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Best alternatives to Stripe

Discover open-source, free tier, and premium alternatives to Stripe. Compare scores, pros/cons, and deployment paths instantly.

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A

Adyen

Alternative to Stripe

SubscriptionEnterpriseCloud-Native / SaaSProprietaryPublic APIWebhooksPluginsSDK
SalesforceShopifyWordpressStripeGitHubSlack

Best for

Enterprise merchants with global, omnichannel payment needs

Cost

Custom enterprise pricing; typically interchange-plus or negotiated processing fees, with additional costs for advanced risk, reporting, and unified commerce modules.

Summary

Global payments platform for enterprise merchants, offering online, in-store, and unified commerce payment processing with strong fraud tools and broad international acquiring coverage.

Why Switch

Teams switch from Stripe to Adyen when they need stronger global acquiring, unified online and in-store payments, and enterprise-grade fraud and reporting at scale.

SOC2GDPRPCI DSS

Migration Playbook

  1. Export transaction data from Stripe using the Stripe API's 'List Charges' endpoint, retrieving fields such as charge ID, amount, currency, customer details, payment method, and transaction status in JSON format.
  2. Map Stripe's transaction fields to Adyen's payment data model: map 'charge ID' to 'pspReference', 'amount' and 'currency' to Adyen's 'amount' object, 'customer details' to 'shopperReference', and 'payment method' to Adyen's 'paymentMethod' object, ensuring data consistency and formatting according to Adyen's API specifications.
  3. Import the mapped transaction data into Adyen using the Adyen Management API's 'Create Payment' endpoint or batch import tools, verifying successful ingestion and reconciling transaction statuses to ensure all payments are accurately reflected in the Adyen platform.

Pros

  • 🟢Strong global acquiring and local payment method support
  • 🟢Unified online and in-person payments stack
  • 🟢Robust fraud management and enterprise reporting

Cons

  • 🔴Pricing is opaque and usually requires sales engagement
  • 🔴Implementation can be complex for smaller teams
  • 🔴Best fit for larger merchants with meaningful volume

0 builders switched

Go to Adyen
S

Square

Alternative to Stripe

Free TierProfessionalCloud-Native / SaaSProprietaryPublic APIWebhooksPluginsSDK
ShopifyWordpressSalesforceStripeGitHub

Best for

Small businesses and retail teams needing simple POS plus payments

Cost

Pay-as-you-go processing with published card-present and online rates; no mandatory monthly subscription for core payments, though add-ons may cost extra.

Summary

All-in-one payments and business platform focused on SMBs, combining card processing, POS, invoicing, online checkout, and basic commerce tools.

Why Switch

Teams switch from Stripe to Square when they want a simpler all-in-one payments and POS platform with transparent pricing and less implementation overhead.

SOC2GDPRPCI DSS

Migration Playbook

  1. Export transaction data from Stripe using the Stripe API's /v1/charges endpoint, retrieving JSON data including fields such as amount, currency, customer details, payment method, and transaction date. Map Stripe's 'amount' to Square's 'amount_money', 'currency' to 'currency_code', 'customer' to 'customer_id', and 'created' timestamp to 'transaction_date'.
  2. Prepare the exported data by transforming the JSON structure to match Square's expected format for payments. Use Square's Payments API schema, ensuring fields like 'source_id' correspond to payment methods, and include necessary customer and order information. Convert amounts to the smallest currency unit as required by Square.
  3. Import the transformed transaction data into Square via the Payments API's CreatePayment endpoint. Authenticate using Square's OAuth tokens, and batch import transactions ensuring each payment record includes mapped fields such as amount_money, currency_code, customer_id, and transaction_date to maintain data integrity and continuity in Square's platform.

Pros

  • 🟢Simple setup and transparent pricing
  • 🟢Strong point-of-sale and omnichannel tools
  • 🟢Good fit for small businesses and retail

Cons

  • 🔴Less suitable for complex developer-led payment flows
  • 🔴International coverage and enterprise customization are more limited
  • 🔴Advanced platform features are not as deep as Stripe

0 builders switched

Go to Square
P

PayPal Braintree

Alternative to Stripe

Cloud-Native / SaaSProprietaryPublic APIWebhooksPluginsSDK
SalesforceShopifyWordpressStripe

Best for

Online businesses wanting PayPal and Venmo alongside cards

Cost

No monthly fee for standard use; transaction-based pricing varies by region and payment method, with custom rates available for larger merchants.

Summary

Payment gateway and processor for online businesses that want card payments, PayPal, Venmo, and recurring billing in a developer-friendly platform.

Why Switch

Teams switch from Stripe to PayPal Braintree when checkout conversion depends on PayPal or Venmo access and they want a developer-friendly gateway with recurring billing support.

