Adyen vs Stripe: Price, Features & What’s Best

Stripe and Adyen are popular international payment processors with ecommerce tools, strong integrations, and in-person card terminals. Stripe, however, has more extensive integration options, better rates for non-credit card payment methods, and a slightly larger international reach. Meanwhile, Adyen offers independent merchant accounts for better stability, interchange-plus pricing for credit cards, and a more unified experience for multichannel sales.

In a nutshell, when comparing Stripe vs Adyen, these are our recommendations:

• Stripe: Best for small and growing tech-savvy businesses needing flexibility
• Adyen: Best for mid-sized and larger businesses wanting highly optimized payment processing across all channels

Stripe vs Adyen Quick Comparison

	Visit Stripe	Visit Adyen
Better for	Small, growing, tech-savvy, integrations	Medium and large businesses, account stability, customer analysis, unified payment system
Monthly minimum	None	$120 (US; varies by country)
Online transaction fees	2.9% + 30 cents	3% + 12 cents to 4.99% + 42 cents
In-person transaction fees	2.7% + 5 cents	27 cents
Interchange plus fees	For high-volume merchants (Contact Stripe)	For Mastercard, Maestro, Visa, and V-Pay; occasionally Discover, Diners Club, and JCB
Invoice fee	0.4%, 25 free/month; 0.5% recurring bills	None
Average payout	2 business days, per a schedule you set; instant payout for 1%, minimum 50 cents	Per programmed schedule or immediate (manually)
Online payments	Checkout pages; integrate with ecommerce, mobile apps, CRM software, and more	Checkout pages, integrate with ecommerce, mobile apps, CRM software, and more
POS features	Custom build or connect to existing POS	Custom build or connect to existing POS
POS Hardware	Offers precertified card readers only	Adyen terminals (EU, UK, US only)
Integrations	680+ in areas of payments, operations, marketing, and finance	100+ in areas of commerce
Average user rating	4.66 out of 5	4 out of 5
Ease of use	Very good	Good
Customer service	24/7 chat and phone support, email, resource library	In person training, support via ticket

Both Adyen and Stripe are excellent choices for payment systems and similar in tools and functionality. Both have global reach, reasonable transaction fees, and great versatility in multichannel sales.

Adyen has the advantage of interchange-plus pricing for credit cards and independent merchant accounts. This means cheaper credit card processing fees and fewer issues of withheld funds. In fact, you can manually select independent payouts or create a schedule. However, its application process takes longer, and it does not offer as many integrations, languages, and payment methods as Stripe.

Stripe only offers interchange-plus pricing to high-volume sellers, but its transaction rates are overall cheaper for non-credit card transactions like Apple Pay. It reaches more countries and integrates with more third-party apps but requires some tech-savvy skills. Unlike Adyen, it puts all its customers into a combined merchant account; this means you can get started immediately, but you’re more likely to encounter frozen fund problems.

Most Affordable: Adyen

	Visit Adyen	Visit Stripe
Card reader and terminal pricing	$48–$550	$59–$299
Ecommerce transaction fees	3% + 12 cents to 4.99% + 42 cents	2.9% + 30 cents
Card-present transaction fees	3% + 12 cents to 4.99% + 42 cents	2.7% + 5 cents;   2.9% + 30 cents for touchless
Virtual terminal transaction fees	3% + 12 cents to 4.99% + 42 cents	2.9% + 30 cents
ACH transaction fees	37 cents	0.8%, $5 cap
Interchange-plus fees	For Mastercard, Maestro, Visa, and V-Pay; occasionally Discover and Diners Club, and JCB	For high-volume merchants (Contact Stripe)
Invoice fee	N/A	0.4%, 25 free/month;   0.5% recurring bills
Chargeback fee	Unspecified; up to 0.5% of transaction	$15
Special pricing for nonprofits	None	Custom, discounted

Adyen is overall the cheaper option, despite the higher fixed-rate pricing on some of its payment methods. That’s because the main payment method, credit cards, is mostly on interchange-plus pricing—meaning you pay only the interchange rate charged by the banks with a small processing fee added on. (In Adyen’s case, 12 cents). This rate varies by issuing bank and type of card but is generally well below Stripe’s flat rates.

