Consider your business as a shop. In order to sell, you must have a method of customers paying you, right? Be it using a credit card, a wallet that can be pulled out and swiped, or a bank transfer, you must have a secure and reliable method of dealing with that money. This is where online business enters in the form of a payment processor. And long enough Stripe has been among the largest and most popular in this market. They are the large and famous store that everyone visits.
However, much like you may feel like visiting other stores to get the right product that will fit your needs, it is a terrific thought to find alternatives to Stripe. Perhaps, you are a new company and you are in need of something really simple, or perhaps, your company is expanding at a very rapid rate and you require another type of pricing. Or maybe you have heard some things about Stripe that make you ask yourself whether there is something out there that can be better than Stripe. That is the subject of this article! We will discuss what Stripe is, why you may want to explore options elsewhere, and then present you with 12 Stripe Alternatives we like, in a friendly and easy-to-understand manner.
What is Stripe?
So, what exactly is Stripe? To put it in the most straightforward way, Stripe is a technology firm that offers an entire range of solutions to businesses to process and handle payments online. It is a payment gateway and payment processor in one.
- Payment Gateway: The gateway is the online check out on your site. Once a customer input his or her card details, the gateway safely stores that information and submits it to be approved.
- Payment Processor: It is a system that completes the transaction. It sends signals to the banks between which the money passes – the bank of your customer and the bank of your business – to ensure that the money can be transferred between the two accounts.
Stripe is known to be extremely developer friendly. That is, it has numerous tools and code (APIs) which enable individuals who construct websites to incorporate a payment system. Most tech startups and online businesses tend to use it as their default option since it can be scaled to any starting point, is very powerful, and is able to accommodate one-time sales to sophisticated subscription businesses.
Best 12 Stripe Alternatives
These are some of the best players in the game and each has its own advantages.
1. PayPal
PayPal is an international powerhouse, and a name that almost every online buyer is aware of and trusts. As one of the top Stripe alternatives, it is not only a payment processor but also a full-scale ecosystem businesses can use to accept payments, issue invoices, and even manage their cash flows. The reason why PayPal is so popular is its immeasurable ease of use. It only takes minutes to create a business account, and since so many people already have a PayPal account, they can easily check out on your website. This recognition and trust may sometimes translate into increased conversion rates because customers feel safe when purchasing. It also sells a range of products such as its flagship PayPal Checkout and its newer PayPal Commerce Platform.
Key Features:
- Worldwide brand loyalty and trust
- easy to establish and integrate
- accepts a host of payment options, such as credit cards
- bank transfers and digital wallets
- has invoicing and recurring billing features
- buyer and seller protection.
Pros:
- Customer trust is very high, which can generate a higher amount of sales
- extremely simple to start-up
- provides numerous types of business tools not only credit card processing
- Also very useful in global transactions.
Cons:
- pricing may be a little more complicated and occasionally expensive
- there may be account freezes and hold problems; customer service is a little slow.
Best For:
New businesses, freelancers, and small businesses who require a simple and worldwide accepted method of payment.
Pricing:
A fixed fee per transaction (e.g., 2.9% plus 30 cents on transactions conducted online in the United States), although different countries and transactions may have different rates.
- Website: https://www.paypal.com/
2. Square
Square is a one-stop-shop that is particularly popular with companies that run both online and brick-and-mortar stores, such as retail shops, coffee shops, or food trucks. As one of the leading Stripe alternatives, it began with its well-known little white card reader that fits into a phone but has now evolved into a complete business management application. Square gives you the ability to control your point-of-sale (POS) system, accept online payments, manage inventory, control employees, and even create a basic e-commerce store all in one location. It is simple and integrated in its attractiveness. Your in-store sales and online sales do not require integrating multiple systems to accomplish this; Square offers one dashboard where you can view all your business operations in real-time, making running your business a lot easier.
Key Features:
- End-to-end integration of physical and online payments
- highly powered point-of-sale (POS) system
- free magstripe card reader to get started
- built-in e-commerce
- inventory and employee management.
Pros:
- Ideal in a business with a physical store front
- incredibly simple to use and to start out with
- transparent
- Having flat-rate pricing and no monthly charges on basic services.
Cons:
- More expensive to scale to high-volume online-only businesses
- less customizable to complex e-commerce requirements
- a few fewer possible integrations than Stripe.
