I built a free payment processor comparison tool — here's what I learned in week 1

Hey IH! 👋

I just launched PayClarify — a free tool that helps small business owners compare payment processors and stop overpaying on fees.

The problem I kept seeing:

Most small business owners have no idea if they're getting a good deal on payment processing. The industry is intentionally confusing — processors benefit from complexity. A business doing $20k/month can easily overpay $1,500–4,000/year just by being on the wrong processor.

What I built:

- A fee calculator that shows exactly what Stripe, Square, Helcim, PayPal, and Clover would charge based on your monthly volume

- A comparison table with verified 2026 fees

- 20+ in-depth articles covering everything from interchange-plus pricing to processor reviews

Week 1 numbers:

- 20 articles published

- 16 Google impressions (tiny but climbing fast)

- Launched on Product Hunt this Tuesday

- AdSense application pending approval

The monetization plan:

1. AdSense (applied, pending approval)

2. Affiliate partnerships with processors once traffic grows

3. Potentially a premium "find my best processor" tool

Would love feedback from anyone who runs a small business — do you actually know what you're paying in processing fees? Most people I ask have no idea.

👉 payclarify.com