The platform is also cheaper when it comes to ACH debit transactions, charging only 37 cents, whereas Stripe charges 0.8% with a $5 cap. Ayden does not charge extra for invoices (but Stripe’s invoicing program is more robust).

When it comes to hardware, the two are evenly matched when comparing individual card readers. Adyen, however, has a wider variety—thus, a broader price range.

When Stripe Is Cheaper

At Ayden’s current fixed rates, Stripe is always cheaper for card-present transactions. Looking past the credit cards where Ayden provides interchange-plus pricing, Stripe is the cheaper option for transactions over $180. Finally, Adyen has a minimum monthly invoice of $120; Stripe has no lower limit for the fees it collects in a month. If you are a smaller business, Stripe is the better option.

Best for Payment Types: Tied

	Visit Stripe	Visit Adyen
Payment methods (non-credit card)	23	Varies by country
Credit cards supported	9	8
Payment types	Credit card, debit card, contactless payments, ACH debit and credit, checks, cash	Credit card, debit card, contactless payments, ACH, checks, cash, PayPal
Buy Now Pay Later	Klarna, Afterpay, Clearpay, credit card installments	Klarna, Afterpay, Clearpay, credit card installments
Cash-based vouchers	OXXO, Boleto Bancário	OXXO, Boleto Bancário

It’s difficult to pick a winner for payment types because Adyen’s depends on what region you are in. Europe has far more options than the US, for example, while Stripe does not make a distinction. Each processes something the other does not. Stripe, for example, can process checks, while Adyen handles Samsung Pay.

The one standout is that Adyen will process PayPal, where Stripe does not. However, PayPal lets you create a free account and add it to any checkout, so this is more a matter of convenience.

Best for Payment Security: Adyen

	Visit Adyen	Visit Stripe
PCI Compliance	Included	Included
Fraud prevention	Chargeback protection, risk assessment, 3D Secure authentication, optimize risk levels	Chargeback protection, advanced machine-learning fraud protection, customizable risk levels, 3D Secure
Transaction security	Tokenization, PCI DSS Level 1, ISEA3402/SOC 1	PCI DSS Level 1, AES-256 encryption, SSAE18 SOC 1 and 2 reports, PSDS2 and SCA Compliant

Both Adyen and Stripe offer excellent transaction security, fraud protection, and risk assessment, but Adyen comes out ahead in the number of tools it offers as part of its plans. It also offers risk assessment tools, which can detect and block synthetic subscribers, stop card testing attacks, identify fraudulent domains, and more. Its risk management dashboard lets you monitor fraud and optimize risk procedures. You can create risk rules and block lists.

Adyen offers tools that improve transaction security for many different industries.
(Source: Adyen)

Both Adyen and Stripe offer 3D Secure, which adds an additional layer of protection to online interactions. It’s required for transactions in the European Union. Both also boast compliance with multiple security programs.

When to Use Stripe

Stripe Radar is fraud protection powered by data from the Stripe network, aided by machine learning to track and adapt to the latest fraud trends. It also offers a version for teams that includes block and allow lists and manual review flows. These cost 5–7 cents per transaction but may be worth it for bigger businesses with a large number of customers or those that do very high ticket sales and prefer additional security.

Best for International Payment Processing: Stripe

	Visit Stripe	Visit Adyen
Currencies	135+	130
Merchant countries	47	37
Languages	25+	29
Cross-border fees	1% + 30 cents	Undisclosed
Currency conversion fee	1%	1.2%–3%

Taking price out of the equation, Stripe is the best for international payment processing. It’s available to merchants in more countries around the world (47 vs Adyen’s 37) and offers a wider variety of international payment methods such as iDEAL (Netherlands) and GrabPay (Southeast Asia). Plus, it can process ACH credit and ACH-style transfers for other countries. Its currency conversion fees are less expensive as well.

