8 Best Stripe Alternatives & Competitors

Stripe is a favorite among startups and tech-savvy businesses for online payment processing because it offers highly versatile software for creating custom checkouts. However, there are times when its complexity and specialization make other solutions a better choice.

While most users say Stripe is easy to use, it nonetheless requires some coding skills to set up certain payment types or custom payment features. It also does not have a built-in virtual terminal or point-of-sale (POS) tools. Stripe’s pricing may also not be the best fit for some small businesses that only need simpler and cheaper solutions.

I evaluated dozens of credit card processors to find the best alternative to Stripe:

• Helcim: Cheapest alternative to Stripe
• Chase Payment Solutions: Best for free and fast funding
• Square: Best omnichannel Stripe alternative
• Authorize.net: Best payment gateway
• PaymentCloud: Best for mid- to high-risk businesses
• PayPal: Best for value-added payment options for ecommerce
• SumUp: Best for small mobile businesses
• Stax: Best for managing recurring billing and high-volume sales

Best Stripe Competitors Compared

	When to Use	Our Score (out of 5)	Monthly Fees	Online Transaction Fees	Same-day Payouts
	Best for custom payment solutions	4.27	$0	2.9% + 30 cents	+1% (min 50 cents)
	Visit Stripe
	Cheaper transaction fees	4.27	$0	From InterchangeInterchange rates are what the issuing credit card company charges, and they vary by card type and use. plus 0.15% + 15 cents	N/A
	Visit Helcim
	Free instant payout	4.20	$0-$15	2.9% + 25 cents	Free to Chase Bank Account
	Visit Chase Payment Solutions®
	All-in-one POS	4.18	$0	2.9% + 30 cents	+1.75%
	Visit Square
	Payment gateway	4.06	$25	2.9% + 30 cents OR 10 cents/transaction	N/A
	Visit Authorize.net
	High-risk merchants	3.86	$10-$45	2%-4.3%	N/A
	Visit PaymentCloud
	User-friendly ecommerce payment solution	3.82	$0-$30	From 2.99% + 49 cents	+1.5%
	Visit PayPal
	Small, mobile businesses	3.63	$0	3.25% + 15 cents	N/A
	Visit SumUp
	Recurring billing and high-volume	3.49	$99-$199	Interchange + 18 cents	N/A
	Visit Stax

*The scores in the table above are based on our list of the Best Online Credit Card Processing Companies.

Why You Can Trust Fit Small Business

Stripe at a Glance

Helcim: Cheapest Alternative to Stripe With Free Credit Card Processing

Chase Payment Solutions^®: Best for Free & Fast Funding

Square: Best Overall Competitor & Alternative to Stripe

Authorize.net: Best Stripe Competitor for Payment Gateway

PaymentCloud: Best Stripe Alternative for High-risk Merchants

PayPal: Best for Value-added Payment Options for Ecommerce

SumUp: Best for Small Mobile Businesses

Stax: Best Alternative to Stripe for B2B, Recurring Billing & High-volume Sales

Methodology: How I Evaluated Stripe Alternatives

To determine the best alternatives to Stripe, I identified and curated a list of dozens of excellent payment processors, many of which feature on other best-of lists for merchant accounts and payment processing.

I evaluated these Stripe competitors for pricing and contract (20%), payment types (30%), sales and account management features (25%), and expert score (25%). After careful review, I narrowed down the list to eight payment service providers that surpassed Stripe in certain criteria. Nearly all of these require less programming knowledge, especially when it comes to integrations and POS systems.

Reasons to Choose Stripe Alternatives

I explored how my top choices for alternatives to Stripe fulfill different needs better than Stripe, but why consider a Stripe competitor in general? There are several reasons:

• You need strong in-person payment tools: Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or sell at fairs and trade shows, you would be better off with a payment processor that includes a POS solution.
• You don’t have time/patience/experience to deal with programming: Those who are comfortable with coding say Stripe is easy to use, but it is heavier on the tech than most of the others on our list. Other providers have plug-and-play solutions.
• You don’t want to deal with outside integrations: Stripe is integration-heavy. That’s its strength as well as its weakness. Many Stripe alternatives provide you with the payment tools you need natively, even inventory counts and tax calculations.
• You want to take advantage of reduced rates for business and government sales: If you make a lot of B2B sales, then you’ll want to take advantage of Level 2 and 3 payment processing. In return for gathering more data, you get reduced fees. While Stripe has good tools for B2B sales, you need an integration for Level 2 or 3 processing. Others make it available without charge or extra programs.
• You have high-volume monthly transactions: Although Stripe’s processing rates are competitive, it is not the best for businesses that process high-volume transactions every month. There are other options that offer lower rates for higher monthly transaction volumes.

