest dogs in the payment processing industry.
| ** Before we dive in, you absolutely must know that PayHawk operates on a variable fee rate, and does not offer one static price, but on the same side of the coin, every fee you see here today is higher than PayHawk – even the lowest is still higher than our average. |
PayHawk vs. Helcim
Helcim is becoming one of the top payment processors online for many good reasons. Helcim has outstanding customer service and clear payment processing options.
When it comes to fees, Helcim is very transparent in its pricing by offering a simple non-tiered rate at 1.86% + 8 cents for in-person transactions and 2.40% + 26 cents for online transactions.
Helcim falls short on PayHawk for a few reasons beyond the fees.
- PayHawk has better customer service (24/7 real humans, always)
- Dedicated account management
- Financial coaching and advice
- Better reporting solutions
- Free audits
PayHawk vs. Square
Square can be downright bad when it comes to their fees, but what makes them truly a bad option is how much is hidden when it comes to their fees. As you sign up with Square you are greeted with your pricing options in a monthly format, and in the smallest of fine prints do you find the processing fees, it’s a practice we just hate.
When it comes to the fees, Square has their fees rated at 2.6% + 10¢ for contactless payments, swiped or inserted chip cards, and swiped magstripe cards and 3.5% + 15¢ fee for manually keyed-in, processed using card on file, or manually entered using virtual terminal.
Now even with high fees, we have to give some props to Square. Square is currently leading the market with a lot of innovative features that many are behind on (except PayHawk!)
Square again, like Helcim falls short. PayHawk wins for a few reasons:
- Lower fees
- Free audits
- Better reporting solutions
- Lower fees
- Better support
- Dedicated account representative
PayHawk vs. Stripe
Stripe can be quite costly when it comes to their fees. Stripe though does have some really good advantages over others on this list.
First, Stripe is a well known advocate for transparent gateways – so they’ve created their own API that developers can use to launch new services much easier, this includes creating their own payment processing company.
Secondly, Stripe being as large as it is has a cult-like following, and those followers will help you when their support can’t. This leads us into the bad.
Stripes support is downright bad. They have thousands of pages on API docs and help docs, but limit their support down to phone calls (when it works) and online chat (when it’s turned on).
The other disadvantage as we’ve said before are their fees. It’s not just a per-payment fee, you’re also locked into monthly or annual subscription fees as well.
When it comes to the fees, Stripe has their fees rated at 2.9% + 30¢ for online payments and 2.7% + 5¢ for in-person payments through Terminal.
While Stripe offers some innovative features, PayHawk offers a more comprehensive solution. PayHawk wins for a few reasons:
- Lower fees
- Free audits
- Better reporting solutions
- Lower fees
- Better support
- Dedicated account representative
PayHawk is our Winner (Are you surprised?)
Thanks for reading our comparison!
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