Best credit card machine for small business in 2024

Clover POS is a great option for businesses that are on-the-go. Its smallest credit card reader, Go, starts at $49 each and allows you to take many payment types, including credit and debit cards, mobile wallets and checks. You can also take payments from your phone or online. The company also has tap to pay on iPhones if you have the Clover Go app. Transaction fees start at 2.6% plus $0.10.

However, you can’t track orders or your inventory, integrate with an online store or create itemized orders with the company’s smallest card reader. If you want those features, you will need to pay for one of its other terminals, which are more expensive. You also can’t have any loyalty programs and there is a fee for each instant deposit you initiate.

Square is great for smaller businesses that are on a budget because of the financing options it offers. Hardware can be an expensive upfront cost, but with Square, you can divide those payments into monthly installments. Square also offers a two-year limited warranty with its Square Register and a one-year limited warranty with all other hardware. You can return your equipment for a refund within 30 days.

This might not be the best option for larger businesses, however. It doesn’t offer any sort of discount on transaction fees for higher volumes of sales. Some competitors do offer this. Square also doesn’t offer 24/7 support options, which can be difficult for busy business owners. You can contact the company by live chat or phone, but only Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST.

eHopper is great for business owners who are looking for free hardware. The company has a program that will give you a free credit card payment terminal, free POS software and flat credit card processing fees. eHopper also has a payments ROI calculator on its website to see how much you can save with its services.

However, the POS software offered only works on Android tablets, PCs and Poynt devices. You also need to be approved for the free credit card processing program, and the qualifications for that are unclear on its website. If you want to avoid a package license fee, you will need to process at least $5,000 per month in sales.

Shopify offers a newer way to have customers pay for your goods and services. Tap to pay allows you to take payments on the go as long as you have the Shopify POS software downloaded. Card machine readers are cheaper than most competitors at $49 each. Shopify is also a well-known platform, allowing you to combine many different features.

However, as of writing this, Shopify’s tap to pay doesn’t work on any other device besides Apple devices. Also, if you have an iPhone, you must have at least iOS 15.5 if you want to run this feature. If you process more than 100 transactions per month in this way, you will need to pay an additional fee of $0.25 per transaction until the end of the month.

With your Erply machine, you can decide what payment options you want to accept — whether that be credit cards, debit cards, gifts cards or checks, among other options. The company also uses an iPad POS, which can be helpful for businesses that are familiar with that platform. You can also have your machine integrated with international payment providers and other hardware.

However, the company doesn’t offer a lot of pricing information for its hardware options on its website. You also can’t easily downgrade or cancel your plans. You will need to email the company and wait for a response. If you want to cancel, you will have to submit a written request 30 days before you want to cancel.

Lightspeed offers many hardware options, like credit card machines, iPad stands and barcode scanners. According to the company, all hardware, including credit card machines, are PCI compliant. Specifically, it has PCI DSS-validated Level 1 Service compliance. This means its hardware must follow specific security standards to protect your customers. Lightspeed does offer 24/7 support options.

However, Lightspeed doesn’t offer any free hardware options like some of its competitors. You also can’t use any hardware that you already own. This can make it difficult — and more expensive — to switch over to Lightspeed from another platform. The company said that this is for security reasons.

Aloha POS is best for its all-in-one system. It has two different plans, with the top plan including online ordering, contactless ordering, advanced reporting and the ability to accept gift cards. This machine also gives you the ability to accept QR code payments. Your customers can save their credit card information securely with Aloha POS software, along with using text-to-pay and receiving digital receipts.

However, the pricing for its hardware isn’t clear. It also doesn’t look like any hardware is included in the two plans listed on Aloha POS’ website. It does say that upfront costs for things like hardware, software and payment processing are available as a monthly subscription, which might help business owners who are on a budget.

Korona POS offers a lot of hardware options on top of credit card machines. It also offers scanners, tablets, receipt printers, ticket and inventory scanners, terminals and cash drawers. You can also lease the hardware if you don’t want to spend a ton of money upfront, as well as take advantage of other payment plans that are available.

Despite this, Korona POS’ website is a bit frustrating. There is no pricing information on its hardware, so it will be hard to compare it to other competitors when it comes to cost. If you want pricing information, you will need to answer questions about your business and enter your contact information. When you do this, it will show you that no contracts are required and there is 24/7 customer support available.

Lightspeed Restaurant is best for restaurants, hence the name. It’s owned by Lightspeed but is personalized for business owners who own restaurants. You can take advantage of inventory management and accounting features. Your business can also utilize Lightspeed Restaurant’s delivery options and kitchen display system.

When it comes to the card machine, it is on the more expensive side when compared to its competitors. The card reader is $99 and terminals start at $359. The company’s least expensive POS software — $69 per month — still has its limitations and is a bit on the expensive side.

PayPal’s POS card reader is simple and you can purchase your first one for $29 ($79 for each additional one). The company claims that the setup is fast and there is a quick charging battery that will last up to eight hours or for 100 transactions. It also accepts many digital payments, including QR codes, PayPal, Venmo, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay. Also, if you use the company’s POS software, there is no monthly fee.

If you have an older iPhone or Android, you might need to update it. The card reader requires Apple devices to have iOS 12 or higher, as well as tablets with Bluetooth. It also requires Android 8.0 or higher on most smartphones and tablets with Bluetooth. There are no free hardware options.