Best For:
Small businesses, retailers, restaurants, and service providers that sell on the Web and in the field.
Pricing:
Flat-rate pricing e.g. 2.6% + $0.10 on in person transactions and 2.9% + $0.30 on online transactions.
- Website: https://www.squareup.com/
3. Braintree
Braintree is a PayPal-owned product that can easily be viewed as one of the top Stripe alternatives, but it is designed with a fairly advanced user in mind. It targets businesses that require a highly customizable payment platform and prefer to receive payments from a diverse range of sources, such as credit cards, PayPal, and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Braintree is incredibly proud of its security features, including advanced fraud prevention, and the ability to offer a unified commerce experience—connecting online and offline data. It shares some of the ease of use of its parent company but provides a much more resilient and scalable suite of tools for developers, making it an excellent fit for growing mobile and e-commerce companies with detailed and complex payment needs.
Key Features:
- Accepts a staggering variety of payment options
- includes powerful fraud protection and risk management capabilities
- developer-friendly and provides a rich set of API
- provides a kind of a warehouse to store safe customer card information.
Pros:
- Strong and flexible where needed to fulfill complex and simple needs
- no monthly subscriptions needed to access basic services
- owned by PayPal that also has the advantage of reputable brand name
- Excellent security system.
Cons:
- It may require more time than a basic system like Square to install
- customer service may be slow at times
- high volume companies may find the transaction fees to be cumulative.
Best For:
E-commerce shops, mobile app developers, and technology organizations which need a highly customized payment system.
Pricing:
Just like Stripe, they have a flat rate of 2.9% + $0.30 on standard credit card transactions, but custom pricing may be offered to larger business.
- Website: https://www.braintree.com/
4. Adyen
The big leagues use Adyen as their payment tool. It is the choice of foreign brands, including Uber, Microsoft, and eBay, and is intended to make payments at scale. When Stripe is the place that startups call home, Adyen is where enterprise-scale businesses turn when they require a truly global, all-in-one financial solution. It not only manages the payments, but it offers a single platform to cover all online and in-store payments, fraud protection, and data analytics. The major distinguishing factor of it is that it is global, i.e., it has the capability to accept payments in more than 250 local currencies and actually an enormous amount of different local payment methods, which is essential when a foreign company is interested in expanding and making the checkout process as customer-friendly as possible.
Key Features:
- Built-in platform to receive online, mobile, and in-store payments
- Supports and accepts an incredible number of various currencies and localized payment systems
- Modern and sophisticated fraud prevention and risk management
- Advanced reporting and analytics.
Pros:
- It is really global
- It is built to scale
- it is very reliable and has good uptime
- you can see all your payment data in one place
Cons:
- Not applicable to small or new companies
- must request a unique pricing quote
- May have a more complicated set up process.
Best For:
Big and international businesses and organizations whose transactions are high-volume.
Pricing:
Needs based and volume based custom pricing. It is not a plain flat-rate platform such as Stripe.
- Website: https://www.adyen.com/
5. Shopify Payments
Shopify Payments is a no-brainer as long as you operate your e-commerce store on the Shopify platform. As one of the leading Stripe alternatives, it is not another firm—it is an inbuilt payment processor that integrates perfectly with your Shopify shop. The biggest advantage is simplicity. There is no need to connect with a third party, and you can handle all your payments, orders, and products through a single central dashboard. A major plus is that once you are on Shopify Payments, Shopify will not take a transaction fee for using an external payment gateway, which can save you a lot of money. It accepts major credit cards and electronic wallets and includes additional features such as fraud detection and chargeback control built-in.
Key Features:
- Completely compatible with Shopify stores
- No extra transaction charges incurred on Shopify by using it
- supports various payment methods
- Has inbuilt fraud intelligence.
Pros:
- Shopify store owners have the ultimate ease of use
- pricing is clear and easy to understand
- It is all in one place.
Cons:
- Only supports Shopify stores
- pricing may not be as competitive as other options when you have a high volume of merchants.
Best For:
E-commerce companies that are already functioning on Shopify platform.
Pricing:
Depends on what your Shopify plan includes (such as reduced transaction charges on the more expensive plans).
