Best Payment Gateway for E-commerce in 2022

In this post, we will throw some light on some of the most essential online payment systems to make it easier for you to select among Stripe vs Braintree vs Paypal, the one that best fits your business objectives and the needs of your customers.

Did you know that around 50% of online shoppers would leave the website if your platform doesn’t have their desired payment method? Even though there are over 70 payment schemes out there, all of them have unique features, fees, and functionality.

So, if you are developing an e-commerce platform, a 2-sided platform, or some other software that involves transactions, try using a digital payment system as they ease up a lot of hustles.

The topic of comparison is- Stripe vs Braintree vs PayPal: 3 of the most often used payment gateways. But before diving headfirst into drawing up the comparisons, we would first like to explain the relationship between Braintree and PayPal.

You might already have an idea about the fact that Braintree belongs to PayPal, so the comparison of these two platforms may seem futile. On the other hand, PayPal and Braintree offer different pricing models. Hence, we will regard Braintree as a standalone payment channel wherever possible.

The best payment gateway for E-Commerce

Who Uses These Platforms?

These platforms come in handy in various ways and provides smart payment solutions to:

1. e-Commerce businesses
2. Small and mid-size corporations
3. Freelancers
4. Online marketplaces
5. Nonprofit organizations
6. Entrepreneurs

A Short Description of the 3 Payment Gateways

Stripe

A strong US-based payment app that allows a seamless online payment experience. It helps individual users, as well as businesses, to make their payments effortlessly via Stripe. This software is ideal for both start-ups and large corporations. Stripe is currently being used by Shopify, Dribble, Amazon, Foursquare, and many other such companies.

Features of Stripe

1. Dispute Handling
2. Financial Reporting
3. Invoice
4. Open-Source Plugin
5. Payment Options
6. Mobile Customer Interface
7. Embeddable Checkout
8. Multicurrency Payouts
9. Accounting Integrations
10. Unified Payout
11. Payout Timing
12. Consolidated Reports
13. Custom UI Toolkit

Braintree

It is a payment gateway platform that works with e-commerce companies in particular. It functions well on the web as well as on the smartphone. Braintree was introduced in 2007 and accepts almost any form of the online transaction card. This app is being used by Airbnb, Github, Uber, and many others.

Features of Braintree

1. Global coverage
2. 24×7 support
3. 2-day payout
4. Easy repeat billing
5. Dynamic control panel
6. Braintree vault
7. Encryption
8. Easy data migration
9. Guaranteed uptime
10. Advanced fraud protection
11. Drop-in UI
12. Customized checkout workflow

PayPal

It’s one of the world’s most effective and influential payment gateways. It helps users to send and receive funds online to any foreign country. PayPal provides its consumers with a peer-to-peer payment gateway service. Almost every organization you can imagine is using PayPal these days.

Features of PayPal

1. Accept Payments Online
2. Barcode Scanning
3. Credit Card Reader
4. Express Checkout
5. Inventory Tracking
6. Mobile Card Reader
7. Online Invoicing
8. PCI Compliance
9. Shopping Cart
10. Virtual Terminal

Stripe vs Braintree vs PayPal: The Comparison

Pricing

Stripe charges 2.9% plus $0.30 every time you receive a credit or debit card payment. There are almost no hidden, monthly fees or set-up fees. There is an additional 1% conversion fee for international cards.

1. 2.90% + $.30 per transaction
2. 1% transaction currency conversation
3. No monthly fee
4. $15 chargeback
5. 0.80% ACH Processing

PayPal charges a sales fee that is similar to what Stripe charges: 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. PayPal also provides a charity discount rate of 2.2% plus $0.30 per transaction. For international sales, PayPal charges 4.4% of the transaction plus a fixed fee based on the currency received.

1. 2.90% + $.30 per transaction
2. Payments Pro Plan – $30.00 a month
3. Standard Plan – no monthly fee
4. 1-4% transaction currency conversion
5. $20 chargeback

Braintree charges 2.9% per transaction by card or online wallet. There are no monthly payments or hidden payments in Braintree. However, there are multi-currency and cross-border charges. The multi-currency fee is an extra 1% charge that applies to transactions of any currency other than USD. The cross-border charge is an extra 1% charge that applies when a card is produced outside of the US.

1. 2.90% + $.30 per transaction
2. 1% transaction currency conversation
3. No monthly fee
4. $15 chargeback
5. 0.75% ACH Processing

Security

PayPal makes it easy to store the credit cards of the user in a secure vault rather than getting it stored on your servers. However, the data is still going through your system first, creating space for error and making PCI compliance more difficult.

Some vendors feel that there is no defense against PayPal fraud, but for $10/month + $0.05/transaction, you can get your hands on an advanced anti-scamming toolkit.

Stripe has revolutionized online transactions with Stripe.js, a library that supports safe development steps. The credit card data of any user goes straight to the safe Stripe vault, never reaching your servers. This allows you to be PCI compliant as well as protect against potential data breaches.

The security measures taken by Braintree is comparable to that of Stripe. Fraud protection involves 3D Secure and advanced anti-scam choices from Kount. You can adjust the parameters to automatically discard transactions based on particular warning signs. However, it has to be made sure that the service is not always consistent with the integration of a shopping cart.

