Business

Braintree vs Stripe: Which is Better for UK Businesses?

Paola Faben Oliveira

22.01.24 (updated more than 1 year ago)

Read time 5 minutes

Already a Stripe customer? You don’t need to leave your app to benefit from Wise. Stripe has partnered with Wise Platform to integrate our global payments infrastructure directly into Stripe. That means that Stripe customers can now access fast, convenient international payments directly in their Stripe app.

And, because Stripe has partnered with Wise Platform for their multi-currency payments, when you sign up with Stripe, you’ll also be able to access Wise’s fast and convenient international payments experience directly from Stripe.

👉 Visit Stripe

If you’re looking for a payment platform for your UK business you may have heard of Braintree¹ - a PayPal company, and Stripe² - a global giant among PSPs. But what’s the actual difference between Braintree vs Stripe, and which is better for a UK company?

This guide walks through all information you need to compare the two options and research which may be better for you.

Braintree vs Stripe - Comparison overview

So what really is the difference between Stripe vs Braintree? Here’s a quick overview of feature availability as a starting point - we’ll look at each provider more carefully in a moment, including Stripe payment fees and Braintree pricing, features, target market and more.

Service	Braintree	Stripe
Pricing	Pay as you go, or custom subscription	Pay as you go, or negotiated subscription
Trustpilot rating	Braintree has not claimed a Trustpilot page	2.7 out of 5 ⭐
Invoice payments	Available	Available
Recurring payments	Available - with API	Available
International payments	Available	Available
API integrations	Available	Available
Checkout solution	Available	Available
Payment links	Depends on package - can be created using API	Available
In-person payments	Not available	Available

Braintree review

Braintree is a payment platform, powered by PayPal. Braintree specialises in online and mobile payments, with easy ways to accept customer payments through integrations and using the Braintree API.

The company has some more complex services to suit enterprise level customers, but small businesses with limited technological expertise should still find the basic Braintree solutions pretty accessible.

If you have the technical knowhow to create a custom made solution for your business, or want to get additional support from Braintree to custom make a package for your business needs, that’s also an option.

It’s worth noting that Braintree is aimed at online businesses rather than companies taking payments in person - and the fees for international transactions can end up being higher due to additional currency conversion charges, more on that later.

Some of the features you can get with Braintree include:

Global reach - get paid in multiple currencies

Accept many popular payment methods including cards and mobile wallets

Web and mobile optimised

Seamless integration with drop in UI or custom built options

Basic and advanced fraud detection and prevention tools depending on what your business needs

Recurring billing options

Third party integrations and reporting solutions

Braintree marketplace

You may be interested to learn that Braintree also has a marketplace option³ which lets Braintree merchants onboard sub merchants. Customers can then buy from any sub merchant under a single marketplace umbrella, with the key merchant setting their own transaction fees for sub merchants.

At the time of writing this option is only available if all merchants and sub merchants are US based - but if you’re interested in this model for your UK business you may want to keep an eye out for when it rolls out in the UK too.

Braintree pricing

The Braintree pricing model is pay as you go with no ongoing subscription fee unless you negotiate one as part of a custom made package. Standard fees include a charge for taking a card payment with extra costs if you’re receiving payments from overseas. Here are the most important Braintree fees to know about:

Transaction type	Braintree fees⁴
Local payments	1.9% + £0.20 for most UK cards 2.4% + £0.20 for American Express cards
International payments	2.9% + £0.20 for most card networks 3.4% + £0.20 for American Express cards 1.5% - 3% fee for payments settled in a foreign currency
Refund	Processing fees are not refunded
Chargeback	£20

Stripe payment reviews

Differently from Braintree, Stripe UK has payment options for businesses operating in person or online. You can add Stripe to your online or mobile store, or use your smartphone or a Stripe POS terminal to take in person payments.

Stripe has options which don’t require any coding knowledge, an easy option for smaller businesses looking to hit the ground running - as well as more complex tailor made solutions for larger and established companies.

Some of the Stripe payment features include:

Ways to get paid from 47 countries, using 50+ payment methods and 135 currencies

Stripe payment terminals for in-person card payments

Tools to accept payments with a smartphone

Reusable payment links for customer transactions

Invoicing and billing tools

Different subscriptions and payment methods including pay per usage

Prebuilt and optimised checkout for online card payments

Platform payments and finance automation for enterprise customers

You’ll find Stripe reviews on Trustpilot are a pretty mixed bag. Overall, Stripe scores a poor 2.7 star rating out of 5⁵. However that’s because while 47% of the reviews are 5 stars, 42% of reviewers only give Stripe 1 star, leading to the low overall rating.

If you’re considering Stripe it’s worth looking through the Trustpilot review comments to see if any of the common themes - positive or negative - resonate with you or the types of transactions you need to make.

Stripe payment fees

With Stripe you’ve got a couple of options when it comes to fees. You can get a pay as you go model which is low commitment and has no ongoing charges - or you can negotiate a subscription if you’d rather pay a monthly fee to access more services or support.

Negotiated subscriptions are tailored to the business needs - here we’ve set out the standard fees for a pay as you go customer, to give a flavour.

Service	Stripe UK fee⁸
Accept payments from local credit or debit cards	1.5% + £0.20 for standard UK cards 1.9% + £0.20 for premium UK cards
Accept payments from international credit or debit cards	2.5% + £0.20 for cards issued in the EEA 3.25% + £0.20 for cards issued anywhere else 2% fee applies if currency conversion is needed
Accept payments with link (Stripe one click checkout)	1.2% + £0.20 for UK cards International card fees apply for cards issued elsewhere
Settle and pay out in additional currencies	1%
Refund	Processing fees are not refunded - other charges may also apply depending on payment type
Chargebacks (disputes)	£20 per dispute
Recurring billing	0.5% value of bill paid
Invoicing	0.4% value of paid invoice
Instant pay out from Stripe	1% (standard payout is free, but takes longer)

Braintree vs Stripe fees - Head to head comparison

Let’s finish up with a head to head comparison of Braintree vs Stripe fees as a reminder and to help you assess if either is the right fit for your business.

Transaction type	Stripe fee	Braintree fee
Local payments	1.5% + £0.20 for standard UK cards 1.9% + £0.20 for premium UK cards	1.9% + £0.20 for most UK cards 2.4% + £0.20 for American Express
International payments	2.5% + £0.20 for cards issued in the EEA 3.25% + £0.20 for cards issued anywhere else 2% fee applies if currency conversion is needed	2.9% + £0.20 for most card networks 3.4% + £0.20 for American Express 1.5% - 3% fee for payments settled in a foreign currency
Refund	Variable - Processing fees are not refunded	Processing fees are not refunded
Chargeback	£20	£20

Both Braintree and Stripe have features which make them suited to different UK business types. However, which is right for you will depend on how you do business and the type of transactions you make frequently. Do some research to choose which aligns best with your needs.

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

Sources used in this article:

Stripe
Braintree
Braintree marketplace - overview
Braintree pricing
Trustpilot - Stripe
Stripe PCI compliance
Stripe security
Stripe pricing

Sources last checked January 15, 2024

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.