- Website: https://www.shopify.com/payments
6. Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net is among the oldest and most established payment gateways in the business. It is the trusted, dependable elder statesman of internet payments. It is not that old but has managed to keep pace with the times, providing contemporary online and mobile payment options. The most important thing to remember about Authorize.Net is that it is a payment gateway, not a payment processor, and therefore you will need a separate merchant account to transfer the money to. This may sound like an additional step but it can be a good thing to some businesses. It is highly manageable and configurable, and is reportedly well-protected with its Advanced Fraud Detection Suite.
Important Characteristics: safe and secure payment gateway; quality fraud detection software; payment methods; recurring payment or invoicing software.
Advantages: very secure; flexible and supports many shopping carts and systems; established, reliable brand in the market.
Cons: It will need its own merchant account, making it a little more complex; may be somewhat more expensive with monthly fees and gateway fees.
Best For: Established companies that conduct a lot of transactions and require advanced security and customized payment gateway.
Prices: Can be done on a monthly and per charge basis.
- Website: https://www.authorize.net/
7. GoCardless
A great option for businesses that depend on recurring payments, particularly subscriptions, membership fees, or invoices, is GoCardless. As one of the reliable Stripe alternatives, GoCardless is a bank-to-bank payment service, unlike most other business services that specialize in credit cards, also known as Direct Debit or ACH payments. Such payments tend to be significantly cheaper compared to credit card transactions, avoiding costly card network fees. It saves a lot of money on transaction fees for regular customers. GoCardless simplifies the process of setting up and managing recurring payments and helps mitigate involuntary churn, which occurs when a client is unable to pay due to a failed or canceled credit card.
Key features:
- Bank-to-bank payments (Direct Debit/ACH)
- Recurring revenue
- lower transaction costs than credit cards
- subscription management software are offered.
Pros:
- Much less expensive when used as recurrent payments
- lowers rejected payments when the credit card expires
- ideal with subscriptions and business service providers.
Cons:
- There is no one-time/face-to-face transaction support
- does not work well in those types of business where credit cards are the primary method of payment.
Best For:
SaaS enterprises, gyms, subscription boxes, and any enterprise that has a subscription or recurring billing structure.
Pricing:
It is typically a small percentage fee per transaction with a low ceiling and, therefore, becomes very cost-effective when performing very large transactions.
- Website: https://gocardless.com/
8. Helcim
Their interchange-plus model of pricing is attracting a lot of attention to Helcim, unlike the flat-rate pricing of Stripe and others. And in layman terms, this implies that you pay the raw, non-distilled price of the transaction plus a very minimal, open markup by Helcim. The larger the volume of business, the smaller the markup. This model tends to be much cheaper than the flat-rate model, particularly in companies that sell a lot. An extensive range of functionalities, such as a virtual terminal to accept payments via phone, a mobile application to make sales on the go, and a hosted online checkout is also available at Helcim. They have a reputation of being transparent and highly responsive to customers without any hidden charges or long-term contracts.
Key Features:
- Interchange-plus and also has automatic volume discounts
- transparent fees
- has a virtual terminal and mobile POS application
- has free access to all payment tools.
Pros:
- May be much less expensive in large-volume enterprises
- highly visible pricing with no extraneous charges
- excellent customer service
- both online and offline transactions are possible.
Cons:
- the interchange-plus model may be somewhat confusing to new users
- may not be the lowest cost in very low volume business.
Best For:
Any business that has a medium to high volume sales and are interested in avoiding the processing cost.
Pricing:
Interchange-plus pricing, which means that the rate will automatically go down as your sales volume grows.
- Website: https://www.helcim.com/
9. Payoneer
Payoneer is a worldwide payment platform that serves as an excellent option among Stripe alternatives when your enterprise conducts various business transactions globally, particularly if you collaborate with an international pool of freelancers, contract employees, or vendors. Whereas Stripe is excellent at receiving payments from customers in different parts of the world, Payoneer is highly efficient in sending and receiving money across borders. It allows you to create virtual bank accounts in different currencies (such as USD, EUR, GBP) and receive payments as though you have a local presence in that country. This saves money on currency conversion fees and makes it easy to pay people in their local currency. It is a true lifesaver for businesses with global operations.
Key Features:
- It is a company that deals with foreign payments
- offers virtual bank accounts in various currencies
- offers low-priced cross-border payments
- can be used to pay freelancers and sellers all over the world.
Pros:
- Good to use in international business-to-business (B2B) business transactions
- Saves currency conversion costs; clear and cheap.
