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9 Best Stripe Competitors for Small Businesses of December 2024

There are a variety of Stripe alternatives, from full-service merchant account providers to simple payment gateways.
By Tina Orem, Karrin Sehmbi, Hillary Crawford
Last updated on May 30, 2024
Edited by Christine Aebischer
Fact checked and reviewed

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Stripe is a payment processor specializing in online sales, but it’s not necessarily the best payment processing company for every small business. NerdWallet’s Stripe review highlights its simple pricing structure, ability to accept many types of payments and customizability. However, it can be expensive, complicated and overly focused on online payments for some merchants. Stripe alternatives range from full-service merchant account providers to simple payment gateway providers.
Here are nine Stripe competitors that may be a better fit for your business.

Best Stripe Competitors for Small Businesses

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Estimates assume an average interchange fee of 1.81% + $0.10, based on our latest available data. Estimates provided reflect online and in-person transactions, but exclude any keyed transactions. Estimates are based on the lowest monthly plan and processing fees for each provider.

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Payment processing fees
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Square Payments Processing

Learn more

on Square Payments Processing's secure website

Get an estimated monthly cost for your business.

Best for In-person transactions

In-person: 2.6% + $0.10

Online: 2.9% + $0.30

$0.00

Get an estimated monthly cost for your business.
Learn more

on Square Payments Processing's secure website

Stax by Fattmerchant

Learn more

on Stax by Fattmerchant's secure website

4.0/5

Best for Businesses with high transaction volumes

In-person: 0% + $0.08

Online: 0% + $0.15

Plus interchange

$99.00

and up.

Learn more

on Stax by Fattmerchant's secure website

PayPal Zettle

4.0/5

Best for Brick-and-mortar businesses expanding online

In-person: 2.29% + $0.09

Online: 3.49% + $0.09

$0.00

Adyen

4.0/5

Best for Large omnichannel businesses

0.6% + $0.13

Plus interchange for Visa and Mastercard; 3.3% + $0.23 for AmEx.

$0.00

Helcim

Learn more

on Helcim's secure website

5.0/5

Best for Interchange-plus pricing

In-person: 0.4% + $0.08

Online: 0.5% + $0.25

Plus interchange

$0.00

Learn more

on Helcim's secure website

WePay

Best for Chase business account holders

2.9% + $0.25

$0.00

Authorize.net

Best for Payment gateway only

2.9% + $0.30

for All-in-One option.

$25.00

PayPal Braintree

4.0/5

Best for Payment gateway plus merchant account

2.59% + $0.49

credit & debit cards and digital wallets; 3.49% + 49¢ Venmo (U.S. only).

$0.00

Shopify Payments

Learn more

on Shopify Payments' secure website

4.5/5

Best for Online website builder

In-person: 2.6% + $0.10

Online: 2.9% + $0.30

$39.00

Basic plan; $105 Shopify plan; $399 Advanced plan.

Learn more

on Shopify Payments' secure website

Our pick for

In-person transactions

Square Payments Processing

Learn more

on Square Payments Processing's secure website

Monthly fee
$0.00

Our pick for

Businesses with high transaction volumes

Stax by Fattmerchant

Learn more

on Stax by Fattmerchant's secure website

Monthly fee
$99.00

and up.

Our pick for

Brick-and-mortar businesses expanding online

PayPal Zettle

Monthly fee
$0.00

Our pick for

Large omnichannel businesses

Payment processing fees
0.6% + $0.13

Plus interchange for Visa and Mastercard; 3.3% + $0.23 for AmEx.

Monthly fee
$0.00

Our pick for

Interchange-plus pricing

Learn more

on Helcim's secure website

Monthly fee
$0.00

Our pick for

Chase business account holders

WePay

Payment processing fees
2.9% + $0.25
Monthly fee
$0.00

Our pick for

Payment gateway only

Authorize.net

Payment processing fees
2.9% + $0.30

for All-in-One option.

Monthly fee
$25.00

Our pick for

Payment gateway plus merchant account

PayPal Braintree

Payment processing fees
2.59% + $0.49

credit & debit cards and digital wallets; 3.49% + 49¢ Venmo (U.S. only).

Monthly fee
$0.00

Our pick for

Online website builder

Shopify Payments

Learn more

on Shopify Payments' secure website

Monthly fee
$39.00

Basic plan; $105 Shopify plan; $399 Advanced plan.

Our picks for the best Stripe competitor

Square

Best for in-person transactions
Why we like it: Square provides payment processing as well as point-of-sale, or POS, system options that can accommodate a variety of small businesses. It offers free POS software, a free magstripe reader and multiple hardware options. Plus, its in-person transaction fees are lower than Stripe’s. Square also offers Tap to Pay on iPhone, which lets merchants accept card payments using only an iPhone with the Square POS app. Square has a vast product suite that extends beyond POS and into e-commerce, online payments, invoicing and more. Read our full Square review.

PayPal Zettle

Best for brick-and-mortar businesses expanding online
Why we like it: For accepting in-person payments, PayPal Zettle is more approachable and simpler to implement than Stripe. But for online payments, PayPal also offers a simple payment gateway service that gives you the ability to create a hosted checkout page. If you already have a dedicated merchant account and want to use it for online payments, PayPal could be a good choice compared with Stripe. Read our full PayPal Zettle review.

