Built for retail and tech startups — or built exclusively for health and wellness? Here's how the numbers and features actually stack up.
Get a Free Rate Comparison| Beacon | Square | Stripe | Mindbody Payments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||||
| Pricing model | Interchange-plus | Flat-rate | Flat-rate | Flat-rate |
| Typical in-person rate | ~1.6–1.9% effective | 2.6% + $0.10 | 2.7% | 2.75% |
| Online / keyed rate | Interchange + small margin | 3.5% + $0.15 | 2.9% + $0.30 | 3.5% + $0.15 |
| Monthly fees | None required | None (basic plan) | None | Bundled with Mindbody subscription |
| Estimated monthly savings vs Beacon¹ | Baseline | $300–$900 less | $250–$800 less | $300–$900 less |
| Health & Wellness Fit | ||||
| Built exclusively for health & wellness | ✓ Only market served | ✗ General retail / food | ✗ Developer / e-commerce | Partial Software-first |
| High-ticket transaction optimisation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Treatment package & deposit billing | ✓ | Limited | Limited | ✓ (within Mindbody) |
| Alle / Aspire loyalty integration | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Hardware & Payments | ||||
| Clover POS (Station, Mini, Flex, Go) | ✓ Full lineup | ✗ Square hardware only | Stripe Terminal only | ✗ |
| Treatment-room mobile checkout | ✓ Clover Flex / Go | ✓ Square Reader | ✓ Stripe Reader | ✗ |
| ACH / eCheck payments | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ (higher rate) | ✗ |
| Recurring / membership billing | ✓ | Basic | ✓ (dev setup required) | ✓ (within Mindbody) |
| Virtual terminal (phone / mail orders) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Limited |
| Contract & Support | ||||
| Contract type | Month-to-month | Month-to-month | Month-to-month | Annual software contract |
| Free statement audit before switching | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Dedicated account rep | ✓ Named rep | ✗ Chat / email support | ✗ Chat / email support | Mindbody support only |
| Setup & staff training included | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Limited onboarding |
| Industry experience (years) | 25+ years | ~15 years | ~15 years | ~25 years (software) |
¹ Estimated savings for a practice processing $30,000–$60,000/month. Actual savings depend on volume, card mix, and current rates. Request a personalised audit →
The real difference isn't just cost — it's whether your processor was built with your type of practice in mind.
Square's flat-rate pricing (2.6% + $0.10) is designed for low-ticket, high-volume retail — quick transactions where simplicity outweighs cost. For a wellness practice running $800 facials, $1,500 laser packages, or $10,000 surgical consultations, that flat rate is expensive.
Under interchange-plus pricing, the same $1,500 transaction might cost $27–$34 instead of $39. Multiply that difference across a month of volume and you're leaving hundreds of dollars on the table every 30 days.
Square also doesn't offer Clover POS, ACH processing, or loyalty integrations like Alle and Aspire — standard tools for med spas and aesthetic practices.
Stripe is genuinely excellent — for e-commerce companies with engineering teams. Connecting Stripe to a booking system, building a checkout flow, and managing recurring memberships all require developer work or third-party integrations that add cost and complexity.
For an in-person wellness practice, Stripe's 2.7% flat rate is also materially more expensive than interchange-plus on most transaction types. And Stripe's Stripe Terminal hardware doesn't match the breadth and flexibility of the Clover ecosystem.
Stripe offers ACH, but setup requires technical configuration and the fees aren't optimised for healthcare direct-pay workflows.
Mindbody is the most popular management platform for pilates studios, yoga studios, massage therapists, and similar businesses — and for good reason. The scheduling, client management, and class booking features are genuinely best-in-class.
But Mindbody Payments charges 2.75% in-person and 3.5% + $0.15 keyed — and keeps the spread between those rates and actual interchange costs. For a studio processing $25,000/month, that's $200+ per month going to Mindbody instead of your business.
The good news: you don't have to use Mindbody Payments to use Mindbody. Beacon integrates with Mindbody's platform while providing interchange-plus pricing and a separate, optimised terminal setup.
These are the scenarios we see most often — and where the savings are largest.
Averaging $900 per transaction on injectables and laser treatments. Square's flat-rate was costing over $1,800/month. Interchange-plus brought the effective rate down by nearly 1%.
Processing $22,000/month in memberships and class packs through Mindbody's built-in payments. Switched the payment processing to Beacon while keeping Mindbody for scheduling.
Using Stripe for online checkout and a separate terminal for in-person. Consolidated everything under Beacon with Clover Flex for in-person and a virtual terminal for phone payments.
No. Beacon is your payment processor — a separate service from your practice management software. Many of our clients continue using Mindbody (or Jane, or SOAP Vault) for scheduling and client records, with Beacon handling the actual card processing. The two work side-by-side.
Your clients don't need to re-enter their card information for most transitions. We handle the migration process as part of onboarding. For active recurring billing, we'll map out the specific steps for your setup before anything changes. Talk to us about your situation →
For most health and wellness practices: yes. Flat-rate processors charge one blended percentage regardless of card type. Under interchange-plus, you pay the actual Visa/Mastercard cost plus a small transparent margin. Since debit cards, HSA cards, and many standard cards have interchange rates well below 2%, the savings are real — especially on high-ticket services. Our free statement audit shows you the exact number for your volume.
Beacon uses the Clover ecosystem — widely regarded as more capable than Square hardware for in-person wellness workflows. Clover Station sits at the front desk, Clover Flex moves to the treatment room, and Clover Go goes everywhere else. Compare devices and pricing on our Clover POS page.
Most practices are live within 5–10 business days of submitting their application. We handle the setup, hardware programming, and staff training — so the transition is typically seamless. There's no downtime during the switch.
We show you the numbers before you sign anything. A free statement audit gives you a written comparison of your current effective rate against what you'd pay with Beacon — with no obligation to switch. If we can't save you money, we'll tell you.
Send us your current processing statement. We'll show you your effective rate, what it would be with Beacon, and a written monthly savings estimate — in 48 hours, no obligation.