Merchants look past PayPal Business when the standard checkout rate, the dispute handling or the wallet-first design stops fitting a growing shop. Most move to Stripe, Mollie, Square or Adyen, and keep PayPal as one payment method next to cards rather than as the whole checkout.
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What each alternative does differently
1. Stripe
Developer-first payments, instant self-serve signup · United States
A developer-first gateway with pay-as-you-go rates and no monthly fee for core payments, listed at 1.5% + 0.25 euros for standard EEA cards on its Netherlands page. Billing, Tax and other products are charged separately, so the full bill depends on what you add.
Switch from PayPal Business if you want card payments on your own checkout with an API and no monthly fee.
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. Mollie
Transparent European payments, no lock-in contract · Netherlands
A European processor with pay-as-you-go pricing and no minimum costs or lock-in contracts, listing 1.80% + 0.25 euros for EEA consumer cards. Its price list is built around local methods such as SEPA Direct Debit at 0.35 euros, which suits a Dutch or wider EU shop.
Switch from PayPal Business if you sell mostly to European customers and want local methods such as SEPA.
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 →
3. Square
Integrated in-person and online payments · United States
Combines processing with a free POS plan, so a merchant who sells in person and online can use one account. Its pricing page lists in-person rates from 2.4% + 15 cents and online card payments at 2.9% + 30 cents, with paid plans lowering some rates.
Switch from PayPal Business if you also take payments in person and want one account for both.
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 →
4. Adyen
Enterprise-grade single platform, negotiated pricing · Netherlands
Interchange++ pricing, with a fixed fee of 0.13 dollars plus a method-specific variable fee on its pricing page, rather than a blended rate. That shows the cost of each card type, but it is aimed at larger volume and a minimum invoice applies.
Switch from PayPal Business if your volume is large enough that blended rates cost more than a transparent cost breakdown.
Pricing: Interchange++ model, a $0.13 fixed processing fee plus a method-specific variable fee, per Adyen's published pricing page; no monthly, setup, integration or closure fees, but a minimum invoice applies and the listed fees are indicative. (none)
Full review: #5 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Adyen →
5. PayPal Enterprise Payments (Braintree)
Braintree, rebranded and folded into PayPal · United States
PayPal's own enterprise product, known as Braintree, so the vendor relationship and wallet stay. The fee page describes it as Enterprise Payments (aka Braintree) and notes a different seller protection rule: it applies only to purchases made with the Pay with PayPal button.
Switch from PayPal Business if you want a developer-grade gateway but prefer to stay inside the PayPal group.
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) →
6. Authorize.net
Long-established gateway, owned by Visa · United States
A US gateway whose site lists virtual terminal, recurring payments, eCheck, invoicing and fraud filters. It is a gateway that pairs with a merchant account, so the contract structure differs from PayPal's single-account model. We could not load its pricing page and state no price.
Switch from PayPal Business if you need a gateway with a virtual terminal and eCheck and already have a merchant account.
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 →
7. Paddle
Merchant of record for SaaS and software sellers · United Kingdom
A merchant of record: Paddle sells your product on your behalf, so its all-inclusive price covers payments, tax compliance, fraud protection and buyer support, with no monthly fee. That fits software and apps, not physical goods or services billed by invoice.
Switch from PayPal Business if you sell software or subscriptions and want someone else to handle sales tax.
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 →
8. Razorpay
Flat 2% domestic payments, built for India · India
An India-based aggregator regulated by the RBI, for businesses collecting in India through UPI and cards. Its pricing page shows a 2% base rate, a promotion on the gateway for new accounts and custom plans above 5 lakh rupees a month. Weak fit outside India.
Switch from PayPal Business if your customers pay in India through UPI and local 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 →
9. Checkout.com
Enterprise-grade processing on owned infrastructure · United Kingdom
Sells acquiring and payment links to larger merchants and presents its pricing page as transparent. We could not extract a rate card from the page, so we state none. Expect a sales conversation rather than the self-serve sign-up PayPal offers.
Switch from PayPal Business if you are an enterprise merchant that wants direct acquiring and a dedicated team.
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 →
10. BlueSnap
All-in-one global payments, now under Payroc · United States
A payment platform whose site publishes Merchant Application Pricing Agreements by region and describes partnerships with software platforms. We did not find a rate card on the pages we fetched, so we state none. Read the regional agreement before you compare.
Switch from PayPal Business if you sell through a software platform that already partners with it.
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 →
11. Worldpay
Legacy global acquirer, now part of Global Payments · United States
Worldpay's pricing page returned almost no content to us, so we state no price. The category file treats it as a quote-only enterprise acquirer. That means a negotiated contract and a longer onboarding than a PayPal sign-up.
Switch from PayPal Business if you are a large merchant that wants a negotiated acquiring contract.
Pricing: Quote-only enterprise acquiring model; no published self-serve rate card. (none)
Full review: #9 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Worldpay →