Stripe works with merchants in 47 countries, but can process payments for nearly 200.
(Source: Stripe)

When comparing Stripe vs Adyen for cross-border fees, it’s difficult to pick a winner. Stripe has a simple, set fee of 1% + 30 cents. Adyen does not list a cross-border fee but may instead leave that to the individual credit card company as part of its interchange fee.

When to Use Adyen

Adyen processes three major players in the payment game that Stripe does not: PayPal, Samsung Pay, and Maestro. PayPal is the best-known and trusted payment method for online payments internationally. Samsung Pay is a touchless payment system like Apple Pay popular for mobile payments in Asia, the US, the UK, and elsewhere. Maestro is a leading credit card service for South America.

Best for Ecommerce: Tie

	Visit Stripe	Visit Adyen
Payment features	Split tender, discounts, tips, digital receipts, refunds	Split tender, discounts, tips, digital receipts, refunds
One-click payment	✔	✔
Present in local currency	✔	Choice (Dynamic Currency Conversion)
Languages	30+	20
Pay in installments	Klarna	Klarna, drop-in code
Invoicing	Simple, recurring	Third-party integration
Virtual terminal	Stripe Terminal	Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO) feature
Multichannel (eBay, Amazon)	Third-party integrations	eBay
Social selling (Facebook, Instagram)	Third-party integrations	API
Integrations	680+ integrations, including online stores, sales funnels, crowdfunding, email marketing, and more	100+ in ecommerce, POS, mobile, unified commerce, CRM
Mobile app	Back-end management; no sales processing	Apps for accepting payments; digital event guide
Product catalog	In Beta	None
Customer management	Basic customer information	Basic customer information
POS features	Custom build, unifies online and in-store payments, customer management, fleet management tools	Terminal POS system, third-party integrations

When comparing Adyen vs Stripe for ecommerce, it comes down to the details and what you want from your system. Both have similar features, such as integration with other systems, card terminals for in-person checkouts, and a virtual terminal option. They can also retain customer account information and update card information, making both good for subscriptions and one-time sales.

They do well for international sales as well. Stripe offers more languages than Adyen, which does have 20—a good number for the areas it covers. Both even let you present costs in the local currency.

• When to Use Stripe for Ecommerce
• When to Use Adyen for Ecommerce

Stripe is an extremely versatile system, although it’s most powerful for those with programming skills or access to a developer. Here are some of its solutions to help you decide if it’s right for you.

• Stripe Payment Link makes it easy to create a full-featured payment page and share it with customers via any platform, from email to social media.
• Stripe Terminal lets you create a simple, attractive, and full-feature checkout to post on websites. Its third-party integrations make it possible to use Stripe for payment processing on other platforms, like Etsy.
• Stripe Invoicing makes it easy to bill customers.
• Stripe Connect allows you to accept payments and immediately split them among your users. For example, Lyft uses it to collect payments and get its drivers their share immediately.

Stripe Connect makes it easy to gather payments and send commissions or wages to individuals.
(Source: Stripe)

eBay uses Adyen as its payment processor of choice, making it easy for businesses selling on this platform. However, you can use an API for other platforms or check its partner apps for what you need, as Adyen specializes in unifying all your payment platforms. So while Stripe also works across channels, you may find it easier to have a fully cohesive, omnichannel system with Adyen. If you have a brick-and mortar store and don’t want a large, countertop register, Adyen’s new Android terminals may fit the bill.

Adyen’s location-based checkouts make it easy to sell anywhere.
(Source: Adyen)

Best for Business Features: Adyen

	Visit Adyen	Visit Stripe
Payout speed	Per programmed schedule or immediate (manually)	2 days
Instant payout option	None	1% of payout volume plus a minimum fee of 50 cents
Reports and analytics	Channel performance, risk assessment, predict cash flow, find high-spenders, repeat customers, test loyalty programs	Balance, payout, risk assessment (through Stripe Radar), customer analysis (through Stripe Sigma)
Marketing	Third-party integrations	Third-party integrations
Financing	None	Stripe Capital
Additional services	Create spending cards	Startup services, create spending cards
Integrations	100+	680+

We chose Adyen as the best for business features for two main reasons. Since it provides an individual merchant account, you can manually program an immediate payout or set a regular schedule of payouts. Additionally, its reporting and analysis tools are more robust and offered as part of the package (Stripe’s reports just involve basic payment data—unless you purchase Stripe Radar for fraud analysis or Stripe Sigma for customer analysis).

