Featured Partners
1
Stax
No
First Month Free
$99 per month, 7 cents to 15 cents per transaction plus interchange rate
2
Payment Depot
No
First Month Free
$59 per month, $0.07 - $0.15 per transaction + interchange rate
3
Finix
No
Save up to 40% on credit card processing
Transparent subscription-based pricing with 0% markup on interchange fees
Compare the Best Small Business Card Readers of 2025
5 Best Small Business Card Readers of 2025
Shopify
Best for Inventory Management
Shopify
Starting Monthly Price
$39
In-Person Transaction Fees
2.6% + $0.10
Free Card Reader With Signup
Yes, when you commit to one year
$39
2.6% + $0.10
Yes, when you commit to one year
Shopify is our top choice for small business card readers because it does everything well: solid transaction fees, a user-friendly app across devices, great inventory management and even some built-in marketing features. Beyond the mobile app that lets you scan cards and accept customer payments through Tap to Pay, Shopify offers three card readers—including a $50 tap and chip reader that’s versatile enough to support over-the-counter purchases or more mobile environments, like tableside payments, food trucks and farmers markets.
Shopify’s POS app has tons of user-friendly features, like an inventory system to manage your product library.
I find Shopify’s POS software to be a great complement to its card readers, especially with its smart inventory management features that track item amounts in real time and let you set thresholds for automatic order renewals.
Learn more: Read our full Shopify review.
- Wide variety of hardware and readers to choose from
- Robust marketing and inventory management features
- Can offer customizable discounts
- No free plan
- Inventory and marketing features might be too much if you want simplicity
- Not a good option for restaurants
Square POS
Best for Mobile-Based Card Scanning
Square POS
Starting Monthly Price
Free
In-Person Transaction Fees
2.6% + $0.15
Free Card Reader With Signup
Yes
Free
2.6% + $0.15
Yes
Square’s POS system has some of my favorite POS hardware because there are so many options—everything from terminals to card readers—and everything feels sleek and intuitive. The magstripe readers plug directly into your phone for scanning or tapping, and they use the headphone jack, USB-C or lightning port, so you don’t need to charge them as you do with most other card scanners.
Square has a crisp and modern app interface that makes it seamless for staff members to charge customers and process transactions.
At $10, these are the cheapest card readers I’ve ever seen, and they enable incredible mobility for wherever you want to set up shop. Best of all, you get a free one with signup, and Square’s POS software is also free, so you can start professionally accepting payments instantly, with minimal risk
Learn more: Read our full Square POS review.
- Works well for any type of business
- Mobile and cost-effective card readers
- Great marketing tools
- Restricted to Square’s payment processing system
- Some of the marketing and advanced features can easily increase the price
- Limited customer support on the free plan
PayPal POS
Best for Inventory Management
PayPal POS
Starting Monthly Price
Free
In-Person Transaction Fees
2.29% + $0.09 per transaction
Free Card Reader With Signup
No
Free
2.29% + $0.09 per transaction
No
While PayPal’s POS hardware is more basic and clunky than alternatives like Square or Clover, its software excels with simplicity and ease of use. The main dashboard displays graphics and key stats, such as your daily sales volume, top-selling items and profit. You can create invoices and build a product inventory that updates in real-time. PayPal lacks the advanced marketing or staff management features that alternatives have, which makes PayPal a good choice for those new to POS who just want a simple card reader.
The PayPal POS dashboard is simple, allowing you to manage invoices, customer behavior and websites and track core sales metrics.
Starting at $29, PayPal’s card readers are well-priced and, though larger than Square’s, they’re plenty portable and easy to use.
Learn more: Read our full PayPal POS review.
- Supports payments via Venmo
- Low-cost card reader
- Intuitive and simple app dashboard
- Customer support can be difficult to reach
- Lacks advanced marketing and inventory management features
- Limited hardware choices
Clover POS
Best Card Reader for Restaurants
Clover POS
Starting Monthly Price
$16 (36-month billing)
In-Person Transaction Fees
2.6% + $0.10
Free Card Reader With Signup
No
$16 (36-month billing)
2.6% + $0.10
No
Clover’s POS system supports any type of business, including retail, but it stands out as a restaurant payment software. Its mobile card scanners not only accept payments but display menu information, providing servers with a pocketable device to record customer orders and split the bill as needed. You can map table locations, helping hosts manage wait lists and servers’ table assignments. I love the kitchen display system, which syncs with mobile card readers for instant communication with your kitchen when customers make an order.
Clover’s kitchen display system automatically syncs orders between the server’s mobile device and kitchen tablets, keeping your backend staff running efficiently.
My main gripe with Clover is that it’s costly and requires an investment in hardware. You have two payment options: a $349 upfront cost for the card reader with no monthly fee, or a 36-month commitment of $16 a month. Before committing, I’d recommend requesting a demo to make sure it’s a good fit.
Learn more: Read our full Clover POS review.
- Works for any type of business—restaurant or retail
- Strong kitchen display system
- Menu management features
- Plan subscriptions require a long-term commitment
- Restaurant plans are expensive
- Confusing payment plans
Heartland
Best for Building Customer Loyalty
Heartland
Starting Monthly Price
Free
In-Person Transaction Fees
2.6% + $0.10
Free Card Reader With Signup
Yes
Free
2.6% + $0.10
Yes
Heartland is a versatile POS system that can work for restaurants or retail. The thing that sticks out to me most about Heartland is how it uses analytics and customer-focused features to encourage customer loyalty. The system can record customer information for in-person or online interactions, tracking customer purchases and logging this information in your CRM system. You can target return customers with discounts, coupons or reward points. Since Heartland connects with a wide variety of e-commerce platforms, you can use email or SMS campaigns to encourage customers to take advantage of these promotions.
