Credit card readers for Android give business owners the option to accept debit and credit card payments in-store or on the go using their Android devices. The best Android card readers are affordable, integrate with the rest of your point-of-sale (POS) system and accept popular payment types. Aside from the cost of the Android card reader itself, remember to factor in processing fees, too.
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Here are NerdWallet’s top picks for the best credit card readers for Android users.
Best Credit Card Readers for Android
Best Credit Card Readers for Android
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Pros
- Highly customizable online checkout options.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- 24/7 chat support.
- Can process transactions in more than 135 currencies.
- No PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Doesn’t sell full countertop POS setups; hardware is limited to handheld terminals and card readers.
- Deposits can take up to two business days.
- No phone or email support.
Pros
- Highly customizable online checkout options.
- No termination fees or long-term contracts.
- 24/7 chat support.
- Can process transactions in more than 135 currencies.
- No PCI compliance fees.
Cons
- Doesn’t sell full countertop POS setups; hardware is limited to handheld terminals and card readers.
- Deposits can take up to two business days.
- No phone or email support.
Monthly fee
$0.00
Payments plan; $14.95 Essentials plan.
Learn more
on Clover's website
Pros
- Can purchase from third-party payment processors.
- Uses passcodes for employees.
- Accepts chip, swipe and contactless payments.
Cons
- Takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes to charge.
- Requires a monthly fee for advanced POS features.
Clover Go
Best for Quick deposits
Monthly fee
$0.00
Payments plan; $14.95 Essentials plan.
Learn more
on Clover's website
Pros
- Can purchase from third-party payment processors.
- Uses passcodes for employees.
- Accepts chip, swipe and contactless payments.
Cons
- Takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes to charge.
- Requires a monthly fee for advanced POS features.
Monthly fee
$0.00
Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.
Learn more
on Square's website
Pros
- Has a compact design.
- Square Reader for magstripe and POS app are free.
- Magstripe reader doesn’t have to be charged.
Cons
- Free Square Reader only lets you swipe cards; must purchase upgraded Square Reader to accept contactless and chip payments.
- Square Reader for contactless and chip payments takes roughly two to three hours to charge.
Square Reader
Best for Integrating with full POS setups
Monthly fee
$0.00
Starts at $0/month for unlimited devices and locations.
Learn more
on Square's website
Pros
- Has a compact design.
- Square Reader for magstripe and POS app are free.
- Magstripe reader doesn’t have to be charged.
Cons
- Free Square Reader only lets you swipe cards; must purchase upgraded Square Reader to accept contactless and chip payments.
- Square Reader for contactless and chip payments takes roughly two to three hours to charge.
Pros
- No long-term contract or termination fees.
- Accepts a variety of payment types, including Venmo and PayPal payments.
- Inexpensive card reader with a keypad, plus built-in payment processing and a free mobile app lets you quickly accept in-person payments on the go.
- Low in-person processing fees for a flat-rate processor.
Cons
- Accepting online transactions involves additional monthly fees, depending on your gateway.
- No offline mode.
Pros
- No long-term contract or termination fees.
- Accepts a variety of payment types, including Venmo and PayPal payments.
- Inexpensive card reader with a keypad, plus built-in payment processing and a free mobile app lets you quickly accept in-person payments on the go.
- Low in-person processing fees for a flat-rate processor.
Cons
- Accepting online transactions involves additional monthly fees, depending on your gateway.
- No offline mode.
Monthly fee
$0.00
for card readers only; $99 for Connect Lite plan; $199 for Connect Plus plan; $289 for Connect Pro plan.
Learn more
on SumUp's website
Pros
- Accepts chip, swipe and contactless payments.
- Has a screen to display transaction details.
- Can complete more than 500 transactions before having to recharge.
Cons
- Has less robust POS software features than other card readers.