Adyen’s reports help you understand channel performance, customer spending, and payment method effectiveness.
(Source: Adyen)

Both services offer spending cards that are funded from your account. These can be used as corporate spending cards or prepaid debit cards for employees. It’s an excellent feature when so many younger employees do not get standard checking accounts.

When to Use Stripe

Stripe stands out as the better choice for small and growing businesses because it offers startup services through Stripe Atlas, which helps with doing legal paperwork, issuing stock, generating funds, and getting peer support from the Stripe Atlas Community. What’s more, Stripe Capital offers loans that you pay back with a percentage of your profits each month. Stripe also has more integrations for marketing, customer support, employee management, accounting, and other business needs.

Best for Integrations: Stripe

	Visit Stripe	Visit Adyen
# Apps (International)	680+	100+
Industries Covered	10	5
App Marketplace Search	Search by need, industry, geographic area or country, search bar	Search by Platform vs System Integrator, industry, region
API/SDK	Excellent	Very good
Developer Tools	CLI, Visual Studio Code, live event monitoring, advanced SDKs, API, libraries	API Explorer, server-side libraries, test card numbers
Developer Support	Documentation, YouTube tutorials, newsletter, live chat with developers, 24/7 support	Examples, documentation, community

Stripe takes the lead for integrations because of its variety and the power of its API and SDK. Given that it’s developer-friendly, it offers several programming languages and tools for building your API. Stripe developers even provide extensive documentation and videos to walk you through tasks.

Stripe makes it easy to narrow your choices down. Here, we looked for shopping cart software for a health store in the US.
(Source: Stripe)

When to Use Adyen

Adyen offers fewer integrations, but they concentrate on commerce and are easily searchable by type and region. It has more products specifically listed for Africa, while Stripe does not list that region at all.

If you have Oracle POS registers, then Adyen is the better choice as it offers the Oracle Payment Interface (OPI) for creating payment integration. We did not find this with Stripe.

Best for Ease of Use: Stripe

	Visit Stripe	Visit Adyen
Onboarding help	Automated, certified developers (fee)	Account onboarding; training in-person
Online help articles	✓	✓
Customize checkout	✓	✓
Video tutorials	✓	✕
Customer support	24/7	Ticket
Frozen accounts complaints	Low	Very low
Reserves account	✓	✓
User ease of use score (2021–2022)*	4.64 out of 5	4.16 out of 5

*We looked to third-party user review sites like Capterra, taking into account only the scores in the ease of use category.

When comparing Stripe vs Adyen for ease of use, Stripe comes out ahead. Getting an account only takes minutes, and setting up your tools is easy. There are plenty of resources to assist you, including illustrated help articles, video tutorials, and 24/7 customer and developer support.

Additionally, if you need help with developing an app or integration, it can recommend Stripe-certified developers. Users agree it’s easy to use, and it has an average of 4.64 out of 5 stars on third-party sites.

Is Adyen Hard to Use?

No, Adyen is nonetheless an easy platform, with an ease of use score of 4.16 out of 5 stars averaged over multiple review sites. It assists you with account onboarding, which is a more involved process since you are qualifying for your own merchant account. The individual merchant account makes it easier to access funds, which is why it has fewer complaints about frozen accounts. (Stripe’s complaints are reasonably low for the size of its customer base.)

Bottom Line

When comparing Stripe vs Adyen, it comes down to details of price and use. Both are excellent payment processors with comprehensive tools for online sales plus terminals for in-person checkout. Stripe, however, has a broader global reach and integrations but requires you to be more tech-savvy. Its non-credit card rates are also cheaper. Adyen, meanwhile, has cheaper credit card rates, independent merchant accounts, and more analytics. Regardless of which solution you choose, you’ll get an affordable and easy-to-use payment processor.

You May Also Like…

• Read more in our full Stripe review
• Learn about merchant accounts and how payment processing works for businesses