Best POS Systems With Free Gateway Access (Square, Toast, Coastal Pay, and More Compared)

Let’s Define What “Free Gateway Access” Really Means

“Free” needs a definition. No payment provider can give you actually-free card processing because Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover charge interchange and assessments on every transaction. Someone has to pay these. The honest version of “free gateway access” is more specific: no separate gateway line item or per-transaction gateway surcharge on top of your processing rate.

The Four Cost Layers

• Processing fees: Per-transaction percentage and fixed fee (e.g., 2.5% + $0.15). Includes interchange, assessments, and the processor’s markup.
• Gateway fees: Monthly subscription and/or per-transaction fee for using a payment gateway. With standalone gateways like Authorize.net or NMI, this typically runs $15 to $30/month plus $0.05 to $0.10 per transaction.
• POS software (SaaS) fees: Monthly cost for the POS application itself (e.g., Toast’s higher tiers, Lightspeed Retail subscription). Some POS platforms are free; some charge meaningfully.
• Hardware costs: One-time or leased cost for terminals, card readers, kitchen displays, and other equipment.

For this article, “free gateway access” means the second category – gateway fees – is $0. Processing still costs whatever the provider charges, but the separate gateway subscription is eliminated. That is a meaningful difference: depending on volume, eliminating a gateway fee saves $180 to $360 per year on its own, before factoring in any per-transaction gateway charges.

Here’s How POS and Payment Gateway Fees Usually Show Up on Your Statement

The first step in fixing the problem is recognizing it on your statement. Gateway fees go by many names, and processors do not always label them obviously.

Common Labels for Gateway and Related Fees

• “Gateway fee”
• “Auth fee” or “Authorization fee”
• “Access fee”
• “Platform fee”
• “Tech fee” or “Technology fee”
• “Service fee”
• “Statement fee” (sometimes overlaps with gateway access)

What a Statement With a Gateway Fee Looks Like

Here is a simplified text mock-up of what you might see on a typical merchant statement:

Sales Volume:                  $24,500.00
Transactions:                       1,225
-------------------------------------------
Processing Fee (2.9% + $0.30):    $710.50
Authorization Fee ($0.05/tx):      $61.25
Gateway Monthly Fee:               $25.00
PCI Compliance Fee:                $19.95
Statement Fee:                     $10.00
-------------------------------------------
Total Fees:                       $826.70
Effective Rate:                     3.37%
      

The “Authorization Fee” plus “Gateway Monthly Fee” lines together represent the gateway charges. On this $24,500 in volume, they total approximately $86.25 – or about $1,035 per year just for gateway access. This is the cost a no-gateway-fee provider eliminates.

Beyond the Obvious

Watch for these less-obvious patterns: per-transaction surcharges that climb with volume, “platform fees” tied to specific POS or processor combinations, and Shopify-style third-party processor surcharges that effectively act as gateway charges. If a fee is per-transaction or per-month and is not strictly interchange or processor markup, it usually qualifies as a gateway-style cost worth eliminating.

Which POS Systems Actually Bundle the Gateway With No Extra Fee?

Several POS providers bundle gateway access into their in-house processing rate, with no separate gateway line item.

Square

Square uses its own integrated payments, so there is no extra gateway fee on top. Pay Square’s per-transaction rate (typically 2.6% + $0.10 in-person on the basic plan; 2.9% + $0.30 online) and that is it.

Best for: Very small to mid-size businesses wanting simple pricing, minimal setup, and free POS software with paid processing. Trade-offs: Higher flat rates than what is achievable elsewhere; limited rate negotiability; PayFac sub-account model that can freeze accounts on volume spikes.

Toast (Restaurants Only)

Toast Payments is built into the Toast POS, with no separate gateway fee when you use Toast’s processing.

Best for: Restaurants, bars, and food service operators wanting a deeply integrated restaurant-specific POS. Trade-offs: Locked into Toast Payments (typically a 2-year agreement with early termination fees); restaurant-only; hardware ecosystem lock-in.

Adyen

Adyen is both processor and gateway, so for most merchants there is no separate gateway fee – just Adyen’s transaction pricing in interchange-plus style.

Best for: Mid-market and enterprise merchants selling in multiple countries or needing advanced unified online plus in-person payments. Trade-offs: Monthly minimum invoice, more complex onboarding, less suitable for SMBs.

