Merchants look past Adyen when they want a published rate before a sales call, when a fixed fee on every transaction hurts small baskets, or when a deposit held against future liabilities ties up cash. Most go to Stripe for self-serve onboarding, to Checkout.com or Worldpay for another negotiated enterprise acquirer, and to Mollie for European pay-per-transaction pricing.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within
the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives
go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the
established names follow in their ranked order. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Stripe
Developer-first payments, instant self-serve signup · United States
Self-serve signup with a published standard rate of 1.5% plus €0.25 for standard EEA cards and 2.5% plus €0.25 for UK cards. Stripe also publishes Interchange Plus and custom pricing for large volumes. Its catalog of billing, tax and fraud products is broader than Adyen's payment-first scope.
Switch from Adyen if you want a published rate and self-serve signup before talking to sales.
Pricing: 1.5% + EUR0.25 for standard EEA cards, higher for UK and international cards, per Stripe's published Netherlands rate card; no monthly fee for core payments; add-ons such as Billing, Tax, Sigma and the Managed Payments merchant-of-record service are charged separately. (none)
Full review: #4 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Stripe →
2. Checkout.com
Enterprise-grade processing on owned infrastructure · United Kingdom
A direct enterprise rival that also negotiates pricing. It offers either a flat rate set by business profile and risk category or Interchange++, and lists data migration assistance and dedicated account management. Registered charities get free processing in the countries it operates in.
Switch from Adyen if you want another negotiated enterprise acquirer with a flat-rate option.
Pricing: Offers either a flat-rate or an Interchange++ option depending on business profile and risk category, explicitly quote-only; free processing available for registered charities. (none)
Full review: #10 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Checkout.com →
3. Worldpay
Legacy global acquirer, now part of Global Payments · United States
Sells to small and mid-sized firms with a quote in minutes and to enterprises, where it says it processes $2.3 trillion a year. It covers online, in-store and omnichannel acceptance, plus embedded payments for software platforms. No rate card is published on the pages we checked.
Switch from Adyen if you have large in-store volume and want an acquirer that also covers omnichannel.
Pricing: Quote-only enterprise acquiring model; no published self-serve rate card. (none)
Full review: #9 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Worldpay →
4. PayPal Enterprise Payments (Braintree)
Braintree, rebranded and folded into PayPal · United States
Braintree's published US card rate is 2.89% plus $0.29, with an extra 1% for non-USD currency and for cards issued outside the US. Custom flat or interchange-plus rates exist for established businesses. A $15 chargeback fee and ACH debit support are listed.
Switch from Adyen if your checkout already offers PayPal and Venmo and you want one contract for cards too.
Pricing: 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction standard; +1% surcharge for non-USD currency; +1% for non-US-issued cards; $15 flat chargeback fee; a reduced 2.19% + $0.29 rate is available for verified 501(c)(3) nonprofits. (none)
Full review: #7 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit PayPal Enterprise Payments (Braintree) →
5. Mollie
Transparent European payments, no lock-in contract · Netherlands
Pay-per-transaction with no minimum costs and no lock-in contract, for example 1.80% plus €0.25 on EEA consumer cards. Interchange++ with a dedicated account manager starts above €100,000 a month. The fee table on the page is euro-based.
Switch from Adyen if you sell mainly in Europe and want transparent per-method fees without a minimum invoice.
Pricing: Pay-as-you-go per-method transaction fees, for example 1.80% + EUR0.25 for EEA Visa consumer cards; no minimum costs, no lock-in contract; in-person card payments EUR0/month pay-as-you-go or EUR20/month Pro tier with lower rates. (none)
Full review: #1 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Mollie →
6. BlueSnap
All-in-one global payments, now under Payroc · United States
Positions itself as a global payment orchestration platform covering payments, invoicing and billing, and embedded payments for software platforms, with acceptance in over 200 regions. It markets payments experts alongside the platform. Offices are in Boston, London, Dublin and Herzliya.
Switch from Adyen if you sell B2B and want invoicing, accounts receivable and payments handled on one platform.
Pricing: Quick Start pay-as-you-go rates by region, for example 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card transaction in the US and 1.5% + EUR0.25 in the EU, not available to high-risk merchants; custom pricing by consultation, with region-specific Merchant Application Pricing Agreements. (none)
Full review: #15 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit BlueSnap →
7. Square
Integrated in-person and online payments · United States
Built around small merchants who sell in person and online. Square Free costs $0 a month, with in-person cards at 2.6% plus 15 cents and online cards at 3.3% plus 30 cents. Paid tiers lower the rates and add services such as payroll and banking.
Switch from Adyen if you are a small US-style retailer who wants hardware, software and processing in one account.
Pricing: Square Free costs $0 a month per location and includes basic POS, an online site, item library and invoicing, paid for through processing fees; Plus at $49 and Premium at $149 per location per month lower the processing rates. (free plan)
Full review: #8 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Square →
8. Authorize.net
Long-established gateway, owned by Visa · United States
A US gateway with a $25 monthly fee. The all-in-one plan adds 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction, while the gateway-only plan charges 10 cents per transaction plus a 10 cent daily batch fee. Its all-in-one plan bundles a merchant account, so it is a US-oriented product.
