BraintreevsStripe

Saas

Score Comparison

Overall

Pricing

Usability

Performance

Support

Reliability

Onboarding

Mobile

Security

Integrations

BraintreeStripe

Signals Comparison

Support

Braintree

Customer support is nearly non-existent(10/10)
Documentation is outdated and unhelpful(8/10)
Support emails go unanswered(9/10)

Stripe

Customer support is slow and unhelpful(9/10)
No phone support for standard accounts(5/10)

Onboarding

Braintree

Getting out of sandbox mode is a nightmare(9/10)

Stripe

No signals

Reliability

Braintree

Sudden account closures with funds held(10/10)
Marketplace service was shut down(8/10)
Gateway API outages impact payments(8/10)

Stripe

Account freezes with funds held for months(10/10)
Dispute rate triggers automatic account flags(9/10)
Account termination with no clear explanation(10/10)

Pricing

Braintree

High fees for foreign transactions(7/10)
Higher base fees than competitors(6/10)
New chargeback policy favors fraud(8/10)

Stripe

$15 chargeback fee regardless of outcome(5/10)
International transactions cost significantly more(7/10)
Settlement takes 7-14 days by default(6/10)
Add-on products increase total cost significantly(6/10)

Integrations

Braintree

Complex setup requires developer expertise(7/10)
SDKs are less developer-friendly than Stripe(7/10)

Stripe

No signals

Security

Braintree

Fraud prevention tools cause payment failures(8/10)

Stripe

No signals

Usability

Braintree

Platform feels abandoned by PayPal(7/10)

Stripe

Complex interface and dashboard(4/10)
No merchant of record - you handle tax compliance(6/10)

Pricing Comparison

Braintree

Standard

Popular

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Limits: No phone support, Email support only, No dedicated account manager, Standard fraud tools only

2.59% + $0.49 per transaction, 1% currency conversion fee, $15 chargeback fee, Higher rates than Stripe for most transactions

Custom/Enterprise

Free

Users: Unlimited

Limits: Must negotiate terms, Long sales process, Not available for all business types

Requires $80K+/month volume to qualify, Custom pricing varies, Implementation fees may apply

Stripe

Standard Payments

Popular

Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, No MoR (you handle taxes), 7-14 day settlement, No phone support

2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge. International cards +1%. Currency conversion +1%. Express payouts extra. Chargeback $15.

Stripe Billing

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Adds 0.7% to base fees, Complexity for simple subscriptions

0.7% of billing volume added to payment processing fees. At scale, this significantly increases costs.

Stripe Tax

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Adds 0.5% to base fees, You remain liable for tax compliance

0.5% per transaction added to fees. Does not make you MoR - you still handle compliance and liability.

Enterprise

Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Only for high-volume merchants, Custom negotiation required

Requires high volume to qualify. Custom contract and pricing negotiation.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Braintree	Stripe
Payments
PayPal integration Best-in-class (owned by PayPal)
Venmo payments Seamless integration
100+ payment methods Cards, wallets, local methods
Credit card processing 2.59% + $0.49 per transaction
Global coverage Available in 40+ countries
Instant settlement 7-14 days standard
Developers
Developer APIs Industry gold standard
Support
Phone support Email only - major weakness
Responsive support Automated responses, slow
Features
Recurring billing Subscription management included
Marketplace payments Shut down December 2023
Billing
Subscription billing Via Stripe Billing (+0.7%)
Platform
Marketplace tools Stripe Connect
International
Multi-currency support 130+ currencies, 1% conversion fee
Integration
Drop-in UI Pre-built payment form
Reliability
High uptime 99.99%+ availability
Account stability Freeze risk, funds held months
Pricing
No monthly fees Pay per transaction only
Custom pricing Requires $80K+/month volume
Low international fees +1-2% for cross-border
Low chargeback fees $15 per dispute
Security
PCI compliance Level 1 PCI DSS
Fraud protection Can be overly aggressive
Compliance
Merchant of record You handle tax compliance
Usability
Simple dashboard Complex, learning curve

