Free plans only

7 Best Free Payment Gateways of 2026

By the Rankozo research desk · Updated November 6, 2026

7 of the 10 tools in our best payment gateways ranking offer a permanent free plan. Stripe scores highest among them at 8.9 out of 10.

01
Stripe
Online stores and SaaS businesses that want flat card pricing and room to add billing, invoicing and payouts later.
No monthly fee; 2.9% + 30¢ per standard US card payment, 3.4% + 30¢ for manually entered cards
Full entry, No. 1 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 8.9
02
Helcim
US and Canadian small businesses that want lower card costs than flat-rate processors without a subscription.
No monthly fee; interchange-plus pricing, with Helcim's US online rate averaging around 2.29% + 25¢
Full entry, No. 2 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 8.7
03
Square
Sellers who take payments online and in person and want simple flat rates with fast transfers.
Square Free at $0 per month (3.3% + 30¢ online); Plus $49 and Premium $149 per location per month (2.9% + 30¢ online)
Full entry, No. 3 overall
Paid from
$49
Score 8.6
04
PayPal
Stores whose customers already pay with PayPal or Venmo and want a recognizable checkout button.
No monthly fee; 2.99% + 49¢ for standard card payments, 3.49% + 49¢ for PayPal Checkout
Full entry, No. 4 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 8.3
05
Braintree
Growing ecommerce and app businesses that want cards, PayPal and Venmo through one developer integration.
No monthly fee; 2.89% + 29¢ per card and digital wallet transaction for standard merchants
Full entry, No. 5 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 8.2
06
Adyen
Enterprise and fast-growing international sellers that need many local payment methods and multi-currency settlement.
No setup or monthly fees; a fixed processing fee per transaction plus a payment method fee, with interchange++ for cards
Full entry, No. 6 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 8.0
07
Paddle
Software and digital product sellers who want someone else to collect and remit sales tax worldwide.
No monthly fee; 5% + 50¢ per Checkout transaction, covering tax compliance, fraud and buyer support
Full entry, No. 8 overall
Paid from
Free
Score 7.6