15 Best PayPal Alternatives for Small Business in 2024

What we like:

Helcim offers interchange-plus pricing without any monthly fees—a huge advantage over PayPal, other providers, and PayPal competitors. It also automatically applies discounts as your business grows, unlike most providers that require you to contact them for volume discounts. Businesses looking for zero-cost processing will find Helcim Fee Saver suitable. This feature lets businesses pass on the actual processing fees to the customers as a convenience fee.

The cheaper rates Helcim offers mean they are highly selective of businesses they work with. Even medium-risk merchants may find it challenging to sign up and get approval. The more complicated application process makes Helcim a better fit for more established businesses looking for cheaper rates.

Helcim’s very competitive price also comes with a fairly extensive set of tools for businesses of all sizes, spanning a wide range of industries. Its interchange-plus pricing model comes with no monthly fee and 24/7 customer service, which is a rare find. Along with the automatic volume discounts, zero-cost processing, and free tools, these features make Helcim a more affordable alternative to PayPal.

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We rate Stripe highly for a multitude of payment processing needs—it is one of our best payment gateways and leading merchant services. Its integration capability and online tools make it a great alternative to PayPal for online sales. Stripe features top-notch application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) tools that are designed to give you a flexible payment processor.

Aside from being great for online sales, Stripe also works in hundreds of countries around the world with support for 135+ currencies—in fact, it is our No.1 choice for international merchant accounts. Getting started with Stripe is easy but does require some technical know-how. You sign up for an account just like with PayPal, and then you start integrating it with your software.

If you have low-volume sales, Stripe’s lower transaction rates and zero monthly fees make it a suitable alternative to PayPal for online payments and invoicing. It also offers better cross-border tools and integrations. Stripe has a card reader and handheld terminal but no POS system like Shopify or PayPal.

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Square is the most popular competitor to PayPal’s Zettle for mobile POS (mPOS) because it offers payment processing at a reasonable flat rate, a free POS, and an online store. It also consistently makes our lists for best merchant services, credit card processors for nonprofits, and restaurant credit card processing companies.

Like Stripe, Square is often closely compared to PayPal, especially for POS. Square’s POS is as easy to use as Zettle but has more features, including hundreds of integrations for ecommerce, delivery services, and accounting. Its POS also comes with a free magstripe reader to get you started. These features make Square our leading POS system—our top pick, in fact, for retail and salons, and a strong contender for inventory.

For a stable and customizable POS system that grows with your business, Square is the better choice. While PayPal fees are generally cheaper, Square is a more affordable solution if you routinely accept ACH payments. It also offers a more robust POS system with almost every integration and add-on you would ever need. The system is quick and easy to set up, perfect to use for hobbyists, yet feature-rich enough for SMBs. See in detail how Square compares to PayPal.

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If you are looking for a stronger online store than PayPal provides, Shopify is a great choice. It is one of the best and most popular ecommerce solutions on the market and is also on our list of best payment apps and POS systems for multichannel retailers. Shopify also has one of the best suites of omnichannel tools, including integration with dropshipping companies and deep discounts on shipping—something PayPal and the others on this list do not do.

One of PayPal’s biggest selling points for ecommerce is its one-click buy button. However, Shopify offers a similar solution called Shop Pay that can be added as a one-click checkout option to any Shopify site. Anyone with a Shopify account (business or customer) can save their checkout information to use across all Shopify sites through Shop Pay. It’s also easy to add Shopify to social networks like Facebook or multichannel sales platforms like eBay.

Shopify is a solid alternative to PayPal if you’re running an active ecommerce business. However, unlike PayPal’s Zettle, you have to purchase Shopify’s shopping cart/POS plan, which starts at $329 per month. It does include a virtual terminal in the form of its backend ordering system, so when considering that, the basic plan nearly matches what you’d pay with PayPal.

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Braintree is a popular solution for ecommerce—it can be easily connected to platforms like Shift4Shop, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce—with excellent international payment processing tools. It lets you accept payments in over 130 currencies and supports merchants across multiple regions.

While it works closely with PayPal, even depending on it for some tools like POS, Braintree assigns each merchant their own account. You may face a longer approval process, but it pays in better account stability than PayPal gives.