Signals Comparison

Support

Braintree

Customer support is nearly non-existent(10/10)
Documentation is outdated and unhelpful(8/10)
Support emails go unanswered(9/10)

Stripe

Customer support is slow and unhelpful(9/10)
No phone support for standard accounts(5/10)

Onboarding

Braintree

Getting out of sandbox mode is a nightmare(9/10)

Stripe

No signals

Reliability

Braintree

Sudden account closures with funds held(10/10)
Marketplace service was shut down(8/10)
Gateway API outages impact payments(8/10)

Stripe

Account freezes with funds held for months(10/10)
Dispute rate triggers automatic account flags(9/10)
Account termination with no clear explanation(10/10)

Pricing

Braintree

High fees for foreign transactions(7/10)
Higher base fees than competitors(6/10)
New chargeback policy favors fraud(8/10)

Stripe

$15 chargeback fee regardless of outcome(5/10)
International transactions cost significantly more(7/10)
Settlement takes 7-14 days by default(6/10)
Add-on products increase total cost significantly(6/10)

Integrations

Braintree

Complex setup requires developer expertise(7/10)
SDKs are less developer-friendly than Stripe(7/10)

Stripe

No signals

Security

Braintree

Fraud prevention tools cause payment failures(8/10)

Stripe

No signals

Usability

Braintree

Platform feels abandoned by PayPal(7/10)

Stripe

Complex interface and dashboard(4/10)
No merchant of record - you handle tax compliance(6/10)

Pricing Comparison

Braintree

Standard

Popular

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Limits: No phone support, Email support only, No dedicated account manager, Standard fraud tools only

2.59% + $0.49 per transaction, 1% currency conversion fee, $15 chargeback fee, Higher rates than Stripe for most transactions

Custom/Enterprise

Free

Users: Unlimited

Limits: Must negotiate terms, Long sales process, Not available for all business types

Requires $80K+/month volume to qualify, Custom pricing varies, Implementation fees may apply

Stripe

Standard Payments

Popular

Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, No MoR (you handle taxes), 7-14 day settlement, No phone support

2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge. International cards +1%. Currency conversion +1%. Express payouts extra. Chargeback $15.

Stripe Billing

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Adds 0.7% to base fees, Complexity for simple subscriptions

0.7% of billing volume added to payment processing fees. At scale, this significantly increases costs.

Stripe Tax

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Adds 0.5% to base fees, You remain liable for tax compliance

0.5% per transaction added to fees. Does not make you MoR - you still handle compliance and liability.

Enterprise

Free

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Unlimited

Limits: Only for high-volume merchants, Custom negotiation required

Requires high volume to qualify. Custom contract and pricing negotiation.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Braintree	Stripe
Payments
PayPal integration Best-in-class (owned by PayPal)
Venmo payments Seamless integration
100+ payment methods Cards, wallets, local methods
Credit card processing 2.59% + $0.49 per transaction
Global coverage Available in 40+ countries
Instant settlement 7-14 days standard
Developers
Developer APIs Industry gold standard
Support
Phone support Email only - major weakness
Responsive support Automated responses, slow
Features
Recurring billing Subscription management included
Marketplace payments Shut down December 2023
Billing
Subscription billing Via Stripe Billing (+0.7%)
Platform
Marketplace tools Stripe Connect
International
Multi-currency support 130+ currencies, 1% conversion fee
Integration
Drop-in UI Pre-built payment form
Reliability
High uptime 99.99%+ availability
Account stability Freeze risk, funds held months
Pricing
No monthly fees Pay per transaction only
Custom pricing Requires $80K+/month volume
Low international fees +1-2% for cross-border
Low chargeback fees $15 per dispute
Security
PCI compliance Level 1 PCI DSS
Fraud protection Can be overly aggressive
Compliance
Merchant of record You handle tax compliance
Usability
Simple dashboard Complex, learning curve