Stripe vs Paypal: Which is the best payment gateway?
When it comes to creating an online store, you have to take into account several factors, as building a website is not the only factor to consider for your customers to buy products or services.
There are many other options that you have to consider, for example, a payment gateway.
Payment gateways are an excellent solution if you are an independent business or entrepreneur, as they allow you to collect your sales directly from their system without the need to use cards. However, when it comes to the ideal payment processor, how do you know which one is the best?
Currently, there are many payment processor options available, however, Stripe and PayPal are two of the most famous and considered the easiest to use.
What Stripe and Paypal do?
Both platforms are payment gateways, which means they can be used as intermediaries between your company and a banking entity.
Stripe was founded in 2011 with the aim of offering an easy and fast solution for collecting online payments. Paypal is a much larger company, founded in 1998, with over 193 million users and has become the most common way to pay online.
Both Paypal and Stripe allow small and large businesses to accept payments. Both are easy to set up and neither company requires a contract, you can cancel them at any time.
Whether you choose Stripe or Paypal, you must have a clear understanding of all the features and benefits that each platform offers in order to compare them and choose the one that best suits your business.
The main differences between Stripe and Paypal lie in the following characteristics:
Independent company vs incorporated company
Stripe is ideal for entrepreneurs and businesses without much structure, as it has a cheaper fee when processing payments. In addition, it does not charge any fees for fund deposits or maintenance costs.
Paypal is better for large companies and incorporated businesses, as it has a greater global coverage and allows payments to be made in several languages. It also offers the possibility of making payments through a dual channel, meaning the payment is made through a PSP and this PSP sends the customer information to Paypal to be processed.
Payment methods
Stripe only offers options to receive payments through credit or debit cards.
Paypal has more options for you to collect payments, for example, payment by bank transfer and also allows you to create payment accounts and virtual cards for payments.
Prices
Stripe charges a fee of 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction.
Paypal charges 3.4% + 30 cents per transaction.
Security
Stripe has a very comprehensive security system, you can be sure that your data is encrypted. Only Stripe employees who have access to this information can perform queries and verifications.
Paypal's system is similar, the account number and password are the only data the customer provides when making a payment. In addition, the payment process is secure thanks to the use of SSL certificates.
Customer service
Stripe offers good customer service, but it is not available in Spanish. The only language available is English.
Paypal offers much broader customer service, you can contact them by phone or email in several countries. It also offers a live chat and a series of explanatory videos.
Availability to receive payments
Stripe is available for anyone with a card number; the problem is that it does not accept multiple currencies, which makes the purchasing process difficult in several countries.
Paypal is available for anyone with a bank account and can receive payments in different currencies.
Processing time for payment
Stripe processes your customer's payment in a few seconds.
Paypal may take 3 to 15 days to process your customer's payments, depending on their country of residence.
Customization
Stripe is better designed to build a configurable payment experience. This means that you can easily customize your shopping cart to match your company's style. However, to modify these features, you or someone on your team needs to have developer experience.
Paypal does not offer the same customization options, but it is easy to set up.
Stripe or Paypal: which one is better?
Stripe and Paypal are two of the most popular payment platforms in the market. Both offer pros and cons that are important to consider when deciding which one to use.
Stripe is undoubtedly the ideal processor for small businesses as its fees are much lower compared to Paypal. However, Stripe has some disadvantages that are important to know before deciding on this processor, such as the fact that it is not available in all countries of the world or for foreign companies.
In addition, Paypal has the advantage of being a larger processor and available worldwide, which can be a good solution for international companies. However, Paypal's fees are quite high, and many small businesses have been affected when choosing this PSP, as the processor charges a higher fee when payments are made in emerging countries.
In summary, Stripe and Paypal are two excellent platforms for processing payments, but depending on the size and nature of your business, you can define which one is more suitable for you.
Both are two of the most popular payment processors in the market. So, before making a decision, it is very important to analyze the characteristics and benefits that each platform offers.
