Online payment solution: Stripe vs Braintree

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Choosing a payment processor and gateway is an important business decision. It is essential to choose a reliable solution in order to avoid any future problems. Two of the most popular digital payment platforms are Stripe and Braintree!

With transparent fees, impressive anti-fraud technology, and global coverage, these are two of the best options for startups and established businesses alike.

But when it comes to the showdown between Stripe and Braintree, which of the two wins?

This is what you will find out in this article.

Are you impatient? Let’s dive in!

 

What are Stripe and Braintree doing?

Stripe and Braintree both offer online tools to help businesses receive and manage payments.

Both companies are comprehensive payment platforms that offer everything from payment processing and payment gateways to merchant accounts.

With either of these options, you can easily create a checkout process for the products listed online. They automate billing confirmations and have advanced fraud prevention tools.

In other words, they provide everything a business needs to receive money online.

 

Is Braintree a payment processor?

Like Stripe, which you probably already know, Braintree helps businesses accept payments online. A payment processor is the third party that helps facilitate a money transaction from one bank account to another.

And that’s just a tiny fraction of the services Braintree offers.

Braintree manages the full cycle of online / eCommerce payments:

It securely collects and stores customer credit card information through a payment gateway.
The gateway analyzes the data to detect potential fraud.
Finally, it processes the information and initiates a transfer from the relevant bank account / card to your merchant account.
You can then transfer the merchant account balance on the platform to a separate bank account.

Braintree is a complete solution for processing and accepting payments online.

 

What is the difference between PayPal and Braintree?

Braintree is a subsidiary of Paypal that focuses entirely on payment gateways, payment processing and merchant accounts for businesses. It is not as focused on peer-to-peer fund transfers or on individuals in general.

Braintree helps businesses receive payments directly through Apple Pay, Venmo, bank cards, and more.

You do not need to redirect users to the Paypal site to complete their payment. Like Stripe, you can install its payment gateway directly on your website.

 

Stripe vs Braintree: Market share

One of the most significant differences between the two payment solutions is market share. According to SimilarTech, a website that tracks web technologies used on popular sites, the numbers are very different.

Braintree is used by approximately 25,000 of the world’s largest eCommerce websites and stores. Stripe, meanwhile, is used by more than 660,000 sites around the world.

There is also a difference in the way their popularity is oriented. Stripe has a large marketing budget and is focused on expanding. Their trend is on the rise and they are continually adding new users.

Braintree is less focused on expansion and its popularity has slowly waned.

But let’s not forget that Braintree’s parent company, Paypal, has an even bigger market share than Stripe and is valued at nearly twice Stripe’s theoretical market value.

So it’s not as if there is a risk of Braintree’s disappearance in the near future.

 

Pricing, transaction costs and fees

When it comes to fees, Braintree and Stripe are virtually identical. Most major credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets charge 2.9% plus a flat fee of $ 0.30 per transaction.

Neither Braintree nor Stripe offer specific pricing for micro-payments, unlike Paypal, Braintree’s parent company.

But let’s go further.

Do either of these companies have any hidden fees or transaction costs that tip the scales?

 

Braintree

Braintree offers detailed information on its pricing and charge policy on its website. If you use their merchant account, there are no recurring or one-time fees to create an account.

As you can see, the standard fees cover most transactions – from Venmo and other digital wallets to most major bank cards.

Credit cards and international currencies are added to the fees at 1% each. The total charge for international payments in another currency is therefore 4.9% + $ 0.30 per transaction.

Overhead: 2.9% + $ 0.30 for all credit cards and payment methods.

+1% for non-US currencies, +1% for credit cards from outside the US.
0.75% for ACH payments capped at $ 5.

 

Stripe

Stripe also shares detailed information about payment processing fees on its site. There are no setup fees or recurring monthly fees to use Stripe to manage your payments.

Again, the standard fees apply to most major bank cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets.

Much like Braintree, Stripe applies additional fees for international transfers. International cards and currencies are added to the fee at a rate of 1% each. Again, the total cost of international payments in another currency is 4.9% + $ 0.30 per transaction.

Overhead: 2.9% + $ 0.30 for all credit cards and payment methods.

+1% for non-US currencies, +1% for credit cards from outside the US.
0.80% for ACH payments capped at $ 5.

Winner: Neither

Braintree technically has a lower fee with a difference of 0.05% for ACH Direct Bank Transfers, but this amount is negligible for most eCommerce stores and online businesses.

