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PayPal’s card reader and point-of-sale (POS) system, Zettle, has no monthly cost, but it does charge per-transaction, and this starts at 2.29% of the sale, plus nine cents. The service is one of the more affordable options available to small business owners right now, so it’s definitely a good choice for those looking to keep POS costs down.
Our researchers scored PayPal Zettle across a range of areas, and Zettle’s low pricing was the best thing about it. For this reason, it’ll best suit pop-up stores, market traders, food trucks, and small retail startups.
That being said, Zettle doesn’t offer great features or support when compared with other POS systems, such as Square. So if you’re still on the fence, consider taking a minute to gather quotes from all of the best POS competitors. All you need to do is give us a few details about your business, and our trusted partners will get back to you with obligation-free quotes.
In this guide:
| Plan | Transaction fees | Fees for 10 sales, averaging $20 each | Fees for 50 sales, averaging $20 each | Fees for 250 sales, averaging $20 each | Fees for 600 sales, averaging $20 each | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | | | |||
| Fee w/ Card | Fee When Keyed In | Invoice Fee | Cash Transaction Fee | |||
| 2.29% + 9¢ | 3.49% + 9¢ | 3.49% + 49¢ | None | |||
| $5.48 | $7.88 | $11.88 | $0 | |||
| $27.40 | $39.40 | $59.40 | $0 | |||
| $137 | $197 | $297 | $0 | |||
| $328.80 | $472.80 | $712.80 | $0 |
PayPal Zettle Fees & Transactions Explained
PayPal’s Zettle has no monthly fee, and there are no plan tiers. However, Zettle does offer four types of per-transaction fees:
- Card-present transactions (insert or swipe) and QR code transactions –2.29% + 9 cents
- Keyed-in transactions (card number typed into system) – 3.49% + 9 cents
- Invoice fees – 3.49% + 49 cents for PayPal payments, 2.99% + 49 cents for alternative payment methods
- No fee for cash transactions
Our team scored Zettle across six research categories, and the service earned a strong score for pricing, due, in large part, to the generous free plan and reasonable transaction fees. As we said in the intro, this means Zettle will only really be a good fit for small retail businesses, pop-up stores, and food trucks since the per-transaction fee becomes prohibitive with numerous transactions.
That being said, Zettle is still a really great option for novice POS users. During our research, our testers praised Zettle’s easy-to-use and intuitive software, particularly when using the front end.
Established restaurants will want something more advanced, however. Therefore, our researchers gave Zettle fairly low feature scores – it doesn’t contain things like built-in email marketing or even the option to create floor plans, which could certainly be limiting for some restaurants.
Square and Clover POS both offer more features while remaining competitively priced; however, so were awarded slightly better pricing scores than Zettle.
How Much Does Zettle Hardware Cost?
Card reader
The first card reader will cost $29, plus tax. Each additional reader after the first will cost $79, plus tax.
Zettle currently sells the Zettle Reader 2, which supports chip cards, contactless (NFC) cards, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay. With a battery life of eight hours or 100 transactions, it connects via Bluetooth and promises to process credit cards in 10 seconds or less.
Zettle’s charging docks can keep a card reader up and running around the clock. Image: Zettle
Card reader dock
Zettle’s card reader dock costs $49 plus tax.
Our research found that if your operation sometimes processes more than 100 transactions in a day, or stays in operation longer than eight hours at a time, the battery life of Zettle’s card reader won’t be enough. The reader will stay charged through a micro USB port as long as the dock is plugged in.
Zettle’s terminals are large but not easily moved. Image: Zettle
Terminal
Several different configurations are available:
- Terminal only: $199
- Terminal with built-in barcode scanner: $239
- Terminal kit with printer and dock: from $269
Terminals will take an hour and a half to charge, for a battery life of twelve hours or 4-6 hours with “intensive use.” It can accept everything a card reader can, and will accept QR codes without requiring a smartphone or tablet like the card reader does.
Users will see a view similar to this when an order is placed through PayPal Zettle. Image: Tech.co
The only upfront cost to getting started with Zettle is buying hardware. This is a one-time cost, but depending on what you’re getting, it can add up quickly. All readers and terminals must be paired with the Zettle app, which is free to download.
Does Zettle Have a Free Plan?
Zettle is only available as a free plan. With PayPal Zettle, businesses are not charged a monthly fee at all: just one plan is available, and users have access to all of its features and functionality.
Developers can set up a demo account in Zettle to test a software development kit, but that’s likely not helpful for the typical customer who just wants to test out Zettle’s interface and features. For that, our researchers would recommend setting up a free account.
If you’re interested in free POS solutions for your business, you can take a look at our roundup of the best.
We found it easy to set up discounts in PayPal Zettle POS. Image: Tech.co
Does Zettle Have Any Extra Fees?
Zettle doesn’t have much in the way of unexpected fees. You won’t pay a software subscription fee, so there’s no chance of an unexpected renewal cost or a deal running out without warning.
However, you will need to have hardware, and some price changes could catch you by surprise: the first card reader will just cost $29, for instance, compared with the $79 charge for each additional one purchased. You’ll also have to pay taxes on hardware devices.
What's New with Zettle's Fees? (June 2025)
Zettle’s last price hike was in 2024. The cost for PayPal invoice payments was 3.49% + 9 cents per transaction, and was increased to 3.49% + 49 cents.
We’ll be updating this box with any new Zettle price changes as they happen.
How Does Zettle Pricing Compare With Other POS Providers?
Zettle does have great pricing, but it only offers a few features with low-end support, which places it below most of the top services we’ve looked at, including our top three picks: Square POS, Lightspeed, and Epos Now.
Here’s a table to further highlight the differences between all of the best POS systems on the market that we tested:
| Starting price The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | Best Retail POS for Tech.co's verdict to help you identify the most suitable choice for your retail business | Lowest transaction fee The lowest possible fee that will be incurred with each transaction. | Key benefits | Drawbacks | Get started | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  | |||
| Free (but transaction fees apply) | |||||||
| Best for a managing sales on-the-go free option | Ease of use | Managing multiple stores | Small businesses and startups | Dual online and in-store operations | |||
| 2.29% + 9¢ | 2.6% + 15¢ | 2.6% + 10¢ | 1.4% + 5¢ | 2.4% + 10¢ | |||
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| Compare Prices | Try Square | Compare Quotes | Compare prices | Compare Prices |
Final Thoughts - Is PayPal Zettle Good Value?
Zettle is free to get started, making it a potential pick for smaller operations that want to get off the ground quickly.
However, it doesn’t offer more than what Square POS gives you – it’s also free, and our research team ranks it much higher overall. When compared with Square, Zettle lacks email marketing, offline mode, or loyalty tools.
Even though our researchers ultimately rank it low on our list of the best POS systems, Zettle isn’t bad. Overall, it still offers great pricing options – including its hardware and transaction fees.
You can read more about the system’s pros and cons in our full Zettle review, or you can see how all the top providers compare with our handy quote-matching tool.
How We Rated POS Providers
Our team of researchers combed through every feature and benefit of all the top point-of-sale systems on the market today. To gain an accurate understanding of how they compare, the team broke down each POS brand into six research categories: hardware, software, help & support, customer score, pricing, and usability.
Every relevant feature within each category was rated for all the top brands, allowing them to be easily compared and contrasted against each other.
Finally, Tech.co’s researchers compiled every brand’s category scores to create a single overall score. This way, our experts can stack each service against the others across any of these categories as well as in general. You can read through our full list of the best retail POS systems for a full examination.
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