Payment Gateway Comparison

Before comparing providers, define which variables matter most to your business. Not all gateways are built equal, and what works for a SaaS with monthly subscriptions may not be optimal for a marketplace with international sellers.

The most relevant criteria fall into four areas: cost (fixed and variable fees, hidden charges), functionality (payment methods, currencies, recurring billing), developer experience (documentation, SDKs, sandbox) and coverage (supported countries, local methods).

The payment gateway landscape has diversified significantly. Stripe leads in developer experience and flexibility. PayPal offers the largest active user base. Adyen dominates enterprise and omnichannel. Checkout.com competes aggressively on pricing for high-volume merchants.

Other notable players include Mollie (strong in Europe, excellent UX), Square (ideal for blended physical and digital commerce), Braintree (PayPal-owned, solid for marketplaces) and local acquirers like Worldpay and local banking gateways specific to each market.

Fees vary by provider, transaction volume and region. Stripe charges 1.5% + €0.25 for European cards and 3.25% + €0.25 for non-European cards. PayPal ranges from 1.49% to 3.49% depending on the plan. Adyen uses an interchange++ model that can be more cost-effective at scale.

It is essential to calculate the total cost, including chargeback fees (typically €15–€25), currency conversion charges, payout fees and potential monthly minimums. A gateway with lower per-transaction fees may end up costing more if it carries high fixed charges.

Integration quality directly impacts development time and maintenance cost. Stripe stands out for its documentation, multi-language SDKs and comprehensive sandbox environment. Adyen offers a unified API for online, in-store and mobile payments.

PayPal simplifies basic integration with prebuilt buttons, but its full API is more complex. Checkout.com and Mollie provide modern, well-documented APIs. Legacy acquirers in some markets still require more development effort due to older integration patterns.

If you sell internationally, gateway coverage is critical. Adyen supports over 250 payment methods across 187 countries. Stripe operates in more than 45 countries with its own acquiring licence. PayPal is present in over 200 markets but with limitations on local methods.

Local payment methods can be decisive: iDEAL dominates in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, PIX is essential in Brazil, and UPI leads in India. A gateway that does not support the preferred method in your target market will lose conversions.

There is no universally best gateway. The right choice depends on your business model, volume, markets and technical capabilities. A D2C ecommerce selling in Europe can work perfectly with Stripe or Mollie. A global marketplace will need the breadth of Adyen or a multi-gateway strategy.

For subscription businesses, Stripe Billing is the benchmark. For companies blending physical and digital sales, Adyen or Square offer unified solutions. If maximising conversion in a specific market is the priority, combining a local acquirer with an international gateway is often the optimal strategy.