Even if you have a local business and prefer ACH payments for your bills, the $ 5 cap basically means you’ll pay the same fees for larger bills anyway.

 

Reimbursement costs

Another reality of running a business is that sometimes you have to repay payments. Your products may not be in stock or you may not be able to ship the product to the customer.

Fortunately, there is no charge for refunding payments with Stripe or Braintree. The bad news is that they also don’t reimburse the initial processing fees.

Stripe: Refunds are free, but the initial transaction fees are not refunded.
Braintree: There is no charge for making refunds, but the initial transaction fees are not returned (unless your account is prior to August 2018).
Winner: Neither

Unless you signed up for Braintree over a year ago, there is no clear winner in this category.

 

Supported countries and currencies

Next, let’s see which countries in the world are supported by each provider. Note that these are the countries where a business can open a merchant account, not the countries from which you can accept payments.

Stripe: Available countries

A Stripe merchant account is available in the following countries:
United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil (preview), Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar (by invitation only), Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India ( preview), Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein (by invitation only), Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines (by invitation only), Poland, Portugal, Romania , Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (by invitation only), United Kingdom.

Note that these are the countries where you can open a merchant account. You can still accept payments from anywhere in the world, as long as they use a carrier method and currency.

Stripe is available in most Western European countries, the United States, Canada, Australia, and a few countries in Asia.

 

Braintree: Available countries

You can register and use Braintree for payment processing in the following countries:
United States, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey
Hong Kong SAR, China, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man,Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.

Note that these are the countries where you can open a merchant account. You can still accept payments from anywhere in the world, as long as they use a carrier method and currency.

Winner: Neither

Braintree has better coverage for Europe, and Stripe is expanding into South America and Central Asia.

Remember that the supported country lists refer to merchant accounts. Stripe and Braintree are both available in the United States, Canada, and most European countries.

As long as they use a supported payment method and currency, merchants can accept payments from any country in the world.

So unless your business is located in a small European country (Braintree only) or Brazil (Stripe only), there is no clear winner.

 

Supported currencies

Stripe and Braintree support the majority of stable currencies in the world. From AED to ZWD, the two companies list more than 135 supported currencies on their websites.

Whether or not you want to accept Zimbabwean dollar payments, you probably won’t have any issues with international customers.

Winner: Neither

Stripe and Braintree both support a wide range of currencies. 99% of online businesses will have no problem with either of these options.

 

Comparison of payment methods

Now is the time to confront payment methods. Which service can accept the most credit cards, digital wallets and other payment solutions?

Stripe

First, let’s take a closer look at the payment methods supported by Stripe. It accepts all major bank cards and a selection of digital wallets.

Bank cards supported by Stripe:
American Express, Bank Cards, China UnionPay (CUP), Discover & Diners, Interac, Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), Mastercard , Visa.

Digital wallets supported by Stripe:
Alipay, Apple Pay, Click to Pay, Google Pay, GrabPay, Microsoft Pay, Stripe also supports ACH transfers and other options.

 

Braintree

Now, let’s dive into the payment methods supported by Braintree. Braintree accepts all major bank cards, Venmo, Paypal and a selection of digital wallets.

Bank cards supported by Braintree:
American Express, China UnionPay (CUP), Diners, Discover, Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), Maestro, Mastercard, Visa.

Braintree Supported Digital Wallets:
Apple Pay, Click to Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, Samsung Pay, Venmo, Braintree also supports ACH transfers and other options.

Both options cover all major US bank card providers.

As you can see, both providers cover all major US bank cards namely Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. They support more bank cards than there are US citizens.

They also support JCB, the main Japanese bank card, and UnionPay, a large Chinese card.

Winner: Braintree

Stripe and Braintree support the same digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, and Venmo. With Alipay, Stripe is better suited to businesses with large numbers of Chinese customers, while Braintree can attract customers with a pre-dominant mobile user base through Samsung Pay.

Stripe supports more bank cards for US merchants, while Braintree has better coverage in Europe, notably Maestro. Note that Braintree may require an additional process to accept American Express for international transactions.

 

Stripe or Braintree: Which is better?

In this head-to-head, in each section, there were a lot of draws. The fees and pricing structures are virtually identical, and both payment experiences are good.

But with slightly better customer service, fraud protection, and integrations, Stripe barely crosses the finish line before Braintree.

Do you run a US-based eCommerce store where most transactions are done by credit card? Stripe is the obvious choice.

Do you run a business in a European country where many transactions are done through Paypal or other digital wallets? Braintree would be a better option.