Top 7 Best Stripe Alternatives in 2025

Stripe has been making life easier for accepting payments online for a long time. It’s famous for its easy to use APIs, quick onboarding, and supports subscription billing and international payments.

But it is not the ideal choice for everyone. Business owners may find Stripe’s documentation-heavy approach difficult to navigate. Account freezes, limited support for certain sectors, regions, or industries, and sparse customer service can all pose challenges for businesses.

With more and more impressive features like flexible pricing and better niche support, 2025 is shaping up to be a stronger year for competition against Stripe.

In this guide, we break down the Top 7 Best Stripe Alternatives in 2025, looking at everything from geography and use cases to pricing and integrations.

1. PayPal

Best for: Small businesses, freelancers and marketplaces.

Overview: PayPal started out as a simple peer-to-peer payment tool and has transformed into one of the largest online payment processors. Its wide acceptance, ease of use, and trust from millions makes it easy for consumers around the globe to use PayPal.

PayPal can act as a payment processor, invoicing platform, and checkout system all at once due to its wide range of business tools.

Why Consider It Over Stripe: With PayPal, the setup process is usually faster and less complicated because it doesn’t need a lot of developer work to start accepting payments. It does tend to be more forgiving with some high-risk sectors, and the buyer and seller protection features are helpful if disputes come up.

Key Features:

• Receive funds through PayPal, credit cards, Venmo, or Pay Later.
• Transfers to bank accounts are instant (in supported regions).
• All-in-one invoicing.
• Integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and thousands of other shopping carts and platforms.

Pros:

• Recognized brand with good user trust.
• Quick and easy to set up.
• Decent coverage in most countries.

Cons:

• Higher fees for transactions involving cross-border or currency conversion.
• Less flexibility to tailor the system to your needs compared to other more developer-focused systems.
• Some accounts may be suspended in high-risk situations, causing sudden account freezes.

2. Square

Best for: Physical stores like retail shops, resturants, and other service providers.

Overview: Square is recognized as one of the largest in-person payment processors. They offer popular sleek hardware as well as Point of Sale (POS) software that doesn’t charge a monthly fee. This makes Square ideal for hybrid businesses operating online and offline.

They also offer additional services like staff management, appointment booking, and comprehensive sales reporting.

Why Think About It Instead of Stripe: If you have a business that is primarily offline or does a mix of in-person and online sales, Square has a stronger ecosystem than Stripe. It serves as an all-in-one solution for business management, instead of just a payment processor.

Key Features:

• Free POS app and a simplified business overview.
• E-commerce integrated sales features.
• Customer engagement tools and loyalty programs, including gift cards.
• Bank deposits with zero friction and reporting in real-time.

Pros:

• Very straightforward and easy to use.
• Great for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses.
• No setup fees or long-term contracts.

Cons:

• Mostly supported in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Japan (limited international support).
• Not suitable for high volume purely online or digital businesses.

3. Adyen

Best for: Global e-commerce, enterprise solutions, and large-scale businesses.

Overview: Used by some of the world’s largest companies, Uber, Spotify, and Microsoft, Adyen is a global payments platform.

It offers fully integrated payment processing for every channel a sale occurs; online, in-app, or in-store, and provides unified commerce optimization. Businesses that need to grow internationally will benefit the most from Adyen due to its extensive customization options and global acquiring capabilities.

Why Adyen Is Better Than Stripe: Adyen allows companies to use one payment provider across different regions, enabling businesses to streamline operations.

For fast-growing companies, Adyen’s fraud detection, support for local payment methods, and clear pricing structure make it a better option than Stripe.

Main Features:

• Over 150 currencies can be paid in.
• Risk management and fraud controls built in.
• Real-time analytics and reporting.
• Cards, wallets, bank transfers and local payment methods supported.

Pros:

• Business specific needs can be adjusted significantly.
• Outstanding coverage for doing business internationally.
• Complete support for compliance and security requirements.

Cons:

• Need technical assistance for setup.
• Better for high volume transactions.
• Setup may take longer than average.

4. Wise (formerly TransferWise)

Best For: International freelancers, global businesses, and remote teams

Overview: Wise is not a traditional competitor to stripe, and stripe does not compete with wise, but wise is a powerful tool for facilitating cross border payments.