It has several advantages from being a PayPal company: name recognition, access to tools like Zettle, and even PayPal support teams for certain ecommerce integrations. Naturally, it processes PayPal and Venmo (also a PayPal company). Like others across this list, it relies on integrations and APIs rather than having its own POS solutions.

PayPal merchants starting to outgrow its features will find Braintree a natural upgrade. It automatically integrates your PayPal merchant account, gives you access to level 2 and 3 data processing, and provides you with better transaction rates, including interchange-plus pricing. If you need a direct PayPal integration for your large business that accepts international payments, Braintree is the ideal choice.

Braintree works best for ecommerce integration. If you are looking for international peer-to-peer payments, check Wise, which is also included in this list.

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Payoneer allows individuals to send and receive payments from international clients. One of the most significant advantages of Payoneer is its low fees. Compared to PayPal’s flat 2.9% + 49 cents per transaction, Payoneer charges a lower percentage fee of 1% to 3% depending on the transaction type (zero fees for payments via non-USD receiving accounts). Payoneer also has lower withdrawal fees to local currencies compared to PayPal.

Additionally, Payoneer offers faster processing times, allowing users to receive their funds within hours rather than days. It offers integration with Fiverr and Upwork, two of the most popular platforms for freelancers and remote workers.

Payoneer is not often used by small businesses for outgoing payments (such as for vendors). However, for receiving payments, it is a good alternative to PayPal, particularly for freelancers and one-off transactions. Its biggest advantage is that when you open an account, you will have local receiving accounts in the US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

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While PayPal offers free invoicing and integrates with QuickBooks, merchants doing B2B sales that primarily involve invoices will find QuickBooks a strong alternative. There is a monthly fee because you must be a QuickBooks user to use QuickBooks Payments. However, you get the accounting software, which integrates almost as widely as PayPal. The transaction fees are close to PayPal’s, and if you regularly process over $7,500 a month, you can apply for a discount of up to 40% per transaction.

Payment processing rates for online, keyed-in, and invoicing are also considerably cheaper, and there is no additional cost to use any of its payment services. This makes QuickBooks a strong alternative to PayPal for B2B companies with large volumes of invoiced transactions.

One advantage QuickBooks has over all the PayPal alternatives here is that it lets you deposit money into different accounts. You can set up recurring payments and get notified when an invoice is paid. It also has a highly-rated mobile app for selling products in person. Overall, QuickBooks Payments is on our list of the best B2B solutions specifically for QuickBooks users.

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PayPal’s rates can add up fast if you do brisk or high-ticket sales. If you generate over $10,000 in credit card transactions per month, then Payment Depot could save you money. In addition to being one of the best merchant services overall, it is on our list of the cheapest payment processors for its no-percentage markup. Unlike PayPal, it charges a monthly membership fee, but Payment Depot’s low, interchange-plus rates can make up for that quickly.

The most significant difference between PayPal and Payment Depot is its user base. While PayPal supports peer-to-peer payment processing ideal for microbusinesses and hobbyists, Payment Depot is more attractive to merchants that regularly process larger sales volumes, like B2Bs. It does not charge any cancellation fees nor extra fees for ACH/e-check processing.

Larger businesses will find Payment Depot’s rates more cost-effective despite the $79 monthly fee. However, for merchants processing sales below $10,000 per month, the total monthly costs may come out more expensive despite the low interchange-plus pricing.

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If PayPal is not the right solution for you for general payment processing, Authorize.net is an excellent alternative. If you prefer to run your business with a simple, standalone payment gateway, then Authorize.net is your best alternative. It offers a payment gateway-only plan that charges 10 cents per transaction + a 10-cent daily batch fee and an all-in-one plan that comes with a merchant account and a single flat rate fee for both card-present and card-not-present payments.

With an in-person payment processing feature (though limited), Authorize.net essentially offers one of the most flexible payment platforms in the market and earned the top spot in our evaluation of the best payment gateways.

Authorize.net also allows you to accept international payments using more than 140 payment solutions and a wide range of software integrations.

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PayPal does not normally support high-risk businesses and has a reputation for canceling accounts or freezing funds for suspect transactions. If you are in a medium- or high-risk business, such as CBD sales, liquor stores, or pawnshops, then PaymentCloud is a great option. It’s our top choice for high-risk merchant accounts and integrates with most online stores and POS applications, but, unlike PayPal, does not have a mobile app or POS of its own.