“Free POS” Bundles From Merchant Service Providers

Some ISOs and merchant service providers advertise free POS hardware or terminals when you use their processing, and bundle gateway access into the merchant account. These programs (Payanywhere Smart POS, Noble Pay bundles, various dual-pricing/cash-discount programs) can eliminate your gateway line item but the cost is usually shifted via higher per-transaction rates or to card-paying customers through dual pricing.

Coastal Pay – The Bundled Gateway, Bring-Your-Own-POS Alternative

The next section covers Coastal Pay’s positioning in detail. The short version: same “no separate gateway fee” benefit as Square or Toast, but you keep your existing POS through 2,000+ integrations rather than switching to a single ecosystem.

How Does Coastal Pay’s POS and Gateway Pricing Compare?

Coastal Pay is structurally different from Square and Toast. Square and Toast are all-in-one POS-plus-processor ecosystems where you adopt their hardware, software, and payments together. Coastal Pay is a processor and gateway that connects to your existing POS, eliminating the separate gateway fee while letting you keep the POS that fits your operations.

Coastal Pay’s Pricing

• Flat 2.5% + $0.15 per transaction – lower than Square (2.6% + $0.10 in-person, 2.9% + $0.30 online), Stripe (2.9% + $0.30), and PayPal (2.99% + $0.49 standard)
• $0 separate gateway fee – the Coastal Pay Gateway is included with processing
• $0 monthly software fee – no required POS subscription to access the rate
• ACH and alternative payment methods bundled – Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Klarna, Afterpay, Coinbase included at no extra subscription
• 2,000+ POS and software integrations – keep Clover, Lightspeed, Toast, vertical-specific POS, or whatever works for your business

Side-by-Side Comparison

Coastal Pay quick takeaway: Flat 2.5% + $0.15 per transaction. $0 gateway fee line item. 2,000+ integrations. No required POS subscription. Approved in approximately 2 minutes.

Coastal Pay also retains enterprise-grade gateway features that some all-in-one platforms cap behind paid tiers: tokenization for stored cards and recurring billing, ACH, alternative payment methods, payment links, email invoicing, and centralized reporting across in-person, online, and invoice channels.

Get a Free Statement Review With Coastal Pay | Call 888-266-1715

Here’s What to Look for When You Compare POS Offers

Headline rate is not the answer. Use this evaluation framework on every POS plus processor combination.

Pricing Variables That Matter

• Effective blended rate: Total monthly fees divided by total card volume. The only number that captures everything.
• Monthly POS SaaS: Some POS platforms charge $0 (Square free tier), others $29 to $300+ per location depending on tier.
• Hardware leases vs purchases: Leasing terminals over 4+ years often costs 5x to 10x the purchase price. Always do the math.
• Gateway or auth fees: The line item this article is about. $0 with Coastal Pay, Square, Toast, and Adyen; $15 to $30/month with standalone gateways.
• PCI compliance fees: $5 to $20/month or $99 to $200/year. Some processors include this; others charge separately.
• Statement and batch fees: Small but recurring; add to your effective rate.

Pricing Model Tradeoffs

Flat-rate (Square, Coastal Pay) is simple to budget but can be more expensive at very high volumes than interchange-plus. Interchange-plus (Adyen, Helcim) is more transparent and often cheaper at scale but harder to forecast. For most U.S. SMBs under $200,000 per month in card volume, flat-rate is the better fit; above that, interchange-plus or membership pricing may be worth considering.

Integration and Flexibility

• Does the processor work with your existing POS, e-commerce, CRM, and accounting software?
• What happens if you need to change POS in 2 years – are you locked in or can you migrate?
• Is there an API for custom integrations as you grow?

Support and Onboarding

• How fast can you be approved and live? (Coastal Pay: ~2 minutes via instant boarding.)
• Is support U.S.-based and reachable by phone?
• What does chargeback management look like?

What Are the Best Options for Your Type of Business?

Small Retail Shop ($5K to $30K/Month)

Square POS is genuinely good for the smallest retailers who want zero setup time and free POS software. Once you cross approximately $15K to $20K per month, the math starts favoring Coastal Pay: same no-gateway-fee benefit, lower 2.5% + $0.15 rate, and freedom to switch POS as you grow.

Quick-Service Restaurant

Toast is the dominant restaurant POS for a reason – the operations features are excellent. The trade-off is multi-year contract lock-in. Coastal Pay integrates with Toast and other restaurant POS systems, so you can keep the POS you like and bring your own better processing rate without rebuilding workflows.

