Helcim vs SumUp: Cost and Fees Calculator
Enter your volumes to compare estimated monthly costs and fees for Helcim and SumUp across the selling types both offer, using published US pricing.
In-person card payments
Full POS system
Estimates combine processing fees and monthly subscriptions on the plans noted above. One-time hardware, setup, and add-ons are excluded. Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and may have changed.
How the Helcim vs SumUp calculator works, and how the two compare
Helcim is an interchange-plus payment processor with free POS software, known for transparent pricing that gets cheaper with volume. Helcim has no monthly fee and passes through interchange plus a small markup, averaging 1.93% + $0.08 in person and 2.49% + $0.25 online, with automatic volume discounts and a $99 smart reader. SumUp is a low-cost card reader company that has expanded into POS plans for small US businesses. SumUp charges 2.6% + $0.10 in person with no monthly fee (Plus reader $54), 2.9% + $0.15 on paid invoice links, and offers POS subscription plans from around $99 per month.
How they are similar: Where they overlap: both Helcim and SumUp cover taking card payments in person with a card reader or terminal and running a full point-of-sale system, which is what this calculator compares. In both cases the bill is driven by a percentage of each sale plus any fixed per-transaction fee, which is why your average transaction size changes the effective rate as much as the headline percentage does.
How they differ: Only Helcim offers online selling, so that side of the business is not part of this comparison. Helcim operates as interchange-plus pricing that passes through card network costs plus a small markup, while SumUp operates as flat-rate card processing with published per-transaction fees. Helcim's interchange-plus model usually undercuts flat-rate processors once you pass roughly $10,000 per month in card volume, and its rates drop automatically as volume grows. SumUp keeps things deliberately simple and cheap for micro-businesses: low hardware prices, no monthly fees on the core product, and a lower fixed fee than Square on small tickets.
Assumptions used in this calculator
- Helcim is modeled on: Interchange-plus, avg 1.93% + $0.08 in person, $99 reader, no monthly fee; Free POS software, interchange-plus processing, avg 1.93% + $0.08.
- SumUp is modeled on: 2.6% + $0.10 in person, Plus reader $54, no monthly fee; POS plans from around $99 per month plus 2.6% + $0.10 processing.
- Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and change often; quote-based providers are modeled at representative rates. Always confirm current pricing with the provider.
- One-time hardware, setup, add-on apps, keyed-in transactions, international cards, and chargeback fees are excluded from the monthly figures.