SOC2GDPRPCI DSSISO 27001

Migration Playbook

  1. Export transaction data from Stripe using the Stripe API's 'List Charges' endpoint, retrieving fields such as charge ID, amount, currency, customer ID, payment method, and status in JSON format.
  2. Map Stripe fields to Braintree equivalents: charge ID to transaction ID, amount and currency remain the same, customer ID to customer ID, payment method details to Braintree payment method nonce or token, and status to transaction status codes supported by Braintree.
  3. Import the mapped transaction data into PayPal Braintree using the Braintree API's 'Transaction Sale' endpoint for each transaction, ensuring to create or link customers via the 'Customer Create' API if necessary, and validate successful transaction creation in the Braintree control panel.

Pros

  • 🟢Easy access to PayPal and Venmo ecosystems
  • 🟢Developer-friendly APIs and recurring billing support
  • 🟢Well-known brand that can improve checkout trust

Cons

  • 🔴Less flexible than Stripe for some advanced platform use cases
  • 🔴Disputes and account reviews can be disruptive
  • 🔴Reporting and tooling are not as modern as some competitors

0 builders switched

Go to PayPal Braintree
M

Mollie

Alternative to Stripe

Cloud-Native / SaaSProprietaryPublic APIWebhooksPluginsSDK
ShopifyWordpressStripeGitHub

Best for

European businesses needing local payment methods and subscriptions

Cost

Transaction-based pricing with no long-term contract; fees vary by payment method and country, with custom pricing for larger volumes.

Summary

European payment service provider offering online payments, subscriptions, and local payment methods with a straightforward API and strong regional coverage.

Why Switch

Teams switch from Stripe to Mollie when their priority is strong European payment method coverage, quick onboarding, and a straightforward API for EU-focused sales.

SOC2GDPRPCI DSS

Migration Playbook

  1. Export transaction data from Stripe using the Stripe Dashboard or Stripe API in CSV or JSON format, ensuring to include fields such as transaction ID, amount, currency, customer details, payment status, and timestamps.
  2. Map Stripe fields to Mollie equivalents: transaction ID to payment ID, amount and currency remain the same, customer details to Mollie customer object, payment status to Mollie payment status codes, and timestamps to Mollie payment creation and update times.
  3. Import the mapped data into Mollie using the Mollie API's Payments endpoint for transactions and Customers endpoint for customer data, ensuring to authenticate via API keys and validate successful import by checking Mollie's payment and customer records.

Pros

  • 🟢Excellent support for European payment methods
  • 🟢Clean API and quick onboarding
  • 🟢Good option for SaaS subscriptions and cross-border EU sales

Cons

  • 🔴Primarily focused on Europe
  • 🔴Fewer advanced platform and marketplace capabilities than Stripe
  • 🔴Not ideal for very large global enterprise deployments

0 builders switched

Go to Mollie
K

Kill Bill

Alternative to Stripe

Open SourceSelf-Hosted / On-PremisesPublic APIWebhooksPluginsSDK
GitHubGitLabSlack

Best for

Engineering-led teams that want full control over billing logic

Cost

Open source software with no license fee; self-hosting, integration, and operational costs apply, and commercial support is available from vendors and partners.

Summary

Open-source billing and payments platform for subscription management, invoicing, and payment orchestration, often used by teams that need full control over billing logic.

Why Switch

Teams switch from Stripe to Kill Bill when they need to own billing infrastructure and customize subscription logic deeply rather than rely on Stripe's managed platform.

SOC2GDPRPCI DSS

Migration Playbook

  1. Export payment and customer data from Stripe using Stripe's API to retrieve JSON data for customers, payment methods, subscriptions, and invoices. Map Stripe's customer fields (e.g., customer ID, email, payment method) to Kill Bill's account and payment method entities, ensuring subscription details align with Kill Bill's subscription model.
  2. Transform the exported Stripe data into Kill Bill's import format, typically JSON or CSV, matching Kill Bill's API schema for accounts, subscriptions, invoices, and payments. Use field mapping to convert Stripe's subscription plans and pricing to Kill Bill's catalog format, adjusting for any differences in billing cycles or product definitions.
  3. Import the transformed data into Kill Bill using Kill Bill's REST API endpoints for accounts, subscriptions, invoices, and payments. Validate the imported data within Kill Bill's self-hosted environment, ensuring all subscriptions and payment histories are accurately reflected and perform test transactions to confirm billing logic is correctly implemented.

Pros

  • 🟢Highly customizable billing and subscription engine
  • 🟢No software license cost
  • 🟢Suitable for teams that want to own infrastructure and logic

Cons

  • 🔴Requires significant engineering and DevOps effort
  • 🔴Not a turnkey payments processor; needs gateway integrations
  • 🔴Smaller ecosystem and less polished UX than Stripe

0 builders switched

Go to Kill Bill

Community FAQ

Questions by product

Stripe FAQ

Can I self-host Stripe to have full control over payment processing?

