Stripe VS Authorize.Net: Comparison

eCommerce merchants searching for a payment gateway inevitably come across these two names: Stripe and Authorize.Net. Although there are dozens of payment gateways available on the market, these two firms are among the most popular with both domestic and international merchants.

Below, we’ll compare Stripe VS Authorize.Net head-to-head, point out where they both excel, and come up short.

Stripe VS Authorize.Net: At A Glance

Stripe and Authorize.Net aren’t exactly the same type of company.

When it comes to payment gateway functions, Stripe and Authorize.Net cover very similar ground.

The most important difference is their use cases: Stripe is a self-contained payment processing ecosystem, while Authorize.Net is a standalone gateway that can be paired with various merchant account providers to create similar functionality. With that in mind, this post will mostly compare Stripe’s gateway features against Authorize.Net.

Both companies offer a powerful suite of payment services along with robust support for developers who want to integrate their services into their websites. They also provide excellent support for foreign eCommerce transactions.

Where Stripe Wins

• All-in-one payment processing platform
• Predictable, integrated pricing
• Extensive international payment method and multicurrency support

One big advantage Stripe has over Authorize.Net is that it’s a complete package. It’s both a payment processor and a payment gateway, so you won’t have to worry about two separate services and how well they get along. You’ll be dealing with Stripe for everything and can easily anticipate costs thanks to Stripe’s trademark transparency.

Stripe also has an advantage when it comes to the sheer number of payment methods, markets, and currencies it can support. Authorize.Net can get you around the Anglosphere and Europe. Stripe can take you around the world.

Where Stripe Falls Short

• Account stability issues
• Not suitable for high-risk businesses
• Some scaling issues

Stripe is a third-party processor, which means it stands in as the merchant during transaction settlements rather than providing you with your own merchant account. This makes signup quick and easy. You can begin processing payments almost immediately. However, this convenience comes with more frequent and harder-to-resolve account holds and freezes. Stripe, to maintain its reputation with its backend processors, maintains a substantial restricted industries list.

And finally, Stripe’s flat-rate pricing model is convenient for small businesses, but it can quickly get expensive when businesses add advanced features or process higher volumes of transactions.

Where Authorize.Net Wins

• Flexible payment gateway
• Pairs with many merchant services
• Can support many high-risk industries

Where Stripe offers convenience, Authorize.Net offers versatility. Unlike Stripe, Authorize.Net is a payment gateway, not an online payment processor. That means you’ll need a merchant account in addition to Authorize.Net if you want to process credit cards. For businesses that are happy with their merchant account, there’s a pretty good chance Authorize.Net will be compatible with it. It also means Authorize.Net can follow you if you switch merchant account providers.

Authorize.Net also has far fewer industry restrictions than Stripe. In fact, many high-risk payment processors offer Authorize.Net as a payment gateway option.

Where Authorize.Net Falls Short

• Inconsistent pricing
• Default bundle is expensive
• Limited international reach

One of the harder things to talk about when it comes to Authorize.Net is how much it will cost. That’s because the payment gateway’s pricing can vary considerably depending on how you go about getting it. Your payment processor may, for example, offer Authorize.Net as part of a bundle. That bundle may or may not carry monthly fees. It may or may not noticeably add costs to your transactions. We can say more confidently that you do not want to get Authorize.Net directly through Authorize.Net’s website, as these options are not the most competitive way to access it.

Additionally, while Authorize.Net’s international reach and currency support are respectable, they fall far short of Stripe’s.

Stripe VS Authorize.Net Pricing Comparison: Processing & Software

The pricing schemes of Stripe and Authorize.Net both require some elaboration.

Stripe’s pricing model tends to be additive, that is to say, advanced features add additional costs to the 2.9% + $0.30 base fee. That said, there’s a lot that’s included in the base fee, so choose your features carefully. Read our Stripe pricing guide for a full breakdown of how these costs work.

Authorize.Net offers an All-In-One package that pairs the service with one of its payment processing partners. While convenient, we don’t generally recommend this option. It’s often cheaper to get Authorize.Net in a bundle through a payment processor than vice versa or even as a standalone option. If you’re using Authorize.Net as a standalone gateway, each transaction will add $0.10 to your transaction costs, an additional $0.10 per day for a batch fee.

Which Is Cheaper, Stripe Or Authorize.Net?

Since Authorize.Net comes in a variety of bundles with very different pricing, this question doesn’t have a definitive answer. However, Stripe’s standard pricing will generally be cheaper than Authorize.Net’s All-in-One pricing.

Stripe VS Authorize.Net: Features Comparison

Stripe and Authorize.Net cover a lot of the same ground but do so in slightly different ways. Let’s take a closer look.

Stripe is designed to be a one-stop shop for your payment processing needs. Authorize.Net focuses on a much smaller part of the payment processing environment. If it offered everything that Stripe does, it wouldn’t be Authorize.Net anymore. In fact, Stripe can be overkill for a lot of businesses. If all you’re looking for is a payment gateway, it just doesn’t make sense to choose Stripe over Authorize.Net.

Authorize.Net has some niches where it excels, particularly where security is concerned, but let’s give credit where credit is due: Stripe can just plain do a lot more than Authorize.Net. From its more comprehensive support for global eCommerce to its more flexible development environment and its plethora of add-on features, it lives up to its “full-stack” claims.

Let’s take a closer look at how their features compare:

Which Is Best For My Business?

Stripe and Authorize.net are built for different use cases, so as you might expect, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all winner between these two services.

Choose Stripe Payments If…

Choose Authorize.Net If…

If you got this far into our Stripe VS Authorize.Net and aren’t convinced that either service is right for your business, you may very well be correct!

You may want to consider alternatives. For a more complete look at your options, also check out our complete list of the best payment gateways. Or, if you’re looking for full payment processing services, check out our list of best credit card processing companies.