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Stripe vs. Braintree

Compare pros, cons and overall reputation to make the right choice for your business.

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Amy Stoltenberg
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Trying to decide between these two payment processors? Stripe is best for companies that need a quick sign-up process and strong customer service, while Braintree — owned by PayPal — has fewer extra fees.

How do Stripe and Braintree compare?

Stripe and Braintree both offer a fee of 2.90 + $0.30 for debit and credit cards processed online, so your cost per transaction for digital sales will be the same. Both are also good choices for global sales, as they each support currency payments in more than 130 currencies.

Otherwise, here’s how they stack up:

Which should I choose?

Choose Stripe if you’re a small business that needs to sign up and start accepting payments ASAP.

Choose Braintree if you’re a developer looking for straightforward pricing and a no-frills approach to payment processing.

Overview

A good option for companies that don’t mind using Stripe’s third party payment aggregator, rather than their own merchant account.

You can choose between using a prebuilt solution or Stripe’s customizable API. But it doesn’t accept PayPal.

Braintree is meant for experienced coders who need a payment gateway and individual merchant account to facilitate payments made on an app or online storefront.

It’s not meant for business owners with a physical storefront, though it can be used with PayPal’s hardware for in-person payments.

Products

  • Payment processing
  • POS software
  • POS hardware
  • Payment processing

Price starts at

2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge

2.9% + $0.30 per transaction

Contract required?

No

No

Processing time

2 business days

2-3 business days

High-risk merchants accepted?

No

No

Pros

  • Sign up without an application
  • 24/7 customer service
  • Prebuilt storefront or customizable API
  • Transparent pricing
  • Includes your own merchant account
  • Recurring billing without extra fees

Cons

  • Doesn’t support PayPal
  • Uses a third-party payment aggregator
  • Extra fees for recurrent billing, checks and ACH direct debit
  • Slow sign-up process
  • Poor customer reviews
  • Limited customer support

Tools

  • Elements. Prebuilt UI components to streamline development.
  • Stripe Radar. Dynamic algorithms protect against fraud.
  • Sigma. Build custom templates for reporting and analytics.
  • Sandbox. Test out the API before signing up.
  • 3D Secure 2. Protect against fraudulent transactions.
  • Braintree Extend. Securely share your data with third-party partners to boost reporting and analytics capabilities

BBB letter rating

A+

B-

Trustpilot rating

★★★★★

3.4/5

★★★★★

1.5/5

Reputation and customer reviews

Stripe has mixed reviews on Trustpilot and the BBB. Customers note:

  • Strong customer support team
  • Smooth onboarding process
  • Processing delays and transaction holds
  • Chargebacks

Braintree generally has poor reviews on Trustpilot and the BBB, with customers complaining about:

  • Rejected applications to use the software
  • Accounts frozen for up to 180 days
  • Fraudulent charges going through

That said, Braintree has a more positive reputation in business chat forums like Capterra and Reddit.

Support

  • Phone. Stripe doesn’t offer call-in customer service. From Stripe’s contact page, you can request a call 24 hours a day from the customer support team. A Stripe team member should be in touch within three to five minutes.
  • Email. General inquiries can be forwarded to info@stripe.com for a response within one business day.
  • Live chat. Stripe’s live chat is available 24/7.
  • Email. 5 a.m. to 12 a.m. CT Monday through Thursday, and 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays.
  • Phone. 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT on Fridays.

Email and phone number aren’t publicly available, though you can access this information through the help portal after signing up.

Bottom line

Stripe and Braintree are both comprehensive online payment processing solutions. The choice may ultimately come down to whether you want your own merchant account or are OK with Stripe’s third-party aggregated account — though be sure to read the full reviews for each before signing up.

If neither provider is quite right for your biz, compare other payment processors to find a better match.

Frequently asked questions

Which has lower fees for international payments?

Stripe and Braintree charge the same fees for international payments — 1% fee for accepting international credit cards and 1% fee for currency conversion.

Which accepts AliPay?

Stripe accepts AliPay — Braintree does not.

Which has a cheaper chargeback fee?

They have the same chargeback fee, at $15.

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