Although PaymentCloud does not have publicly disclosed pricing information, it does give a range depending on the risk category of the merchant. It offers flexible transaction rates, excellent security, chargeback protection, and customer service. Despite the kinds of industries it serves, there are few complaints about canceled accounts or held funds. This issue could be because of its diligent approval process. When you sign up, it can take several days to get approved. For mid- to high-risk merchants that cannot accept payments via PayPal, PaymentCloud is a great alternative.

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PayPal offers steep discounts to nonprofits using its system. However, if you need an alternate option or want something more focused on the needs of nonprofits, look to iATS. This merchant service works exclusively with nonprofit organizations and can process donations around the world in credit card, ACH, and other methods. It integrates with hundreds of applications, many of which are charity-centric.

Unlike PayPal, iATS does not have its own POS; however, it lets you create online forms you can embed in your website or use as a standalone solution, and you can build a shopping cart with its Aura program. It recently added hosted pages, pre-populated forms, and the ability to let donors cover processing fees. It has a mobile app that works with iOS only; most on our list work with Android and iOS.

As a fully nonprofit payment processing platform, iATS is an easy PayPal alternative choice for nonprofit organizations. Unfortunately, iATS does not list its pricing online, as PayPal does. However, we found rates ranging from 2.49% to 3.2% + 26 cents. For comparison, PayPal’s rates are 2.89% + country fee. Unlike PayPal, it may require an annual contract.

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Zelle’s instant transfers and zero processing fees are enough to give it an edge over PayPal for direct bank transfers. It is widely available for many bank partners and credit unions, making it a great option for businesses in the US that have customers with enrolled Zelle accounts.

However, Zelle is primarily designed as a straightforward P2P payment solution. It does not have ecommerce integrations, credit card payment processing, and invoicing. Despite these limitations, Zelle is still a better alternative to PayPal for receiving payments through bank-to-bank transfers. The good thing is Zelle can be used alongside any other payment processing solution, especially with its zero monthly fees.

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One of the more notable features of PayPal is its ability to accept cryptocurrency payments. However, its fees are more expensive and it does not offer any exchange rate volatility shield. If you receive a lot of crypto payments, BitPay is a better alternative to PayPal. It offers a tiered transaction fee schedule based on transaction volume, with the lowest fees at only 1% + 25 cents for monthly transaction volume higher than $1 million and 2% + 25 cents for smaller businesses with monthly volume transactions less than $500,000.

Unlike PayPal, BitPay supports high-risk merchants, albeit with higher fees. Another feature that sets BitPay apart from PayPal and other crypto payment gateways is its volatility shield function. It locks in the exchange rate at the time of the transaction so merchants are assured of the exact value for the transaction.

What We Like:

Wise Business is a suitable choice for businesses involved in international transactions, currency conversion, and those seeking to minimize foreign exchange costs. Its competitive exchange rates and transparent pricing structure make it an excellent option for companies that require direct bank transfers with international customers, suppliers, or operations.

The ability to hold multiple currencies in a single account simplifies financial management, and its invoicing tools streamline billing for global clients. Wise’s cost-effectiveness is particularly appealing, as it often offers lower fees for receiving international account-to-account payments compared to PayPal.

However, Wise Business offers limited payment processing solutions, unlike PayPal, which covers a broad spectrum of transactions, from ecommerce to in-person and online payments.

While businesses primarily engaged in international operations and currency management might favor Wise Business for its cost-effectiveness and currency-related features, PayPal’s adaptability, buyer and seller protection, and ease of use make it a reliable choice for businesses that need to accept payments on websites. The good thing is that businesses may leverage the strengths of both providers by choosing to use both platforms.

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Wave is a comprehensive accounting and financial management platform designed for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. Its primary focus is on helping users manage their financials, track income and expenses, create invoices, and generate detailed financial reports. Wave offers accounting tools, receipt scanning, and payroll services (for an additional fee) to streamline various financial tasks.

One of its significant advantages is that basic accounting, invoicing, and recurring billing features are available for free, making it an attractive and budget-friendly option for small businesses. Wave is best suited for those looking to handle their bookkeeping and financial management in-house, but it’s not a dedicated payment processing platform like PayPal. Some businesses may find it beneficial to use both platforms in conjunction, depending on their financial requirements.