Freelancers, contractors, and businesses that operate internationally require services that help them send and receive payments easily and without exorbitant conversion costs. Wise meets these needs with its low fee structure and transparent exchange rates.

Why Consider It Over Stripe: For certain regions, Stripe’s international payouts can take a long time and come with high fees. Wise has a better approach for handling multi-currency payments and global banking.

Key Features:

• Charges the real exchange rate (no markup).
• Get multi-currency accounts to obtain local bank details in USD, EUR, GBP, and others.
• Business accounts with batch payment as well as expense tracking features.
• Direct integration with accounting tools like Xero.

Pros:

• Low fees and fast transfers.
• Transparent pricing.
• Great for global payroll and supplier payments.

Cons:

• Lack of support for credit card processing or payment gateways.
• Inappropriate for e-commerce checkout.

5. Braintree (A PayPal Company)

Best for: SaaS, mobile apps, and recurring billing

Overview: Braintree provides advanced payment solutions for businesses that require more than what PayPal offers. It is designed specifically for subscription services, mobile applications, and platforms needing multi-currency payment processing.

Why Consider It Over Stripe: Provides wider native support for digital wallets and advanced features like smart fraud prevention, secure tokenization, and customer vaults.

Key Features:

• Payments via cards, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are accepted.
• Global currencies and local payment methods are supported.
• Recurring billing and a customer vault for subscription-based businesses.
• Strong developer documentation and SDKs.

Pros:

• Ideal for mobile and subscription-focused businesses.
• PayPal’s infrastructure backs them.
• Compliant with PCI DSS and has strong fraud prevention tools.

Cons:

• Somewhat harder to integrate than Stripe.
• May need additional developer resources.

6. Razorpay

Ideal Users: Startups in India, SaaS Companies, and online merchants.

Overview: Razorpay, one of India’s leading payment gateways, equips businesses with comprehensive tools for payment processing, subscriptions, automation, and capital. It supports more than 100 payment methods which makes it easier for Startups and digital businesses to thrive in India.

Why Consider It Over Stripe: Stripe’s services in India are still rudimentary. Razorpay’s extensive integration with UPI, local wallets, and Indian banking makes it a more useful option for businesses within the country.

Key Features:

• UPI, credit/debit card, EMI, net banking, and wallet payments accepted.
• Instant settlements alongside split payments and route APIs.
• Subscription management with auto-renew.
• Integrations including Shopify and WooCommerce.

Pros:

• Designed specifically for Indian companies.
• Advanced financial tools alongside a comprehensive dashboard.
• Streamlined onboarding for startups.

Cons:

• Currently only available in India.
• Customer support tends to be less responsive during busy times.

7. Authorize.Net (A Visa Solution)

Best for: Nonprofits and B2B businesses, established companies

Overview: Authorize.net is an older payment processing system with many years of experience. It is great for conventional businesses that need consistent service, fraud protection, and recurring billing. Its acceptance of ACH, eChecks, and credit cards makes it great for B2B and nonprofit organizations.

Why Consider It Over Stripe: For businesses with older systems or complex billing needs, Authorize.Net is the best option since it provides ACH payment support and recurring billing that is more flexible than Stripe.

Key Features:

• Automatic billing and invoicing.
• Fraud detection and address verification tools.
• Virtual terminal for manual entries.
• PCI DSS compliance and secure data handling.

Pros:

• Trusted brand with extensive track record.
• Strong support for online and offline payments.
• Excellent fraud detection tools.

Cons:

• Monthly gateway fees and setup charges.
• Outdated UI compared to modern platforms.

Final Thoughts: Which Stripe Alternative Is Right for You?

The best Stripe alternative ultimately depends on your specific needs, whether it’s global payouts, in-person sales, recurring billing, or high-risk industry support. Here’s a quick comparison to help you decide:

Choosing the right payment processor is more than just comparing fees, it’s about finding a solution that aligns with your business model, geographic footprint, and long-term goals.

Need Help Picking the Right Payment Gateway?

At Bizstartz, we assist entrepreneurs from all over the world establish US companies, open bank accounts, set up Stripe accounts, and even PayPal, Adyen, and more. If you’re lost choosing the right platform, our experts can guide you step by step through the process.

👉 Reach out to us today and take your payment processing to the next level in 2025 and the years to come!