When it comes to your unique payment processing needs, which is better— Stripe vs. Authorize.net?
This article will cover everything you need to know, including features, pricing, reviews, and more.
Both Stripe and Authorize.net are mature, feature-rich payment processing solutions that have their own advantages. But which is better for your business?
The Stripe features you should know about include:
Suggested reading: Customer Support for SaaS: How to Do it Right
The Authorize.net features you should know about include:
Both platforms have great features. But for a complete Stripe vs. Authorize.net comparison, businesses must consider their pricing.
The Stripe pricing model has two main options, which it calls “integrated” and “customized.”
The integrated option has a pay-as-you-go model that charges 2.9 percent, plus 30 cents, for every successful card charge. A few things to note about Stripe’s integrated pricing:
In addition to these flat rates, the Stripe pricing model also includes customized options.
This might be a better solution for organizations with very high transaction volumes or unique business models. The possibilities include volume discounts, multi-product discounts, and country-specific rates.
Like Stripe, the Authorize.net pricing model also has two main options, which it calls “all-in-one” and “payment gateway only”; both are free to set up and have a monthly gateway fee of $25.
The “All-in-One” option is for businesses that don’t have a merchant account (a special bank account for accepting debit and credit card payments). Authorize.net will set you up with a merchant account and a payment gateway. This option charges 2.9 percent plus $0.30 for each transaction, exactly the same as the integrated option for Stripe.
The “Payment Gateway Only” option is for businesses that already have a merchant account. In this option, businesses are charged $0.10 per transaction plus a daily batch fee of $0.10.
Authorize.net also offers custom pricing for larger enterprises that process more than $500,000 per year. Finally, Authorize.net charges 0.75 percent on eCheck transactions, which is billed separately from any of the options listed above.
As of writing, the business software review website G2 gives Stripe an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 88 Stripe user reviews. Executive director Caroline J. calls Stripe “the best payment processor out there with the most flexible and custom options” in her Stripe review, adding:
Stripe is very tech-forward and can be customized to look and feel just about any way you want it to on your website. The branding possibilities are endless… Their pricing is fairly reasonable and it’s easy to connect Stripe Payments to any API source.
They provide a very robust documentation library. In my experience, their support is very responsive at all hours, even on weekends and holidays… The dashboard and reporting systems are very robust and easy to use.
However, the review also notes two negatives of the Stripe platform:
Meanwhile, Authorize.net has an average rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars on G2, based on 105 Authorize.net user reviews. In a 4-star Authorize.net review, VP of fulfillment Frances W. says that the platform “provides all the basic tools that a business owner needs to collect payment”:
I am able to process a card, set up a card to process, delay the process but capture the information, set up recurring billing, organize accounts and subscriptions into groups and categories, and export data for further organization…
We are satisfied with the fees in place and the ability to do what we need it to. It is simple to set up and doesn’t take long to learn to navigate the features and familiarize yourself with the terminology.
However, the review goes on to cite a few negatives of the Authorize.net platform, including:
We’ve gone over Stripe and Authorize.net features, pricing, and reviews—so what’s the ultimate verdict when it comes to Stripe vs. Authorize.net?
Stripe is better for the following types of customers:
Authorize.net is better for the following types of customers:
Both platforms simplify the payment process and serve thousands of happy customers. But because it has no monthly fee, and doesn’t require a merchant account, Stripe will be the preferred all-in-one choice for many organizations.
Whether you choose Stripe or Authorize.net for your payment processing needs, it’s crucial to make sure that your business has a healthy cash flow, now and into the future.
That’s why Baremetrics has built a powerful, user-friendly analytics tool for hidden insights from your Stripe data, helping you make smarter, data-driven predictions and decisions.