Full-Service Restaurant

Same Toast tradeoff applies. For full-service operations with higher AOV and table-side ordering needs, evaluate Toast on operational fit but consider Coastal Pay for processing to avoid getting locked into Toast Payments specifically. Many restaurants use Toast POS with Coastal Pay processing to combine the best of both.

Multi-Location or Franchise

Centralized reporting is essential. Coastal Pay provides consolidated reporting across all locations through one dashboard, role-based access for property-level managers and corporate finance, and the same flat-rate pricing applied uniformly. The 2,000+ integrations let each location keep its existing POS while corporate sees one unified view.

Omnichannel and B2B

Businesses that sell in-person, online, and via invoice need one provider for all three channels. Square’s online tier is more expensive and feature-limited than its in-person tier; Toast is restaurant-only; Adyen targets enterprise. Coastal Pay handles all three channels at the same flat 2.5% + $0.15 with the same gateway, including ACH for high-ticket B2B invoices and alternative payment methods like Apple Pay and PayPal/Venmo for online consumer sales.

Bonus: Pair Coastal Pay With Dual Pricing

For price-sensitive merchants, layering Coastal Pay’s dual pricing program on top of any of the scenarios above can effectively zero out net processing cost on card transactions while keeping the POS and operations exactly as they are today.

How Do You Switch to a POS Setup Without Separate Gateway Fees?

Switching is easier than most operators expect, especially if you keep your current POS and only change the payment backend.

The 4-Step Switch

1. Audit your current statement. Pull your last 2 to 3 processing statements and identify every line item: processing percentage, per-transaction fee, gateway or auth fee, PCI fee, statement fee, batch fee. Calculate your effective rate (total fees / total card volume).
2. Choose the right POS plus processor combination. If your POS is working and your team likes it, the easiest path is keeping the POS and switching only the processor. Confirm your POS is in Coastal Pay’s 2,000+ integration directory. If your POS is not a fit, evaluate whether switching POS makes sense or whether a Coastal Pay-friendly POS replacement is the cleaner path.
3. Plan data and token migration. Stored card data on file (for recurring billing) needs to be migrated through a secure tokenization process or, in some cases, customers re-enter their cards. Coastal Pay’s onboarding team handles tokenization and walks through any technical steps.
4. Go live and train. Get approved through Coastal Pay’s instant boarding (~2 minutes), connect the gateway to your POS, run test transactions, and brief your staff (usually 10 to 15 minutes per location). Once you confirm Coastal Pay is processing successfully, cancel your old gateway subscription and document the savings on your next statement.

Quick Switch Checklist

• Pull last 2 to 3 statements and calculate effective rate
• Identify gateway, auth, platform, and tech fees on the statement
• Confirm POS compatibility with Coastal Pay
• Get approved through instant boarding
• Connect Coastal Pay Gateway to existing POS
• Run test transactions in sandbox or with small live amounts
• Train staff briefly
• Go live and cancel old gateway subscription after one full clean settlement cycle

Working With Coastal Pay’s Team

Coastal Pay’s onboarding team handles gateway configuration, POS integration, and dual-pricing setup if you choose that path. For custom or complex stacks, the API documentation at coastalpay.com/api-links covers everything developers need.

Ready to see what you would save? Request a Free Statement Review or call 888-266-1715 and a Coastal Pay specialist will calculate your specific savings under flat 2.5% + $0.15 with no gateway fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

What POS systems come with free gateway access?

Square, Toast, Adyen, and Coastal Pay all bundle gateway access without a separate gateway line item. Square and Toast are all-in-one platforms with their own POS and processing. Adyen targets enterprise. Coastal Pay offers flat 2.5% + $0.15 with no separate gateway fee and works with 2,000+ POS systems, so merchants can keep their preferred POS instead of switching ecosystems.

Does Coastal Pay charge a separate gateway fee?

No. The flat 2.5% + $0.15 per transaction includes the Coastal Pay Gateway at $0/month. There is no separate gateway subscription, no setup fee, and no add-on fees for ACH, alternative payment methods, or tokenization.

How is Coastal Pay different from Square?

Square is an all-in-one POS plus processor; Coastal Pay is a processor and gateway that integrates with 2,000+ existing POS systems including Clover, Lightspeed, Toast, and many more. Coastal Pay’s flat 2.5% + $0.15 is also lower than Square’s standard rates.

Can I keep my current POS and still avoid gateway fees?

Yes. Coastal Pay integrates with 2,000+ POS systems via direct integrations and API, so most merchants can keep their existing POS and switch only the payment backend to eliminate the separate gateway fee.