Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) vs Stripe

Fees, tax handling, payouts and coverage side by side, plus how many verified RevMRR startups use each.

The short version

Neither is a merchant of record, so with either one you register for and remit sales tax and VAT yourself.
On the standard published rate, Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) (2.89% + $0.29) is cheaper per transaction than Stripe (2.9% + $0.30).
Pick Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) for: medium to large ecommerce and subscription businesses with developer resources, merchants operating in multiple markets, and anyone who wants PayPal and Venmo acceptance wired directly into a custom checkout..
Pick Stripe for: online-first businesses — SaaS, ecommerce, subscriptions, marketplaces — with access to developer talent, and any company selling internationally that needs multi-currency support and rich analytics..

	Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)	Stripe
RevMRR Score	B76	B74
Type	Payment Processor	Payment Processor
Standard fee	2.89% + $0.29	2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee	$0	None
Merchant of record	No	No
Sales tax / VAT	You handle it	Paid add-on
Subscriptions	Supported	Supported
Payouts	Typically 1-2 business days after batch settlem…	First payout 7-14 days; then a rolling schedule…
Who can sign up	Founded in 2007, based in 222 West Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654 USA	Founded in 2010, based in San Francisco, CA
Payment methods	Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Local Payment Methods	Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Local Payment Methods
Best for	Medium to large ecommerce and subscription businesses with developer resources, merchants operating in multiple markets, and anyone who wants PayPal and Venmo acceptance wired directly into a custom checkout.	Online-first businesses — SaaS, ecommerce, subscriptions, marketplaces — with access to developer talent, and any company selling internationally that needs multi-currency support and rich analytics.
Used on RevMRR	Not connectable yet	0 verified startups

Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)

Braintree is a credible enterprise-grade choice for online businesses that want developer control: a mature global gateway, strong SDKs, vault-based recurring billing, and the only native path to processing PayPal and Venmo alongside cards in one integration. The A- reflects real friction — pricing that punishes small tickets, 1% international surcharges, and merchant complaints about support and chargeback handling — none of which outweigh the platform for its target merchant.

+ Mature, globally capable gateway with PayPal's backing and enterprise-grade reliability
+ Excellent developer experience, with SDKs for Node.js, Ruby, Python, Java, .NET and more
+ Native PayPal and Venmo processing alongside cards and wallets in a single integration
+ No long-term contract required for many merchants, with no published early-termination penalty
+ Card vault and subscription tooling built for recurring-billing businesses
– Flat-rate pricing runs higher than low-cost options for small merchants, and the $0.29 fixed fee still adds up on small tickets
– International cards and non-USD currency each typically add a 1% surcharge
– Support responsiveness and chargeback handling are recurring complaints in merchant reviews
– No turnkey in-person story, and some features require additional integration work

Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) pricing ↗

Stripe

Stripe earns its A grade: transparent flat-rate pricing with no fixed fees, an unmatched developer platform, and product breadth that covers everything from subscriptions to marketplace payouts. The honest caveats are the 7-14 day first payout, the possibility of holds while underwriting catches up with instant onboarding, and pricing that stops being a bargain at serious volume until you negotiate custom rates.

+ Best-in-class developer experience: clean APIs, SDKs, and documentation that set the industry standard
+ Transparent flat-rate pricing with no monthly, setup, PCI, or statement fees
+ Global reach with broad payment-method and multi-currency support
+ Deep feature set — subscriptions, invoicing, marketplace tools, virtual terminal — on one platform
+ No contract or early-termination fee on standard pay-as-you-go service
– First payout takes 7-14 days, and new or unusual accounts can face holds and verification friction
– Flat-rate 2.9% + $0.30 gets expensive at volume compared with negotiated interchange-plus pricing
– Complex for non-technical users — much of the value assumes you will build on the API
– Prohibits many high-risk categories and is not available in every country

Stripe pricing ↗