Heartland lets you track customer activity and orders, enabling you to target customers for promotions and discounts.
While Heartland’s card reader is slightly bulkier and more basic than alternatives like Shopify, Square or Clover, it’s still portable and gets the job done—even if you want to accept payments away from the counter.
- Great variety of e-commerce and CRM integrations
- Metrics to track customer purchases
- Discounts and coupons
- Small selection of hardware items
- Card scanner is clunky and oversized
- Confusing payment structures
Methodology
To determine our list of the best card readers, we researched and compared 20 POS systems. We scrutinized their hardware to ensure that they offered mobile card readers, and our research took a close look at factors such as pricing, transaction fees, inventory management features and marketing tools. We also gathered feedback from small businesses using these products. With this all in mind, we created various scoring categories and assigned weights based on importance.
Here’s what we looked at when calculating final scores for this “best list”:
| Decision Factor | Scoring Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | 8% | We compared providers based on their monthly subscription costs and setup fees. |
| Customer Service | 6% | We considered each POS platform’s customer service availability, looking for 24/7 access through channels like phone, email and live chat. |
| Transaction Fees | 16% | Transaction fees make a huge difference in your company’s profit, so we placed high priority on each provider’s in-person and online fees. |
| General Features | 25% | We researched each provider’s selection of essential POS features like sales reporting, gift cards, coupons, staff management and payment processing. |
| Inventory Features | 6% | Inventory and menu management are critical for any business—retail or restaurant—so we took a close look at each POS system’s inventory tracking features. |
| Hardware | 16% | We compared providers based on their hardware design, especially card readers—taking note of the design, cost and selection. |
| Integrations | 8% | It’s useful to connect your POS software with third-party platforms like CRM systems and e-commerce tools, so we considered software integrations. |
| Consumer Sentiment | 15% | We gathered input, ratings and feedback from real-life small businesses that use these products, for a more hands-on component to our scores. |
How To Choose the Best Small Business Card Reader
When choosing a card reader for your small business, focus primarily on features, hardware selection and transaction fees. Here’s a more in-depth breakdown of what I focus on:
Essential Card Reader POS Features
A well-rounded POS system checks a lot of boxes by helping you manage inventory, sales, customer data, marketing and even an online store.
Here are the key features I look for in a POS platform:
- Inventory management. These features let you input a catalog of products, items or ingredients. POS systems often track stock levels, updating them as you sell items, and some even enable automatic re-orders when you reach a certain threshold.
- Reporting and analytics. These dashboards track information such as your sales volumes, net profit, top-performing items and customer purchase histories. You can typically view this information in various graphic displays and sort it over custom historical periods.
- Marketing and promotion tools. Your POS system should let you customize promotions like discounts, coupons, loyalty programs, buy-one-get-one, etc. These tools help you attract customers and improve brand loyalty.
- Online store building. If your business has an online component for sales or marketing, choose a POS system that lets you build out your online storefront. Many POS platforms let you build a website, integrate your product library and access SEO tools.
- Multiple ways to accept payments. While all POS systems typically let you accept payments via card and cash, some go above and beyond. Look for diverse payment options like crypto, Venmo, payment links and QR codes.
Square, Shopify and Heartland are the standout options when it comes to solid features. Shopify’s online store-building features are top-notch, while Square and Heartland offer great marketing and promotional tools.
Value
A card reader’s value isn’t just about its cost, but rather its bang for your buck. A cost-effective POS system is affordable, offers reasonable transaction fees, a solid variety of hardware and great software features that help you accept payments how you want.
I consider PayPal a great value for companies based in-person because its transaction fees are so low. However, Shopify is a good value for companies with an online component, because its in-person fees and 2.9% + $0.30 online fees are both better than average. As a bonus, neither of these providers charges a monthly fee.
Hardware Selection
An effective card reader is affordable, easy to use and lightweight. It should hold a charge well and enable users to take payments at the counter, at the tableside, and even at a pop-up farmers market table.
“It was also important to me that my card reader could be used, even without Wi-Fi, and can connect to a phone via Bluetooth and use the phone signal to process transactions,” says Christopher De Smedt, founder of Praline Mocha, an art company that frequently travels to conventions.
To me, Square wins the hardware battle. It has a wide variety of low-cost card reading devices, including scanning chips that plug directly into your phone or work via Bluetooth.
Restaurant Features
If you run a food business, it’s critical that you pick a card reader and POS system that supports your service style. Quick-service restaurants such as coffee shops or bakeries need menu management features. On the other hand, full-service restaurants need table management tools, a kitchen display system and card readers for servers to take orders and payment at the tableside.
Heartland, Clover and Square have the best restaurant features on our list. These three platforms can support any type of restaurant or food service business.
Featured Partners
1
Stax
No
First Month Free
$99 per month, 7 cents to 15 cents per transaction plus interchange rate
2
Payment Depot
No
First Month Free
$59 per month, $0.07 - $0.15 per transaction + interchange rate
3
Finix
No
Save up to 40% on credit card processing
Transparent subscription-based pricing with 0% markup on interchange fees
<br>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What card machine is best for a small business?
Generally, a card reader or card terminal is the best card-scanning machine for small businesses. However, some providers offer other options, such as tap and chip payment options or scanners that plug directly into your phone.
Which card reader has no monthly fee?
Any card reader from Square, Shopify or PayPal will have no monthly fee. You simply pay a one-time upfront fee for the hardware you want, and you can keep using it as long as you use the provider’s POS system. Each of these providers offers a free POS pricing tier.
What is the cheapest way to take card payments?
The cheapest way to take card payments is by using tap-to-pay on your smartphone, because this option is free through your POS provider’s app. Beyond using the free app, Square’s Reader for Magstripe, which costs only $10, plugs directly into your phone and scans cards.
