Are you debating whether to use PayPal or Stripe to accept payments or donations on your website?
Your choice of a payment provider for your website probably boils down to Stripe and PayPStripeal because they are the two most widely used online payment options.
In order for you to choose between Stripe vs. PayPal as the best payment provider for your business, this blog will give you the pros and cons of both payment providers.
Comparing PayPal and Stripe Payment Provider
Two of the most well-known methods for accepting payments online are Stripe and PayPal. Your company needs a payment provider in order to take payments from website visitors through your platform. You must consider the benefits and drawbacks of both payment providers if you want to understand how Stripe and PayPal differ from one another.
What Does Stripe Payment Provider Do Exactly?
With its ability to accept and send payments online, Stripe is becoming more and more well-liked in the world of eCommerce. Due to its customized development tools, Stripe is particularly popular with those familiar with code or with teams with in-house programmers. Although it is a popular choice for small enterprises, firms like Pinterest, Lyft, Blue Apron, and TaskRabbit all make use of it.
What Does PayPal Payment Provider Do Exactly?
PayPal is a well-known payment method that enables customers to send and receive money online. Over 267 million user accounts, including over 21 million merchant accounts, are reportedly held by PayPal. Nowadays, almost everyone has a PayPal account, which is undoubtedly one of the most well-known brands in the ecommerce payments sector.
Who Uses PayPal and Stripe?
With WPForms, many different sorts of businesses may easily accept payments on their websites, including:
- Brick-and-mortar stores that want to sell online
- Freelancers
- Donation-collecting nonprofit organizations
- Online retailers
- Agencies
- Web-based markets
- Entrepreneurs
Stripe vs PayPal at a Glance
| Service | Stripe | PayPal Standard |
| Fee per Transaction* | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Nonprofit Discount* | 2.2% + 35¢** | 2.2% + 30¢ |
| Setup Costs or Monthly Fees | No | No |
| Contract Required | No | No |
| Micropayments (<$10) | 5% + 10¢** | 5% + .05¢ |
| Recurring Billing | 0.5%+ | No |
| Chargeback Fee | $15 | $20 |
| Refunds | No Fees Returned | No Fees Returned |
| Customer Service | Email, Help Center, 24/7 Phone & Chat | Email, Help Center, Phone & Chat |
| Usage | Easy | Easy |
| Setup Process | Moderate | Easy |
| PCI Compliance | Yes | Yes |
| Countries Available | 32+ | 200+ |
| Funds Time Access | 2 Days (Average) | Immediate |
| Portability of Data | Yes | No |
| Online Billing | Free for your first $1M in sales | Free |
| In-Person Card Readers | Paid | Free & Paid |
| Payments Handled
100% on Your Site |
Yes | No |
Prerequisites When Choosing Stripe vs. PayPal
- Cost
- Micropayments
- Chargebacks/Refunds
- Customer Service
- Effortless Use
- Simple Setup
- Security
- Availability
- Funds Time Access
- Compatibility
- Portability of Data
- Online Billing
- Card Readers
- What Locations Handle Payments
Cost
One of the reasons Stripe and PayPal are pioneers in the online payments sector is that they are both very open about their fees. The US transaction fees for Stripe and PayPal are 2.9% + 30, and both companies have plans with no startup fees, minimum monthly fees, or obligations.
The bottom line is that if your company reaches a particular level of monthly sales with Stripe or PayPal, your rate will be reduced. PayPal’s fees start to decrease at a significantly lower monthly sales volume of $3,000, whereas Stripe’s fees start to decline at $80,000.
If you are trying to construct nonprofit donation forms for WordPress, these two providers are an excellent option because they both offer nonprofit discounts at 2.2% + 30 for US fees.
Micropayments
You will pay a different rate if the transactions you process total less than $10. The micropayment fees charged by PayPal are 5% plus.05 per transaction. You will have to pay the micropayment charges of 5% +.05 at Stripe, plus an additional .05 RADAR fee for each attempt.
Chargebacks/Refunds
When a person contacts their bank and reports a transaction on their card that they do not agree with or believe to be fraudulent, the charge is reversed. They are there to safeguard cardholders, but occasionally they are overused, which is annoying because your company has to pay a fee for every chargeback that occurs.
PayPal charges a chargeback cost of $20, whereas Stripe charges a fee of $15. Additionally, neither Stripe nor PayPal will reimburse your processing costs if your buyer receives a refund.
Customer Service
When you have questions, there are many ways to contact Stripe, including a help center, social media channels, chat support channels (with support staff or developers), phone support, and email assistance.
PayPal’s customer service staff is available via a variety of channels, including a community forum, a help center, social media, email, live chat, and phone support.
Even with all of these options for getting your problems resolved, people claim that the level of customer support from Stripe and PayPal can occasionally be frustrating and fluctuate from good to poor. However, PayPal’s assistance still goes black at some times of the day, whereas Stripe recently announced 24/7 phone and chat support.
Effortless Use
Both PayPal and Stripe payment providers are renowned for being incredibly simple to use. Online payment has been made incredibly simple for clients by both businesses.
Simple Setup
Compared to PayPal, Stripe offers more customization. However, Stripe can be challenging for non-technical users at times and does require a little more development knowledge to include functionality like a Pay With Card button on your website. Since Stripe and PayPal are both supported by our pre-made form templates with the Stripe and PayPal Standard Addons, the finest Stripe plugin for WordPress, connecting with Stripe and PayPal is simple.