SumUp Plus
Best for Android credit card reader with a screen
Monthly fee
$0.00
for card readers only; $99 for Connect Lite plan; $199 for Connect Plus plan; $289 for Connect Pro plan.
Learn more
on SumUp's website
Pros
- Accepts chip, swipe and contactless payments.
- Has a screen to display transaction details.
- Can complete more than 500 transactions before having to recharge.
Cons
- Has less robust POS software features than other card readers.
Our picks for the best credit card readers for Android
Clover Go
Best for quick deposits
Why we like it: Clover Go’s sleek design is easy to use on the go. You can accept all credit cards along with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay, and it takes offline payments when you lose Wi-Fi or a cell signal. While you’ll have to choose a monthly plan, Clover offers a free option with basic POS features, including processing payments and sales tracking. Read our full Clover review.
- $0 for Payments plan.
- $14.95 for Essentials plan.
- $199 for chip, swipe and contactless Clover Go card reader.
- $279 for countertop card reader.
- $649 for Clover Flex mobile POS with receipt printer.
- $599 for slimmer Flex Pocket with no printer.
- $799 for Clover Mini POS.
- $799-$899 + $25 per month for kitchen display system.
- $1,699 for Clover Station Solo.
- $1,799 for Clover Station Duo.
- $3,499 + $34.95 per month for self-ordering kiosk.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions.
- 3.5% plus 10 cents for online or keyed-in transactions.
- Accepts magstripe and chip credit cards along with digital wallet payments.
- Accepts offline payments.
- Has a free monthly plan available.
- Doesn’t have a screen to view transaction details.
- Doesn’t print receipts.
- Requires paid monthly plan for advanced features.
PayPal Zettle
Best for accepting a variety of payment methods
Why we like it: PayPal’s Zettle accepts credit cards, digital wallet payments and QR codes for PayPal accounts. With no monthly fee, the platform offers a cheaper option for businesses that need to accept payments on the go. Read our full PayPal Zettle review.
$0.
- $29 for first card reader; additional readers cost $79. Price includes USB cable.
- $199 for terminal only.
- $239 for terminal with barcode scanner built in.
- $229 for Store Kit Mini (tablet stand with card reader and dock).
- $339 for Store Kit Portable kit with mobile card reader and printer.
- $479 for Store Kit Standard (tablet stand, card reader, dock and printer).
- $699 for Store Kit Plus (adds barcode scanner).
- 2.29% plus 9 cents for in-person and QR code transactions.
- 3.49% plus 9 cents for manual-entry card transactions.
- 2.99% plus 49 cents for invoicing (payment made with card).
- 3.49% plus 49 cents for invoicing (payment made with PayPal).
- Accepts chip and contactless payments and digital wallets.
- Creates QR codes for an additional payment method.
- Has a screen to show transaction details.
- Doesn’t require a contract or monthly fee.
- Doesn’t swipe magstripe credit cards.
- Doesn’t support offline payments.
- Doesn’t print receipts.
SumUp Plus
Best for Android credit card reader with a screen
Why we like it: The SumUp Plus reader is small but efficient, processing magstripe and chip cards as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay. It includes a screen to show transaction details and charges pay-as-you-go processing fees so you pay only when you charge customers. Read our full SumUp review.
$0.
- $54 for SumUp Plus card reader.
- $64 for SumUp Plus cradle bundle.
- $99 for SumUp Solo touchscreen.
- $169 for SumUp Solo Printer Bundle.
- SumUp POS bundle is quote-based.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions.
- 2.90% plus 15 cents for online invoice transactions.
- 3.5% plus 15 cents for card-not-present transactions.
- Accepts magstripe and chip credit cards and digital wallets.
- Has a screen.
- Doesn’t require a contract or monthly fee.
- Doesn’t print receipts.
- Doesn’t process offline payments.
