Stripe VS Braintree: Comparison

Stripe and Braintree have a lot of features and capabilities in common. But there’s a clear winner for the vast majority of businesses. Find out which one.

Chris has been writing about small business topics since 2003. He has been featured in Fox Business, ABC News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates, Newsweek, BizJournals, and other publications. He has a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Writing Arts from SUNY Oswego, and a Masters of Science in Interactive Media from the University of Central Florida.

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  Chris Motola Chris has been writing about small business topics since 2003. He has been featured in Fox Business, ABC News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates, Newsweek, BizJournals, and other publications. He has a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Writing Arts from SUNY Oswego, and a Masters of Science in Interactive Media from the University of Central Florida.

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  Last updated onUpdated March 26, 2024



Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.

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Shannon Vissers Shannon has been writing for Merchant Maverick about small business software and financing since 2015. She started writing professionally about business topics in 2005. Shannon has been featured in the Washington Post, Reader's Digest, US News, MSN, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, and other publications. She has a bachelor's degree in English from San Diego State University and currently resides in San Diego, California.

Expert Contributor

In most regards, when it comes to the Braintree vs. Stripe competition, the two are very closely matched with similar price points, services, and support. In fact, an overwhelming majority of their services overlap, and they cater to a very similar clientele: technically savvy e-commerce businesses.

The biggest difference between the two services is that Stripe is a third-party processor, meaning that rather than giving customers their own merchant accounts, it stands in as the merchant during the credit card transaction. Because of this, Stripe customers can begin processing transactions almost immediately. The trade-off is that third-party processors tend to have more account holds and freezes. Braintree, on the other hand, offers full merchant accounts, which take some time to approve but are more stable.

Another major point of consideration will be your attitude towards the PayPal ecosystem. Braintree, as a PayPal service, syncs up seamlessly with PayPal. Stripe, while it can accommodate a large number of payment methods from around the world, cannot process PayPal transactions.

Where Braintree Wins

Braintree is essentially “advanced PayPal,” with a toolset oriented toward developers and use cases that the main PayPal brand doesn’t necessarily cover. If you generally like what PayPal has to offer but want to be able to bend it closer to your will with code, Braintree is the way to go.

It’s also a convenient way to get a merchant account with PayPal access without having to worry about monthly account fees. Braintree’s flat-rate pricing favors larger transactions, which makes it a good fit for online stores that have average transaction sizes over $60.

Where Braintree Falls Short

• Customer service and resources have recently fallen behind Stripe
• Pricing model may not be competitive for many businesses
• Relies on PayPal integration for a lot of functionality

Braintree is designed for ecommerce with no real provisions for in-person transactions. You can work around this by using PayPal integrations to access PayPal Zettle (PayPal Zettle review), but you should be prepared to take some extra steps.

Moreover, this speaks to the general state of Braintree. As PayPal has expanded developer support for its parent brand, Braintree has started to look more and more like an afterthought. Customer service, for example, seems to have taken a big step backward, with users reporting long waits before receiving help.

Finally, there’s the matter of Braintree’s pricing model. Flat-rate processing tends to be a good fit for low-volume businesses that have a hard time justifying monthly account fees. These businesses don’t generally need a full merchant account at their volume. Add in the high cost of transactions under $60, and you’re looking at a pricing scheme that mainly works for businesses that do large but infrequent online transactions.

Where Stripe Wins

Stripe powers the built-in payment processing services of many eCommerce platforms (Shopify, for example), which makes it a convenient option in many cases. Stripe also has a small advantage when it comes to dealing with international payments and currencies, allowing for precise control over what currency the transactions are settled in and which bank accounts those specific transactions are routed to. This can cut down on currency exchange fees and make it easier to deal with local taxes.

Finally, as we mentioned earlier, Stripe has a faster onboarding process, allowing signups to begin taking credit card transactions almost immediately.

Where Stripe Falls Short

• Account stability
• Advanced features can get pricey
• Support for non-technical users

Like Braintree, Stripe isn’t built around in-person transactions, though it is possible to take them if you have the technical know-how to get Stripe Terminal up and running. That’s generally how things work with Stripe: if you want to use more than what a pre-loaded/integrated version of Stripe has to offer, you’ll need to have a developer on your team.

Stripe’s pricing model is a little more friendly for typical low-volume businesses. Where the trouble begins is when you try to scale up your activity. Adding advanced features often adds additional per-transaction fees, which can quickly pile on costs.

And, of course, there’s the account stability issue. This is common to all third-party processors, not just Stripe. The cause of account holds and freezes, if they occur, may not be obvious. They’ll also, generally speaking, be harder to resolve. Stripe users should make sure they’re following the company’s compliance policies as closely as they can to avoid any issues.

Stripe VS Braintree Pricing Comparison

Stripe and Braintree both default to a flat-rate pricing system that charges the same rate for each transaction type, regardless of the specific payment method. When you compare Braintree vs. Stripe fees, Stripe’s fee structure is simpler, with more inclusive pricing, whereas Braintree’s advanced features add specific costs to transactions. (Learn more about Stripe pricing and fees.)

Since you’ll probably be using PayPal if you sign up for Braintree, you’ll also want to check out PayPal’s rates and fees.

Which Is Cheaper: Braintree Or Stripe?

Nobody likes hearing “it depends” as an answer to the question of which service is cheaper, but in the case of Stripe vs. Braintree…it depends. Let’s see if we can give you a more satisfying answer, though.

In the pricing table above, you’ll notice that Stripe tends to charge a higher variable transaction fee, while Braintree charges a higher flat markup per transaction. This has the effect of making Stripe cheaper for smaller transactions and Braintree cheaper for larger transactions.

Let’s take the online credit card transaction rates, for example. For a $20 transaction, Stripe will charge you $0.88. Braintree will charge you around $1.01. For a $100 transaction, on the other hand, Stripe will charge you $3.20, while Braintree will charge you $3.08. The break-even point is around $60, so if your average eCommerce transaction falls under that, Stripe is cheaper. If it’s over that $60 threshold, Braintree is the less expensive option.

Braintree VS Stripe: Features Comparison

Stripe and Braintree cover very similar niches and, as you might expect, offer many of the same features. While both Braintree and Stripe offer support for European payment methods, Stripe provides more options for those doing business in or with Asia. On the other hand, as we’ve touched on earlier, Braintree uniquely offers full access to PayPal and PayPal-adjacent payment methods.

There’s far more to each of these services than we can cover in a comparison article, so please check out our full Braintree review and Stripe review. Or, you can start using Stripe Payments with no commitment.

Which Is Best For My Business: Stripe Or Braintree?

Payment processing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Ultimately, you’re looking for the best credit card processing company for your particular business. When two options are as similar in appearance as Stripe and Braintree, choosing the best option for your business can be difficult. Hopefully, you now have a better sense of how these services differ.

You should make a list of must-have features and a list of “would be nice” features. If you can’t make a choice based on those criteria, have a discussion about the account stability issue and decide how much risk you’re willing to tolerate. Also, consider the customer support each company offers and the fact that you may have to pay more for using some of Stripe’s best features.

Choose Braintree If…

Choose Stripe If…

Neither of these companies fit your needs? Find what you’re looking for among our lists of Stripe competitors and PayPal alternatives.