Switch from Adyen if you take mostly US card payments and want a plain monthly gateway fee.
Pricing: $25/month gateway fee on all plans, plus per-transaction fees: All-in-one 2.9% + 30 cents; Gateway-only 10 cents + a 10-cent daily batch fee; Gateway+eCheck adds 0.75% per eCheck with a $10 monthly eCheck minimum; no setup fee, no early termination fee. (none)
Full review: #12 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Authorize.net →
9. Paddle
Merchant of record for SaaS and software sellers · United Kingdom
Acts as merchant of record, so Paddle sells to your customer and handles tax and regulatory compliance. The price is 5% plus 50 cents per checkout transaction with no monthly fee. The percentage is higher than a bare acquiring rate because tax and compliance are included. It is built for software and apps.
Switch from Adyen if you sell software worldwide and want someone else to carry sales tax and invoicing.
Pricing: 5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction, all-inclusive: covers payment processing, global sales-tax and VAT compliance and remittance, fraud protection, and support; no monthly fee. (none)
Full review: #3 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Paddle →
10. GoCardless
Bank-to-bank Direct Debit for recurring payments · United Kingdom
Collects bank debits and Pay by Bank payments rather than cards. Standard costs 1% plus 20p per transaction, Advanced 1.25% and Pro 1.4%, with prices excluding VAT. It targets recurring invoices and subscriptions where a card fee would be large, not checkout of one-off purchases.
Switch from Adyen if you bill recurring invoices and want to cut card fees by taking bank debits.
Pricing: Tiered percentage plus fixed fee per transaction: Standard 1% + 20p capped at GBP4, Advanced 1.25% + 20p capped at GBP5, Pro 1.4% + 20p capped at GBP5.60; international rates 2-2.4% + 20p; Custom enterprise plan for GBP1m+ annual revenue. (none)
Full review: #11 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit GoCardless →
11. Razorpay
Flat 2% domestic payments, built for India · India
An India-first aggregator authorized by the Reserve Bank of India, at 2% on most domestic payment instruments with custom plans above ₹5,00,000 a month. It also offers international payments and a banking suite. Outside India its reach is narrower than Adyen's.
Switch from Adyen if your customers pay mostly in India through UPI and domestic cards.
Pricing: 2% per successful domestic transaction on most payment instruments, no setup fee, no annual maintenance charge, no refund-processing fee; corporate cards 2.15%, UPI QR 0.99%; international cards up to 3%; international bank transfers 1%; custom enterprise pricing above INR500,000/month volume. (none)
Full review: #2 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Razorpay →
12. PayPal Business
The most recognized checkout button for buyers · United States
Focused on small businesses, with a US PayPal Checkout rate of 3.49% plus a fixed fee and card payments at 2.99% plus a fixed fee. Rates are fixed percentages, so cost does not follow interchange as Adyen's Interchange++ does.
Switch from Adyen if you are small and want PayPal's wallet on checkout without negotiating a rate.
Pricing: 3.49% + $0.49 standard PayPal Checkout rate in the US, per PayPal's published fee page; no monthly fee to start; optional Invoicing subscription at $14.99/month. (none)
Full review: #6 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit PayPal Business →
Questions and answers
How much notice does Adyen need to end a contract?
Two months' written notice, by either party, for an agreement of indefinite duration under Adyen's standard terms. Your own signed agreement can say otherwise, so check it. The terms also allow immediate termination by you if service availability falls below 90% in a month.
Can I take my saved cards to another provider?
Possibly, but we could not confirm an Adyen export process on its public pages. The receiving side is documented: Stripe imports card data that the old processor sends encrypted over SFTP. Ask Adyen support whether it will release the data to a PCI-compliant recipient.
Does Adyen hold back part of my money?
It can. The terms define a deposit that Adyen withholds from settlements or asks you to transfer, set against fees, fines and chargebacks. Adyen may change the level at its discretion. After processing ends the deposit is released in monthly steps, and fully after six months as standard.
Can Adyen raise its prices during the contract?
Yes. The terms allow Adyen to raise prices unilaterally on three months' notice. You can cancel the agreement affected by the increase, effective at the end of the notice period. The pricing page also describes the listed fees as indicative.
Is there a minimum monthly cost with Adyen?
The pricing page says there are no monthly, setup, integration or closure fees, but a minimum invoice applies depending on industry or business model. It names no figure, so sales has to give it to you. Mollie states that it has no minimum costs.
Which alternative is closest to Adyen for enterprise volume?
Checkout.com and Worldpay, because both negotiate pricing, offer enterprise acquiring and sell through account teams. Checkout.com publishes a flat-rate or Interchange++ choice and Worldpay quotes small firms in minutes. Stripe is the closest on product breadth but publishes self-serve rates.
What changes if I move to a merchant of record?
The provider becomes the seller of record to your customer and takes on tax and compliance work, so you receive net payouts instead of gross sales. Paddle's price is 5% plus 50 cents per checkout, and it covers software and apps only.