Square Reader
Best for integrating with full POS setups
Why we like it: Square’s Reader accepts chip cards and contactless methods including Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay. It uses a pay-as-you-go structure, so you don’t have a monthly fee and pay only when customers are charged. Square’s processing rates are competitive and come with POS features that include reporting and inventory management. Read our full Square POS review.
- $0 for Square POS, Restaurant, Retail and Appointments Free plans.
- $29 for Square Appointments Plus plan.
- $69 for Square Appointments Premium and Square Restaurants Plus plans.
- $89 for Square Retail Plus plan.
- $165 for Square Restaurant Premium plan.
- Custom pricing for Square Retail plan.
- $0 for Square magstripe-only card reader ($10 for each additional reader) or if using Tap to Pay for iPhone (iPhone not included).
- $59 for Square Reader contactless and chip card reader.
- $149 for Square Stand iPad POS or Square Stand Mount (iPad not included; monthly financing available).
- $299 for Square Terminal mobile card reader with built-in printer (monthly financing available).
- $799 for Square Register two-screen system (monthly financing available).
- 2.6% plus 15 cents for in-person transactions with all free plans.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions with paid restaurant plans.
- 2.5% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions with paid retail and appointments plans.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
- 3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions.
- 3.3% plus 30 cents for invoices.
- Accepts chip credit cards and digital wallets.
- Doesn’t require a contract or monthly fee.
- Doesn’t accept magstripe credit cards.
- Doesn’t have a screen to show transaction details.
- Doesn’t accept offline payments.
- Doesn’t print receipts.
Stripe Reader M2
Best for customization
Why we like it: Stripe’s Reader M2 doesn’t require a contract and comes with pay-as-you-go pricing for accepting magstripe and chip cards as well as digital wallets. The reader requires you to use a software development kit, or SDK, to integrate it with your application, so some coding knowledge is helpful. But the POS comes with a lot of features that make customization and integrations easier, including embedded checkout, currency conversion, reporting, 24/7 support and a developer dashboard. With these features, skilled users can customize their reader to do more than most others on the market. Read our full Stripe review.
- $0 for standard services.
- $10 for custom domain.
- $59 for Stripe Reader M2.
- $249 for BBPOS WisePOS E card reader.
- $349 for Stripe Reader S700.
- 2.7% plus 5 cents for in-person transactions.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
- 3.4% plus 30 cents for manually keyed transactions.
- 4.4% plus 30 cents for international card transactions.
- Accepts magstripe and chip cards and digital wallets.
- Doesn’t require a contract or monthly fee.
- Doesn’t accept offline payments.
- Doesn’t have a screen to show transaction details.
- Doesn’t print receipts.
How to choose the best credit card reader for Android
Consider the following features to find the best credit card reader for Android.
POS system compatibility
If your business has a brick-and-mortar location with a full POS setup, make sure your Android credit card reader is either from the same POS system provider or is compatible with it. That way, you can centralize information from in-store and mobile credit card sales under the same software umbrella. This makes it easier to sync the complete data set with your accounting software and run reports.
Costs
Basic credit card readers for Android are typically well under $100 and can be paired with free POS apps for your Android device, making the barrier to entry relatively low. Payment processing fees, on the other hand, must be paid on an ongoing basis and can add up quickly. To compare different credit card processing companies’ fees, plug your customers’ average purchase amount and how many card transactions your business usually accepts each month into the calculator below.
Mobile app
While customers will mostly interact with the card reader itself, you’ll interact more with the Android app it’s paired with. Read each accompanying mobile app’s reviews to check for common pain points and comments on ease of use. If you’d like to take payments with just your Android device (and no card reader), make sure the app includes a Tap to Pay option.
Explore more credit card reader options
Though the list above focuses on mobile card reader picks for Android smartphones and tablets, there are also more robust options for businesses that require receipt printers, barcode scanners, customer-facing displays or cash drawers. For additional mobile card reader, handheld terminal and full POS setup options, see NerdWallet’s roundup below.
Last updated on April 24, 2024