Security
Both PayPal and Stripe offer PCI-compliant services. In other words, your cardholder data is safely held, and they adhere to the rigid rules of the payment card industry.
Availability
Compared to Stripe, PayPal is accessible in many more countries. Currently, Stripe is available in just 32+ countries, compared to 200+ for PayPal (and growing).
Funds Time Access
With an average payout time of two days, Stripe will automatically deposit your cash into your bank account. However, while using PayPal, your money is immediately accessible in your PayPal account. When transferring money from your PayPal account to your bank account, PayPal averages a 2-4 day payout period.
Compatibility
WordPress supports both Stripe and PayPal, and WPForms is linked with both services.
Portability of Data
You could eventually choose to transfer all of your information to a different payment processor other than Stripe or PayPal. We call this data portability. Because they support data portability, Stripe will assist you in moving your credit card information in a PCI Compliant manner.
If you try to switch processors, PayPal will not offer you this information, which can be a hassle. It is crucial for certain consumers to have the option to relocate their payment data if they so want.
Online Billing
Online invoices can be customized with both Stripe and PayPal. Until you bill more than $1 million, this is free with Stripe and free with PayPal. You might be shocked by how rapidly your sales accumulate. Visit our sister site’s guide to eCommerce optimization to learn how to increase sales if your online store is not doing well.
Card Readers
Both Stripe and PayPal let brick-and-mortar businesses that are expanding online use the same payment processor for both their storefront and their websites.
In addition to offering their own physical card readers, both Stripe and PayPal have PayPal connectors into numerous well-liked Point of Sale programs. While Stripe exclusively offers paid card readers, PayPal offers both free and paid card readers that you can purchase.
What Locations Handle Payments
It is crucial to remember that Stripe enables customers to make payments without ever leaving your website. If you want to maintain your branding throughout your customer’s purchasing process, PayPal forces users to leave your website, sign in to a PayPal account before being redirected back to your website.
On the other hand, given that many clients are accustomed to this process, some business owners might not mind this step, but it is something to keep in mind.
Pros of Stripe Payment Provider
Here are a few advantages of using Stripe to take payments online:
- Predictable flat rates
- Simple to utilize for your customers
- Keeps and transfers your client data
- Customers never leave your website while they are making purchases
- Donation discounts
- No contract is necessary
- Lower ($15) chargeback fee
- 24/7 assistance
- Multiple forms of assistance (help center, phone, live chat, and email)
- Live chat help developers to sort complicated issues
- Conforms to PCI
Cons of Stripe Payment Provider
It is possible that this remedy will not be the ideal fit for everyone.
- Not user-friendly
- Not as well recognized or recognizable as PayPal
- Accessing your money takes longer (2-day average)
- With refunds, no costs are repaid
- Inconsistent level of support
- Fewer countries than PayPal, and only free to $1 million in sales, online invoicing
Pros of PayPal Payment Provider
Here are some advantages of using PayPal payment provider for online payment processing:
- Predictable flat rates
- Customers are familiar with and trust that the PayPal Funds will be immediately available in your PayPal account.
- Easy account setup. Simple for your customers to use.
- Integrates with some POS systems if you want to sell in person.
- Donation discounts
- No contract is necessary
- Multiple forms of assistance (help center, phone, live chat and email)
- conforms to PCI
- accessible in almost 200 nations
- Free electronic invoicing
- Card readers for your storefront are free
Cons of PayPal Payment Provider
Like most things, using PayPal payment provider to take payments on your website has some drawbacks. Let us look at this:
- Can not switch to another payment processor with all of your client data
- Customers are sent away from your website throughout the checkout process if there is no recurring billing
- $20 more chargeback fee
- inconsistent level of support
- With refunds, no costs are repaid
Which Is A Better Payment Provider Between Stripe and PayPal?
The answer is based on the specific requirements of your organization, including your industry, your target market, and the products or services you offer. One sort of retailer might favor one payment provider over another.
It is also crucial to remember that WPForms gives you the freedom to choose from a variety of payment options, so you may collect payments on your website.
You must set up accounts with each firm in order to use both Stripe and PayPal. You can do this by letting your visitors choose which payment provider they want to utilize. For additional information, visit our article on how to let users select a payment method.
If you want to do this, keep in mind that more administrative work might be required because your payments will be deposited to your bank account separately. If you use both Stripe and PayPal, you will have to spend more time managing them both, so consider all your alternatives before determining which is the right course of action for you.
Even non-technical users can easily construct stunning order forms with WPForms’ ease of use that accepts payments or donations directly on their WordPress website using our pre-built donation and order form templates. In your forms, you can quickly provide consumers the option of using Stripe or PayPal to make payments.
Final Reflections
Both PayPal and Stripe provide fantastic features and a ton of flexibility. Which payment provider you select ultimately relies on the particular requirements of your organization.
With WPForms, accepting payments in WordPress is quite easy. With our plugins for Stripe, Square, and PayPal, you can quickly and conveniently accept payments and donations on your website using the most well-liked online payment providers.
There you have it, then! Based on each service’s advantages and disadvantages, you can now decide if Stripe or PayPal will be a better fit for your company’s online contribution or payment processing needs.