Cons:
- Not a major solution to the conventional e-commerce checkout
- It is more about B2B payments than the customer front-of-store.
Best For:
Businesses that accept international freelancers, contractors, or suppliers or require payment in a variety of currencies.
Pricing:
Depends on the kind of transaction but tends to be very competitive on international payments.
- Website: https://www.payoneer.com/
10. Paddle
Paddle is another option that is particularly well-suited to businesses that sell digital products, such as software, SaaS (Software as a Service) products, or apps. As one of the notable Stripe alternatives, the difference between Paddle and other services is that it serves as a Merchant of Record. This means that when a client purchases your product, they are technically purchasing it via Paddle, not directly from you. Paddle then handles all the complicated aspects of the transaction, such as collecting and paying sales taxes and VAT (Value Added Tax) in various countries, currency conversions, and fraud. It can save a small team or freelance entrepreneur a significant amount of time by removing the hassle of international tax compliance.
Key Features:
- It Is a Merchant of Record
- automatically manages all sales tax and VAT regulations worldwide
- automatically acts as a subscription manager
- automatically includes dunning
- supports a large number of payment methods.
Pros:
- Will take the legal and financial hassles of selling digital products overseas
- will simplify billing and tax filings
- It is compatible with SaaS and software companies.
Cons:
- Not as applicable to businesses that sell tangible products
- An alternative type of business model, which may not be enjoyed by all people.
Best For:
SaaS providers, software developers and creators of digital products that sell on a worldwide scale.
Pricing:
Percentage added to some fixed fee per transaction, and the fixed fee covers all the tax and compliance services.
- Website: https://www.paddle.com/
How to Choose the Right Stripe Alternative
There are too many great ones, how do you choose the right one? The bottom line is to ask yourself a few simple questions about your business:
- What’s Your Business Model? Do you sell physical goods, sell digital goods or are you selling a service? One time purchase or subscription? SaaS company will be better served by either Paddle or GoCardless, and Square would probably be the favorite of the local retail store.
- What’s Your Sales Volume? When you are getting started, a simple flat-rate pricing model provided by a company such as PayPal or Stripe may suffice. However, when you anticipate a high volume of business, an interchange-plus model by Helcim may cost you thousands of dollars less.
- Do You Sell in The Global Market? When you have customers in every corner of the world, you will need a service that accepts many currencies and local payment options, such as Adyen or Checkout.com. Payoneer may be the most suitable solution in this case, provided that you are mainly paying international freelancers.
- Do you require an all in one? Would you like your site, payments, inventory, and point-of-sale on one platform? Square or Shopify Payments are excellent options as such. A developer may find Braintree or the original Stripe to be the best option, should you wish to create your custom solution.
- What Is the Significance of Customer Support? When you are sure that you will need to communicate with someone at a bad time, you should find a company with an excellent reputation regarding customer service, such as Helcim.
Conclusion
Stripe is a fantastic payment processor, and the world of online business is crowded with various needs and intentions. Something that works perfectly for a tech startup may not be the optimal solution for a local bakery or solo creator. By investing some time to understand what you specifically need and exploring the many Stripe alternatives available, you can find a payment solution that will not only help your business grow but also make your life a lot easier. There is, then, nothing to fear about looking beyond the biggest name in the industry—you could have your ideal payment partner just a click away!
FAQs
1. Would it be difficult to change the provider to Stripe?
No, it’s usually not. Majority of the present-day payment systems possess excellent applications that assist in relocating your customer information (such as stored credit cards) safely. It might take time to accomplish, but it is a routine process that most businesses undergo.
2. What is a Merchant of record and why would I bother?
A Merchant of Record (such as Paddle) is a company that is allowed by law to be the vendor of your product or service. This implies that they assume the responsibility to collect and remit sales tax and VAT on behalf of all the countries you are selling in; this saves you an enormous amount of time, money and a legal nightmare.
3. So what is the difference between a payment gateway and a payment processor?
A payment gateway is the online checkout on your Web site that gathers payment details of a customer. The backend is the payment processor that does the actual communication between the banks to transfer the money. Both Stripe and most of its alternatives are all of these things.
4. What is the most appropriate choice that a new, small business has?
In the case of a new business, small businesses usually prefer options that are simple to price and simple to set up, such as PayPal or Square. They allow you to get started fast so that you can concentrate on making your first sales.