No, Stripe is a fully managed payment processing service and does not offer a self-hosted version. All payment processing occurs through Stripe's cloud infrastructure, so you rely on their servers and compliance measures.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Does Stripe support offline payment processing or transactions without internet connectivity?

Stripe does not support offline payment processing natively. All transactions require real-time communication with Stripe's servers to authorize and capture payments. For in-person payments, Stripe Terminal offers hardware solutions but still requires connectivity.

Community insight informed by Hacker News discussions

Who owns the payment data processed through Stripe and how can I export it?

While you retain ownership of your customer and transaction data, Stripe stores and processes it on their platform. You can export your data via the Stripe Dashboard or API in formats like CSV or JSON for accounting or migration purposes.

Community insight informed by StackOverflow discussions

Are there any limitations or rate limits on Stripe's API that I should be aware of?

Yes, Stripe enforces API rate limits to ensure platform stability. The default limit is 100 requests per second per account, but this can vary. Exceeding limits results in 429 errors, so implementing exponential backoff and request throttling is recommended.

Community insight informed by Forums discussions

What are the recommended migration paths if I want to switch from Stripe to another payment processor?

Stripe does not provide direct migration tools. You will need to export your customer and transaction data via their API or dashboard and then import it into the new processor if supported. Payment methods like saved cards typically cannot be migrated due to PCI compliance.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Adyen FAQ

Can Adyen be self-hosted or is it fully cloud-based only?

Adyen is a fully managed cloud-based payments platform and does not offer a self-hosted deployment option. All payment processing and fraud management services run on Adyen's infrastructure, so merchants integrate via APIs or hosted payment pages without needing to manage backend servers.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Does Adyen support offline payment processing or POS transactions without internet connectivity?

Adyen's POS terminals require internet connectivity to process payments in real-time. While some terminals can cache limited transactions temporarily during brief network outages, full offline payment processing is not supported. Merchants must ensure reliable connectivity for in-store payment acceptance.

Community insight informed by Hacker News discussions

What are the data ownership and storage policies when using Adyen's platform?

Merchants retain ownership of their transaction data, but all payment data is processed and stored on Adyen's PCI DSS-compliant infrastructure. Adyen acts as a data processor under GDPR, and merchants should review the data processing agreements to understand data retention, access, and export capabilities.

Community insight informed by StackOverflow discussions

Are there any notable limitations or rate limits on Adyen's payment APIs for high-volume merchants?

Adyen's APIs are designed to scale for enterprise volumes, but they do implement rate limiting to protect service stability. Exact limits are not publicly documented and typically negotiated during onboarding. Merchants with very high transaction volumes should engage Adyen's support to ensure API capacity meets their needs.

Community insight informed by Forums discussions

What options exist for exporting transaction data or migrating away from Adyen?

Adyen provides reporting APIs and data export tools to extract transaction and settlement data in standard formats (CSV, JSON). However, there is no turnkey migration tool; merchants must build custom processes to migrate payment history and reconcile data when switching providers.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Square FAQ

Can I self-host Square's POS or payment processing components to keep full control over my data?

No, Square is a fully managed SaaS platform and does not offer self-hosting options for its POS or payment processing services. All transaction data and business information are processed and stored on Square's cloud infrastructure, so you must rely on their security and data policies.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Does Square POS support offline mode for payment processing when internet connectivity is lost?

Square POS supports limited offline functionality where card payments can be accepted without an internet connection; however, transactions are queued and only fully processed once connectivity is restored. Offline mode is designed primarily for short-term outages and is not suitable for extended offline use.

Community insight informed by Hacker News discussions

What are the main limitations of Square's API for developers building custom payment flows?

Square's API is optimized for straightforward payment and POS integrations but lacks advanced features such as complex multi-party payments, custom escrow flows, or deep enterprise-level customization. Developers requiring highly tailored payment logic or international payment methods may find Square's API restrictive compared to platforms like Stripe.

Community insight informed by StackOverflow discussions

How can I export or migrate my transaction and customer data out of Square if I want to switch platforms?

Square allows exporting transaction history, customer lists, and other business data via its dashboard in CSV format. However, there is no automated migration tool, so moving to another platform requires manual data import and reconfiguration of payment setups on the new system.

Community insight informed by Forums discussions

PayPal Braintree FAQ

Can I self-host PayPal Braintree's payment gateway or is it fully cloud-based?

PayPal Braintree is a fully managed, cloud-based payment gateway and does not offer a self-hosted version. All transaction processing and sensitive data handling occur on Braintree's servers to maintain PCI compliance and security standards.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Does Braintree support offline payment processing or queuing transactions when offline?

