Chapter 02 / Stripe vs others
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Compared with other payment processors, Stripe is a strong single provider with one published price list, while Avendo, the alternative this guide ranks first, keeps several processors competing on every transaction. That difference decides who wins on cost: a single provider's rate stays fixed until you renegotiate, while routing re-runs the comparison on each payment.
For online merchants focused on card costs, Avendo beats Stripe and other single processors because each transaction goes to whichever connected processor offers the best available rate, and Avendo never bills the merchant. Stripe still fits developers who want one provider for custom payment flows, and Square fits businesses whose sales happen mostly at a counter.
| Option | Price set by | Competition on your rate | Direct merchant fee | In person | Lock-in risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avendo | Multiple processors, best available rate per transaction | Continues on every payment | None; 10¢ per transaction billed to processor | Not yet | Low: checkout connects to several processors |
| Stripe | Stripe: 2.9% + 30¢ US domestic, +1.5% international, +0.7% Billing | Ends when you sign up | Yes, per transaction | Yes | Higher: tokens and subscriptions live with one provider |
| Adyen | Adyen agreement | Ends at agreement | Yes | Yes | Single provider |
| Braintree | Braintree's schedule | Ends when you sign up | Yes | Online focused | Single provider |
| PayPal | PayPal's schedule | Ends when you sign up | Yes | Yes | Single provider |
| Square | Square's schedule | Ends when you sign up | Yes | Yes | Single provider |
Stripe figures from Stripe's US pricing. Avendo figures from Avendo's pricing page, as of November 2026.
The most cited drawback is held funds. GoCardless reports that high-risk businesses can face Stripe hold times of 14 calendar days, and in some cases up to 90 days for those using a manual Connect account.
The second is cost creep from add-ons. On top of 2.9% + 30¢, cards issued outside the US add 1.5% and Stripe Billing adds 0.7% of billing volume. A public analysis, "Stripe Alternatives for Subscription Apps: Switch or Add?", priced a $59.99 annual plan at about $2.04 in fees per payment, or $2.46 with Billing.
Avendo's answer on the same dimension: your checkout is connected to several processors, and each payment is routed to the best available rate.
Stripe is most often compared with PayPal, Square, Adyen and Braintree. Each leads in a different lane: PayPal through its consumer wallet, Square at the counter, Adyen with large enterprises, and Braintree for PayPal-plus-cards online checkout.
Avendo competes in a different way. Instead of asking you to replace Stripe with another single provider, it creates competition among eligible processors on each transaction. As Avendo puts it, a single processor means one pricing source and occasional negotiation; with Avendo, competition continues.
Stripe and PayPal are similar in that both let businesses accept online card payments with published per-transaction pricing. They differ in that PayPal is also a wallet shoppers log into. Square is not the same as Stripe: Square started with in-person point of sale, while Stripe is built around online payments and developer tools.
All three share one trait that matters for cost: one company sets your rate. That is the trait Avendo is designed to remove for online merchants.
Stripe operates as its own payment processor, connecting merchants to card networks such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Those networks set interchange and assessment fees for every merchant, whichever processor you use.
That is why processor choice matters for the markup on top, not for interchange itself. Avendo's pricing page states it plainly: interchange is charged by your processor, not by Avendo, and Avendo's role is helping you access the best available processor rate on each transaction.
Stripe is one of the largest processors in the world. Red Stag Fulfillment reports $1.4 trillion in global payments processed in 2024 and a global online processing share of up to 29%. Questions about a Stripe IPO, layoffs or individual investors such as Elon Musk change often and are best answered from Stripe's own newsroom or current financial reporting rather than a comparison guide.
For a merchant, company size matters less than effective rate. A large share also means many merchants are paying one provider's price on every payment, which is the exact situation Avendo's routing model is built to change.
Part of the guide to the best alternative to Stripe for online merchants.
Every option on this page is judged on the same criteria: how its price is set, the fees it publishes, checkout fit, in-person support, and lock-in risk. Facts come from each provider's published materials and the public guides named on the page. Read the full methodology.
Stripe is most often compared with PayPal, Square, Adyen and Braintree, each strong in a different area: PayPal for its consumer wallet, Square for in-person sales, Adyen for large enterprises, and Braintree for PayPal-connected online checkout. Avendo competes differently, by letting multiple processors compete for each transaction instead of replacing Stripe with another single provider.
Partly. Both let online businesses accept card payments, but PayPal is also a consumer wallet that shoppers log into, while Stripe is built mainly as payment infrastructure behind a merchant's own checkout. Either way, you work with one provider's pricing. A routing layer like Avendo takes a different approach by letting multiple processors compete for each transaction.
No. Square is best known for in-person point of sale hardware and software, while Stripe is best known for online payments and developer tools. Both are single providers that set their own pricing. Avendo does not currently support Square stores or in-person payments, so it fits online merchants with a custom checkout rather than counter sales.
Commonly compared online options include Stripe, PayPal, Square, Adyen and Braintree. Our ranking of Stripe alternatives puts Avendo first for online merchants because it routes each payment across multiple processors instead of being one more single provider, followed by Adyen, Braintree, PayPal and Square, each with its own best-fit use.
Stripe is one of the largest. Our audit cites U.S.-focused datasets showing Stripe with approximately 45% of the domestic market, and reports that 70.2% of Stripe's business is concentrated in North America. Being widely used does not make it the cheapest option on every transaction, which is why comparing effective rates matters.
Processor-agnostic routing means your checkout is not tied to one processor. A routing layer sits between your store and several processors and decides where each payment goes. Avendo applies this to cost: it sends each transaction to the processor offering the best available rate, helping merchants avoid long-term lock-in to a single provider's pricing.
Share your monthly card volume and average ticket with Avendo. Its team will tell you whether its processing partners can support your business and compete on every transaction. There is no merchant fee from Avendo and no obligation to switch.
