Compared · Australia
Square vs Zeller vs Tyro vs Stripe: what each one actually charges
Four providers publish complete Australian rate cards. The table below puts them side by side from each schedule as observed 4 October 2026, then runs the annual sum across six turnover and average-sale combinations. Rates quoted on a different tax basis sit outside the like-for-like table and carry their basis label instead.
This page has one job: put the four schedules against each other and name a winner per scenario. It does not explain what card fees are or which parts of your business move them. The card fees hub costs the same providers across a pub, a salon and a clinic. Come here when you have narrowed it to a shortlist and want them ranked. Go there when you are still working out what you are being charged for.
Published rates, side by side
| Square | Zeller | Tyro | Stripe | Fresha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In person (card present) | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.65% + A$0.10 | Not published |
| Online | 2.2% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.65% + A$0.30 | Not published |
| Manually keyed / card on file | 2.2% | 1.75% + 25c | 1.4% | 1.65% + A$0.30 | Not published |
| Monthly fee | $0 | $0 | $29/month | $0 | Not published |
| GST | GST treatment not stated | incl. GST | incl. GST | incl. GST | GST treatment unknown |
| Published pricing | Source | Source | Source | Source | Source |
One trap when you compare: providers don't all publish on the same tax basis. A rate quoted excluding GST looks about ten percent cheaper than the same rate quoted inclusive. Every table on this site labels the basis on each row, and we don't compare across bases without saying so.
What that comes to over a year
Six scenarios, 85% taken in person, no international loading. Annual totals including published monthly fees.
| Scenario (85% in person) | Square/yr | Zeller/yr | Tyro/yr | Stripe/yr | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000/mo, small ticket ($45) | $4,056 | $3,252 | $3,504 | $4,653 | Zeller |
| $20,000/mo, larger ticket ($120) | $4,056 | $3,252 | $3,504 | $4,220 | Zeller |
| $60,000/mo, small ticket ($45) | $12,168 | $9,756 | $9,816 | $13,960 | Zeller |
| $60,000/mo, larger ticket ($120) | $12,168 | $9,756 | $9,816 | $12,660 | Zeller |
| $150,000/mo, small ticket ($45) | $30,420 | $24,390 | $24,018 | $34,900 | Tyro |
| $150,000/mo, larger ticket ($120) | $30,420 | $24,390 | $24,018 | $31,650 | Tyro |
Hardware, chargeback and negotiated pricing are excluded. See the calculator's method note.
The head-to-heads, answered
Square vs Zeller
Different shapes: one prices the terminal into a monthly relationship, the other sells hardware outright with a flat rate. The card-present rates differ less than the fixed costs do, so the crossover depends on your turnover and ticket size. The scenario table above shows it on real numbers; the calculator shows it on yours.
Square vs Tyro
A flat-rate box against a bank. Tyro publishes a headline rate plus monthly terminal rental; Square publishes one rate and sells the reader outright. Low turnover favours no-monthly-fee; high in-person volume favours the lower rate with rental. The table shows both, priced.
Fresha vs Square
Asked constantly because Fresha bundles booking software with payments. Fresha does not publish an Australian card-processing rate we could source, so there is no published figure to compare against Square's. Printing a one-number verdict would mean inventing Fresha's side of it. The Fresha page shows what is published and how to read your own statement instead.
The things a rate comparison will not tell you
- Settlement timing. When the money actually lands changes your working capital, and it is not priced in a percentage.
- What it integrates with. A rate you cannot use because it will not talk to your booking system or your POS is not a saving.
- Support when a terminal dies on a Saturday night. Worth real money in hospitality and almost impossible to compare from a pricing page.
- Your negotiating position. Published rates are list prices. Tyro publishes that above roughly $20k a month it will quote custom pricing; the others publish no threshold, which is not the same as not having one. Ask.
Every rate above, and where it comes from
- Square: Square Support Centre (AU): Learn about Square fees (observed 4 October 2026)
- Zeller: Zeller: Pricing (observed 4 October 2026)
- Tyro: Tyro: EFTPOS machine costs and merchant fees (observed 15 September 2026)
- Stripe: Stripe: Pricing (Australia) (observed 4 October 2026)
- Fresha: Fresha: Pricing (observed 4 October 2026)
Figures on this page are calculated from these published rates. They are not quotes, and they are not negotiated pricing. Check the source before deciding on one.
There is no card surcharging in Australia from 1 October 2026. Whatever a surcharge has been recovering for you has to come from your prices or your margin from that date.
Which page answers which question
- “Which of these four is cheapest for me?” This page, above. Four rate cards in one table, then ranked across six turnover and ticket combinations.
- “What do card fees cost a business like mine?” The card fees hub: the same providers costed over a year for a pub, a salon and a clinic, with what actually moves the number explained.
- “What is the catch with this one provider?” Their own page. Each carries the conditions a comparison table cannot hold: Square · Zeller · Tyro · Stripe · Fresha.
- “What does the machine itself cost?” EFTPOS fees: terminal and monthly fees separated from the transaction rate.
- “What are my own numbers?” The calculator: the same engine that produced the tables above, on your turnover.
Once you know the number, the next question is what you do about it
Card fees are one line of the software-and-payments bill. The booking platform is the other, and that's the line we can move: BookMyVenue takes no commission on any booking from any source, charges no per-booking fee, and publishes every price on one page, GST noted. If a platform is clipping your transactions, compare that against a flat bill.