Disputes & Refund

Now, all of these 3 platforms assist when it comes to conflicts. Both Braintree and Stripe usually refund the disputed amount and charge $15 for the transaction, whereas PayPal usually charges up to $20.

Today, when it comes to Stripe and Braintree, if the conflict ends up being resolved in your favor, then they will refund the full $15 amount that was paid initially. PayPal would also refund the transaction sum but will charge an extra fee of $0.30 since it is officially considered a “new transaction.”

One of the easiest and helpful features of Braintree is that it pays back the processing fee that it received previously, if you request a refund. However, stripe does not refund processing fees for refunded transactions.

Customer Service

PayPal customer support team is available by email and phone (Mon-Fri from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. PT/ Sat-Sun from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. PT).

Stripe does not have live support and instead depends on email correspondence. Luckily, Stripe does have an IRC channel (# stripe) where you can get support from actual developers, company representatives, and people with similar issues. You also could follow Stripe on social media and pose any queries via Twitter and Stripe’s website. There is also a knowledge base and incredibly valuable documentation for developers.

Braintree is popular for providing an excellent support system. You can get in touch with them via phone (8 AM – 7 PM CST, MON – THU; 8 AM – 5 PM CST, FRI) and emails (24/7 in emergency situations), Braintree offers comprehensive FAQs, various helpful articles, and guides.

Setup

PayPal Payment Buttons can be added by quickly inserting a short HTML snippet to your pages. This feature helps you to build a customized payment facility and makes it easier to integrate it with your software without needing any programming knowledge.

However, Express Checkout and PayPal Pro need specialized technical capabilities. You could either use the Payments REST API or Braintree Direct SDK. Now, with the default settings, the SDK allows comprehensive customization beginning with just 10 lines of code. It also helps you to handle all of your integrations from a unified control panel.

Stripe was designed for developers. Its simple and quite well-documented APIs provide an incredibly stable and robust platform for custom integrations.

A diverse variety of licensed languages (Java, PHP, Ruby, Python,. NET) and platforms (web, Android, and iOS) make it possible to use Stripe for payments in almost any program.

The Gateway documentation and the SDK are perhaps the most comprehensive of the three programs. About official libraries, there is a range of community-based libraries and plugins for WordPress, Joomla, Magento, etc.

Braintree is also another gateway designed for developers. The documentation is divided into different sections for Android, iOS, and the Web. Braintree Direct SDK supports a large number of backend languages (Java, PHP, Node.js, NET, Ruby, and Python).

You can use a few lines of code to get it going. Or you can go with the Custom UI to create your checkout process.

Which Platform Will Suit Your Business?

Stripe applies to a huge variety of applications. Its API enables companies to set up personalized e-commerce processes. However, Stripe is not appropriate for offline sales. If you are just getting started with your company, Stripe is a viable solution because it enables you to create a scalable infrastructure.

It’s particularly beneficial if you want to function in the US but are based overseas. You can start making use of Stripe as a ready-made solution. Only add pre-written pieces of code to your payment acceptance application, or customize Stripe to suit your objectives. You can develop a customized payment flow using resources, or so-called building blocks, provided by Stripe.

Paypal is the ideal option if you require to just accept payments and you don’t care about a lot of several other specifics. If you want an easy solution to all your payment needs, you can choose PayPal. And it is compatible with most of the sites, so customers will start paying you right away. You can also add Stripe integration later, so beginning with PayPal will be a fine decision.

PayPal offers seamless customer service and enables the customer to purchase online and offline. If you are looking for a quick and fast way to collect payments, go for PayPal.

Braintree has a lot of features identical to Stripe. Braintree has its presence in over 45 countries, while Stripe is only available in 26 countries. Since Braintree is part of the PayPal network, the company has an extra advantage and has access to a greater market share. If you are just getting started with your company, Braintree can prove to be a perfect match.

The company has a wealth of experience with start-ups. It also appeals to non-profits and appears to work with a few of the biggest online retailers. Braintree will not, however, function with certain kinds of enterprises as explained in their acceptable policy use.

Bottom Line

Technology has progressed to the point that it very easily allows you to transfer payments online, transparently, and safely. When you are about to accept payments on these platforms, you will no longer need to go through troublesome paperwork or worry about compliance, as these off-site service providers will do all the tasks for you.

If you are looking to start a company, you should consider the integration of a payment gateway. There are many different features, pricing, and functionality involved with these. We have tried to round up the three most often used platforms to give you some idea of which one can work best for you.

So, now you know mostly everything about Stripe vs Braintree vs PayPal in our payment gateway comparison.

PayPal is a fantastic entry-level platform that you can install without any programming experience and accept payments within minutes.

Stripe is targeted at large corporations, diverse SaaS products and industries. It’s the perfect option if your software benefits from customization and detailed reporting.

Braintree is an interesting choice for almost every form of business. Although PayPal’s plug and play approach is lacking in Braintree, it makes up for an excellent customization and flexibility.

Have you tried any of them? Which one did you like the best? Let us know in the comments section!