Zettle is now PayPal Point of Sale: what changed and what did not
PayPal and Venmo QR code payments cost the same 2.29% + 9¢ [2], the first card reader is $29 [1] and the terminal is $199 [4]. PayPal renamed Zettle as PayPal Point of Sale. Its POS page says "PayPal Zettle is now PayPal Point of Sale," and the FAQ says the POS still operates the same way and accounts do not change [3]. The zettle.com U.S. page now returns a not-found page, so PayPal's own site is where current U.S. prices live.
The pricing model is simple. There are no monthly fees, startup fees or long-term commitments, and you pay a standard fee when you make a sale [3]. Money lands in your PayPal balance in minutes [1]. Moving it to your bank on the standard schedule is free, while an instant transfer costs 1.5% with a 50¢ minimum [2].
PayPal's Tap to Pay page shows the in-person rate as 2.29% with no monthly or setup fees [5]. Its fee schedule lists card-present sales at 2.29% + 9¢ [2]. We use the fee schedule, the fuller of the two, in our math.
What PayPal POS costs a month at $10,000, $30,000 and $75,000
Ticket size matters here, so we show two shops, both with every sale in person. A market stall or cafe with $20 sales makes 500 sales at $10,000 a month, 1,500 at $30,000 and 3,750 at $75,000. A boutique with $50 sales makes 200, 600 and 1,500. Each figure is sales times 2.29%, plus 9¢ per sale [2].
| Average sale | $10,000 a month | $30,000 a month | $75,000 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20 sale, 2.29% + 9¢ | $274.00 (2.74%) | $822.00 (2.74%) | $2,055.00 (2.74%) |
| $50 sale, 2.29% + 9¢ | $247.00 (2.47%) | $741.00 (2.47%) | $1,852.50 (2.47%) |
Keyed-in sales are where the bill climbs. At 3.49% + 9¢, a $50 phone order costs $1.84, against $1.24 when the card is tapped [2]. If customers are present, tap or dip the card.
Venmo, QR codes and invoices cost different amounts
A PayPal or Venmo QR code scanned at your counter costs the same as a card: 2.29% + 9¢ [2]. The same customer paying later through a payment link or invoice costs more. PayPal charges 3.49% + 49¢ when an invoice or link is paid with PayPal or Venmo, and 2.99% + 49¢ when it is paid by card [1][2].
| How the customer pays | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Card tapped or Venmo QR at the counter, 2.29% + 9¢ | $1.46 | $58.54 |
| Invoice paid by card, 2.99% + 49¢ | $2.28 | $57.72 |
| Invoice paid with PayPal or Venmo, 3.49% + 49¢ | $2.58 | $57.42 |
| Card keyed in, 3.49% + 9¢ | $2.18 | $57.82 |
For regulars who like to pay later, an invoice is convenient, but collecting at the counter is the lowest-cost way to take the same payment.
Hardware prices and the fees after the sale
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Card Reader (pairs with a phone or tablet) | $29 for the first one, $79 each after [1] |
| Terminal (POS app built in) | $199 [4] |
| Terminal with barcode scanner | $239 [4] |
| Reader dock | $29 [4] |
| Printer and dock for the Terminal | $99 [4] |
| Cash drawer | $119 [4] |
- Chargebacks on card sales cost $20 each in U.S. dollars [2].
- Disputes filed through a buyer's PayPal account carry a standard $15 dispute fee [2].
- PayPal's fee page lists an extra 1.5% on international commercial transactions [2].
A shop can start with a $29 reader and a phone it already owns, with no monthly bill. That suits seasonal and event sellers. A counter setup runs $298 (Terminal plus printer dock) to $457 (scanner Terminal, printer dock and cash drawer) [4].
When interchange-plus usually costs less than PayPal POS
For a fair comparison we priced an example interchange-plus account from published numbers. Interchange is Visa's April 2026 rate as a stand-in for every card: 40% regulated debit at 0.05% + 21¢ plus 1¢, 30% basic credit at 1.51% + 10¢ and 30% Visa Infinite at 2.30% + 10¢ [7]. The markup is Helcim's in-person margin: 0.40% + 8¢ under $50,000 a month, 0.35% + 7¢ above [6]. Network fees are extra and not included.
| Monthly card sales | $20 sales: PayPal / IC+ | $50 sales: PayPal / IC+ |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $274.00 / $270.30 | $247.00 / $201.90 |
| $30,000 | $822.00 / $810.90 | $741.00 / $605.70 |
| $75,000 | $2,055.00 / $1,952.25 | $1,852.50 / $1,461.75 |
On $20 sales the two are within a few dollars, and network fees likely tip it to PayPal. Debit interchange has a 21¢ fixed part [7], so small tickets do not gain much from interchange-plus. On $50 sales the gap opens to about $135 a month at $30,000 and $390 at $75,000 before network fees. So: if your tickets are small, PayPal POS is a fair price. If they are larger and your volume is growing, get a quote.
BatchOut is our own processing service. If we show it beside PayPal POS, we label it as ours.