Best Payment Gateways
The best payment gateways for online stores and apps, ranked on fees, developer experience, and global reach.
We ranked 5 picks for Payment Gateways. Stripe takes the #1 spot at 4.6/5. 1 offers a free tier. 5 have a public API.
Our picks at a glance
Square
Genuine free tier — test it before committing budget.
Stripe
4.6/5 across 14,800 reviews.
The full ranking
| # | Tool | Starts at | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stripe Developer-first payments infrastructure | Custom | 4.6/5 | Developers, SaaS & online stores |
| 2 | Square Unified online + in-person payments | Free | 4.5/5 | Retail, food & omnichannel SMBs |
| 3 | PayPal The most recognized checkout button | Custom | 4.3/5 | Stores wanting buyer trust |
| 4 | Braintree PayPal-owned gateway for growing platforms | Custom | 4.3/5 | Growing platforms & marketplaces |
| 5 | Adyen Enterprise global payments platform | Custom | 4.5/5 | Enterprise & large platforms |
Side-by-side comparison
| Comparison | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Starting price | Custom | Free | Custom | Custom |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium | Paid | Paid |
| API available | ||||
| Best for | Developers, SaaS & online stores | Retail, food & omnichannel SMBs | Stores wanting buyer trust | Growing platforms & marketplaces |
| Card & wallet payments | ||||
| Subscriptions & billing | ||||
| Global methods | ||||
| Connect (marketplaces) | ||||
| Excellent API & docs | ||||
| In-person & online payments | ||||
| Free POS software | ||||
| Flat-rate fees | ||||
| Invoicing | ||||
| Hardware ecosystem | ||||
| PayPal & Venmo checkout | ||||
| Pay Later (BNPL) | ||||
| Buyer & seller protection | ||||
| Global currencies | ||||
| Cards, PayPal & Venmo | ||||
| Marketplace payouts | ||||
| Drop-in UI | ||||
| Recurring billing | ||||
| Fraud tools | ||||
| Visit | Visit | Visit | Visit |
What to look for in payment gateways
- Check whether pricing is per seat — it multiplies with team size.
- Headline prices usually assume annual billing; monthly costs more.
- Confirm the integrations you already depend on are supported.
- Start on a free tier or trial before committing to a year.
How we rank: we weigh user ratings, feature depth, pricing value, and fit for this specific use case — not rating alone. Rankings are updated as products and prices change, and affiliate relationships never affect the order.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best payment gateways?+
Stripe is our #1 pick, rated 4.6/5. Best-in-class developer experience The full ranked list with pricing and trade-offs is above.
Is there a free payment gateways option?+
Yes — Square offers a free tier, so you can start without paying.
How did you rank these tools?+
Rankings weigh user ratings, feature depth, pricing value, and fit for this specific use case — not rating alone. We update them as products and prices change.