How to Choose a Stripe Alternative

In the previous section, I enumerated the top possible reasons a merchant would choose a Stripe competitor. Many payment processors like Stripe can offer better in-person payment tools, customizable yet easy-to-use software features, and more affordable pricing.

So to choose the right alternative, you must identify which feature your business needs that you’re missing out on with Stripe.

Find More Affordable Credit Card Processing Fees

As credit card transaction rates continue to increase, finding a cost-effective payment processor is more important than ever.

• Monthly fees: Stripe does not charge a monthly fee, so there should be no reason to replace it with a payment processor that does unless it is in exchange for wholesale credit card rates. However, this is only ideal for growing or high-volume businesses.
• Transaction rates: Stripe charges a generally competitive flat rate pricing, so you must focus more on the type of payment methods and compare Stripe’s rates with its competitors. For example, if your business heavily relies on invoicing, look for an alternative that does not impose additional fees to invoice and recurring transactions. If you have a growing business, you might also find interchange-plus pricing more cost-effective.
• Incidental fees: Stripe generally does not charge for incidentals such as setup, cancellation, or PCI compliance. However, you can find alternatives to Stripe that impose lower chargeback fees and even free chargeback protection.

Match Payment Software Features to Your Business Needs

Make sure that you only pay for payment features that you need and choose from companies like Stripe that support business tools that will help scale your business.

• Essential payment methods: One of Stripe’s major drawbacks is that it does not have out-of-the-box in-person payment processing tools. Most payment providers like Stripe support free mobile payment apps that allow merchants to start accepting payments in minutes.
• Integrations: It’s hard to beat Stripe’s thousands of ready integrations although PayPal comes close. That said, there are Stripe alternatives with native features such as accounting, POS, and marketing, which certain business types would prefer as a free built-in functionality over integrations.
• Security: Stripe’s customizable security and fraud protection features are hard to match, particularly by similar payment processors offering aggregate merchant accounts. Unless your business requires features such as in-person payments, then there’s no reason to replace Stripe.
• High-risk payment processing: Stripe does not support high-risk transactions so it does not provide merchant accounts to businesses that are considered “high-risk.” The best alternatives include PaymentCloud and Square for retailing certain CBD products.
• Customer support: Stripe already offers round-the-clock customer support and an extensive knowledge base. However, there are reports of poor customer service, especially for issues about frozen accounts, which you may want to consider before signing up with Stripe.

Look for Essential Hardware Features from Card Readers & POS

Stripe offers three mobile payment devices: a 2-in-1 contactless card reader and a couple of stand-alone handheld terminals. All are competitively priced, but certain considerations may convince some merchants to go for a Stripe payment alternative.

• Pricing: Stripe’s basic contactless card reader is priced at $59, while the standalone terminals cost $249 and $349 each. While these are competitive rates, Stripe competitors offer discounts and installment purchasing options.
• Ease of use: Stripe struggles with ease of use for its payment hardware because it requires a payment app to start accepting payments. Most small businesses are looking for similar tools such as the ability to accept multiple payment methods as well as track and manage payments. Unfortunately, Stripe does not have an out-of-the-box payment app, which all of its top competitors provide.
• Durability and reliability: One of the worst things that can happen to a merchant is to have a faulty card reader causing failed transactions. There have been no reported issues so far about troublesome Stripe hardware. However, alternatives like Square are also well-known for their reliable hardware and are easier to set up than Stripe.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

These are some of the most common questions we get about alternatives to Stripe.

Bottom Line

If you have specialized payment processing needs or a wide range of online payment venues, then Stripe may be your best choice. It’s extremely popular among developers for its extensive toolset and ease of use—for programmers. There’s a lot of Stripe competition, however, and many offer a simpler payment processor.

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to Stripe, providers that offer interchange-plus pricing like Helcim or Stax, may be suitable. For businesses looking for a more seamless integration of their payment and banking systems, Chase Payment Solutions offers this plus free and fast payouts.

For an out-of-the-box omnichannel solution, Square comes out as the best on our list. It offers rates comparable to Stripe but has a powerful free POS system, online store, virtual terminal, and other free tools that make it a better choice. Plus, it’s easy to use and highly rated by real-world users. Sign up for a free account and get started today.

Visit Square