Braintree does not support offline payment processing or local queuing of transactions. All payment authorizations require real-time communication with Braintree's servers to validate and process payments securely.

Community insight informed by Hacker News discussions

Who owns the payment data when using Braintree, and can I export transaction data easily?

While you retain ownership of your business and customer data, Braintree stores and processes payment information on their servers. You can export transaction data via their Control Panel or API in CSV or JSON formats for reconciliation and migration purposes.

Community insight informed by StackOverflow discussions

Are there any significant API limitations with Braintree compared to Stripe for platform or marketplace use cases?

Braintree's API is developer-friendly but less flexible than Stripe's for complex platform or marketplace models. For example, Braintree has more limited support for multi-party payments and custom split settlements, which may require additional workarounds.

Community insight informed by Forums discussions

What are the recommended migration paths if I want to move from Braintree to another payment gateway?

Braintree provides export tools for transaction history and customer vault data, but there is no automated migration tool. You will need to export data via API or Control Panel and then import it into the new gateway manually, ensuring PCI compliance during the process.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Mollie FAQ

Can Mollie be self-hosted or do I have to rely entirely on their cloud infrastructure?

Mollie is a fully managed payment service provider and does not offer a self-hosted version. All payment processing and API endpoints are hosted on Mollie's cloud infrastructure, so you must rely on their service for transaction handling and compliance.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Does Mollie support offline payment processing or queued transactions when the network is unavailable?

No, Mollie's API requires an active internet connection to process payments in real-time. There is no built-in offline mode or local queuing of transactions; your application must be online to communicate with Mollie's servers for payment authorization and capture.

Community insight informed by Hacker News discussions

What are the data ownership and storage policies for payment data processed through Mollie?

Payment data processed via Mollie is stored on their European servers in compliance with GDPR. While you retain ownership of your customer data, Mollie acts as a data processor and handles sensitive payment information securely. You should review their data processing agreement for specifics on data retention and export.

Community insight informed by StackOverflow discussions

Are there any significant API limitations or rate limits that affect high-volume European SaaS businesses using Mollie?

Mollie enforces API rate limits to ensure service stability, typically allowing several hundred requests per minute per account. For most European SaaS businesses, this is sufficient, but extremely high-volume platforms might need to contact Mollie support for tailored rate limit increases or consider alternative solutions.

Community insight informed by Forums discussions

How easy is it to export transaction and subscription data from Mollie for migration to another payment provider?

Mollie provides comprehensive APIs and dashboard export options to retrieve transaction history, subscription details, and customer information in standard formats like CSV and JSON. This facilitates migration, but you will need to handle data transformation and reconciliation on your end, as there is no automated migration tool.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Kill Bill FAQ

How complex is it to self-host Kill Bill and what infrastructure components are required?

Self-hosting Kill Bill requires a solid DevOps setup including a relational database (PostgreSQL or MySQL), a caching layer (Redis), and a JVM runtime environment. You also need to manage the Kill Bill server, plugins for payment gateways, and optionally the admin UI. The platform is modular but demands significant engineering effort to deploy, configure, and maintain, especially for scaling and high availability.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

Does Kill Bill support offline or batch processing for payment retries and invoice generation?

Kill Bill supports asynchronous and batch processing for operations like payment retries, invoice generation, and subscription lifecycle events through its internal queue system. However, it requires the server to be online to process these queues; there is no fully offline mode. You can configure retry logic and scheduling, but the system depends on continuous server availability.

Community insight informed by Hacker News discussions

Who owns the billing data when using Kill Bill, and how is data privacy handled?

Since Kill Bill is self-hosted, you retain full ownership and control of all billing and subscription data. No data is sent to third parties by default. This makes it suitable for privacy-conscious teams wanting to keep sensitive financial data in-house. Data privacy and compliance depend on how you secure your infrastructure and database.

Community insight informed by Reddit discussions

What are the API limitations of Kill Bill when integrating with external payment gateways?

Kill Bill provides a comprehensive REST API for billing and subscription management but does not natively process payments. You must integrate it with external payment gateways via plugins or custom connectors. The API supports extensibility but requires engineering effort to handle gateway-specific features, webhooks, and error handling. Some advanced gateway features may need custom development.

Community insight informed by StackOverflow discussions

What options exist for migrating billing data in or out of Kill Bill?

Kill Bill supports data import and export primarily via its REST API and database dumps. For migration, you can export invoices, subscriptions, and customer data in JSON format using the API. However, there is no official turnkey migration tool, so custom scripts or ETL processes are typically needed to move data to or from other billing systems like Stripe. Careful mapping of data models is required.

Community insight informed by Forums discussions

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