Adyen

Best for large omnichannel businesses
Why we like it: Adyen is a payments platform that enables payment processing in store, online and within marketplaces (like Etsy), so it may be a better fit for larger businesses with an online presence. Unlike Stripe, it also acts as a merchant account provider, which will require some extra steps in the application process but will likely pay off in the level of service and attention that comes with such an account. Also unlike Stripe, Adyen uses an interchange-plus pricing system, which is often the most affordable pricing structure for credit card processing fees, especially if you have a higher transaction volume. Read our full Adyen review.

Helcim

Best for interchange-plus pricing
Why we like it: Unlike some of the options listed, Helcim uses an interchange-plus pricing model that passes interchange savings to the merchant. There are no contracts, and businesses processing more than $50,000 monthly in credit card transactions are eligible for volume discounts. Helcim offers processing solutions for both in-person and online payments. Read our full Helcim review.

WePay

Best for Chase business account holders
Why we like it: WePay is an online payments solution affiliated with Chase Payment Solutions. It works with business owners who want to allow their customers to send and receive payments (largely software-as-a-service businesses and similar companies). If you have a Chase business bank account, you can get same-day deposits instead of having to wait days to transfer funds from your merchant account to your business bank account. Read more about WePay versus Stripe.

Authorize.net

Best for a payment gateway only
Why we like it: Authorize.net is a payment gateway provider rather than a merchant account or payment service provider, which means it facilitates the payment but doesn’t provide the merchant account to receive funds. Therefore, unlike Stripe, you’ll need to use Authorize.net in conjunction with a third-party merchant account. You can integrate Authorize.net with your existing merchant account or get one through an Authorize.net reseller. If you’re primarily an online-based business but want to accept payments in person (or over the phone) once in a while, Authorize.net’s virtual terminal allows you to do so. Authorize.net also has 13 configurable fraud filters you can change. Read our full Authorize.net review.

Braintree

Best for a payment gateway plus merchant account
Why we like it: Braintree, owned by PayPal, includes a dedicated merchant account. You can add a full-featured checkout to your app or website or use the custom user interface, or UI, to build your own checkout page. All of Braintree’s solutions include PayPal acceptance and support. If you accept in-person payments, you can integrate your Braintree account with PayPal Zettle. Read our full Braintree review.

Shopify

Best for online website builder
Why we like it: Shopify is a popular solution for processing online transactions and setting up sleek online stores. It has more than 190 template themes to choose from, meaning you don’t need developer experience to get your own website up and running. The processor also offers options for businesses selling in-person. Read our full Shopify review.

Stax

Best for businesses with high transaction volumes
Why we like it: Stax, formerly Fattmerchant, is one of the most affordable options in terms of transaction fees (0% markup on direct-cost interchange) — as long as you can afford the subscription fee. Customers get a merchant account and can accept payments in a variety of ways: mobile, virtual terminal, e-commerce shopping cart, etc. Read our full Stax review.

Stripe pros and cons

Determining what you do and don’t like about Stripe can help you identify your must-have features. Here are Stripe’s main pros and cons.
Pros

No long-term contracts. 

No monthly fees. 

Supports international transactions and more than 135 currencies. 

Highly customizable if you have developer experience. 

Cons

Doesn’t sell full countertop point-of-sale (POS) systems for in-store transactions. 

Deposits can take up to two business days. 

Flat-rate processing model is convenient and easy to understand, but usually isn’t as cost-efficient as interchange-plus pricing. 

Learn more about Stripe

Read about how businesses typically use Stripe, which types of payments it accepts and how it keeps your information secure.

How to choose the best Stripe alternative

Here are some key factors to consider while choosing the best Stripe competitor for your business.

Payment processing cost

Grouping credit card processing companies by pricing model is one of the easiest ways to distinguish one provider from another. Stripe, like Square and PayPal Zettle, uses a flat-rate model that charges the same rate per transaction, regardless of what interchange fees cost. This means the processor’s margin fluctuates. Alternatively, interchange-plus providers pass exact interchange fees to the merchant and charge a consistent margin on top of them, which is more transparent and can result in savings.

POS hardware options

Since Stripe’s target audience is online businesses, it doesn’t offer many hardware options outside of card readers that pair with a smartphone. If your business runs a brick-and-mortar location, you’ll likely want to go with a processor that has a more robust POS hardware selection or easily integrates with a variety of POS systems.

Merchant account options

Stripe is a payment service provider that aggregates multiple businesses’ credit card transaction funds into one merchant account instead of offering individual merchant accounts. Usually, this allows businesses to start accepting payments quickly. However, aggregated merchant accounts can carry a higher risk of account freezes than individual accounts. If you’d like an individual merchant account that’s tailored to your business, you’ll want to select a merchant account provider instead of a PSP. Just know that the process for obtaining an individual merchant account can be lengthy.

Contract length

One of Stripe’s highlights is its lack of long-term contracts. Make sure to read a provider’s terms of service and ask questions about termination fees and contract lengths before signing up for a payment processing service.
Last updated on May 30, 2024

Methodology

NerdWallet’s ratings of payment processing providers reward companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including overall cost, hardware and software options, system capabilities, customer service, contract requirements and integrations. Learn more about how we rate payment processing providers.
These ratings are a guide, but fees, hardware, software and contract requirements can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
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