# The 11 Best Payment Gateways > The best payment gateway is Stripe for its unparalleled developer experience and feature set, followed by Adyen for enterprise-scale global operations and PayPal for its massive user base and brand trust. - URL: https://topelevens.com/payment-gateways - Last verified: 2026-06-09 - Methodology: https://topelevens.com/methodology - JSON: https://topelevens.com/api/lists/payment-gateways · CSV: https://topelevens.com/api/lists/payment-gateways/csv ## Ranking ### #1 Stripe · 9.3/9.4 - Best for: Businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises, that need a powerful, flexible, and developer-friendly platform for online payments. - San Francisco, USA & Dublin, Ireland · founded 2010 · $$ (Pay-as-you-go) - Stripe is ranked #1 for its best-in-class developer experience, comprehensive feature set, and relentless product innovation, making it the default choice for modern internet businesses. - Pro: The platform's API is exceptionally well-documented and easy to work with, and its ecosystem of products (Billing, Connect, Radar) is unparalleled. - Con: Customer support can be slow to respond for smaller accounts, and its flat-rate pricing can become less competitive at very high volumes. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #2 Adyen · 9.1/9.4 - Best for: Large global enterprises seeking a single, unified platform for online, mobile, and in-store payments with deep data insights. - Amsterdam, Netherlands · founded 2006 · $$$ (Interchange++) - Adyen earns its #2 position by offering a superior, unified platform for global omnichannel payments, providing enterprises with direct acquiring connections that boost authorization rates and reduce costs. - Pro: Its single platform for all channels and geographies, combined with transparent interchange-plus pricing, is a massive advantage for large-scale businesses. - Con: The platform is complex and its onboarding process is geared towards large enterprises, making it less accessible for small businesses or startups. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #3 PayPal · 8.8/9.4 - Best for: E-commerce businesses of all sizes that want to leverage a globally recognized and trusted brand to increase checkout conversion. - San Jose, USA · founded 1998 · $$ (Pay-as-you-go) - PayPal is ranked #3 due to its immense global user base and brand recognition, which directly translates to higher trust and conversion rates for merchants at checkout. - Pro: The 'Pay with PayPal' button is a powerful conversion tool, and its Braintree subsidiary offers a robust, developer-centric gateway for more advanced needs. - Con: Account stability can be a concern, with reports of funds being frozen unexpectedly. Standard fees can be higher than some competitors for card processing. - Risk signals (low, checked 2026-06-09): Some public reports of account holds/freezes, a known risk factor for merchants heavily reliant on the platform. - [undefined] undefined (undefined: undefined) ### #4 Square · 8.6/9.4 - Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses, particularly in retail and services, that need a seamless, integrated solution for online and in-person sales. - San Francisco, USA · founded 2009 · $$ (Pay-as-you-go) - Square's #4 ranking is secured by its best-in-class integration of online and offline payments, offering a cohesive ecosystem of software and hardware that is incredibly easy for SMBs to use. - Pro: The tight integration between its POS hardware, e-commerce stores, and payment processing is seamless and powerful for omnichannel retailers. - Con: Its international availability is more limited than top competitors, and like PayPal, it has faced criticism for account stability issues for some merchants. - Risk signals (low, checked 2026-06-09): Similar to PayPal, there are public reports of account holds affecting some merchants, particularly those in high-risk categories. - [undefined] undefined (undefined: undefined) ### #5 Checkout.com · 8.4/9.4 - Best for: Fast-growing international tech companies and enterprises that need a modular and flexible payment platform with strong global acquiring capabilities. - London, UK · founded 2012 · $$$ (Custom) - Checkout.com lands at #5 as a powerful, API-driven alternative to Stripe and Adyen, particularly excelling in providing granular control and global acquiring solutions for large, tech-savvy businesses. - Pro: The platform's unified API is powerful and flexible, and its direct acquiring relationships in many regions can lead to better performance and data. - Con: It lacks the broad ecosystem of pre-built products (like Stripe Billing or Tax) and is less suitable for smaller businesses that need an out-of-the-box solution. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #6 Authorize.net · 8.1/9.4 - Best for: Merchants who already have a traditional merchant account and need a reliable, secure, and widely-supported payment gateway to connect it to their website. - American Fork, USA · founded 1996 · $ (Gateway-only) - Authorize.net, a Visa solution, is ranked #6 as one of the oldest and most trusted names in the industry, offering a dependable and feature-rich gateway-only solution for businesses with separate merchant accounts. - Pro: It is incredibly stable, secure, and compatible with nearly every shopping cart and billing system on the market. - Con: Its user interface and developer APIs feel dated compared to modern competitors like Stripe, and the need for a separate merchant account adds complexity. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #7 Worldpay from FIS · 7.9/9.4 - Best for: Large enterprise retailers and corporations that require a processor with massive scale, extensive international capabilities, and traditional merchant services. - Jacksonville, USA · founded 1989 · $$$ (Custom) - Worldpay secures the #7 spot due to its sheer scale and deep roots in the traditional banking system, making it a go-to choice for large, established enterprises needing a processor that can handle immense volume globally. - Pro: Its global footprint is enormous, and it can support complex payment needs for the world's largest companies across a wide range of industries. - Con: The technology and API are not as modern or developer-friendly as newer platforms, and its pricing and contracts can be opaque and complex. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #8 2Checkout (now Verifone) · 7.7/9.4 - Best for: Businesses selling software, SaaS, and other digital goods globally who need a merchant of record model to handle sales tax and compliance. - Atlanta, USA · founded 2006 · $$ (Pay-as-you-go) - Ranked at #8, 2Checkout excels by offering a comprehensive solution for global digital commerce, acting as a merchant of record to simplify international taxes, compliance, and subscription management. - Pro: Its ability to manage global sales tax, VAT, and regulatory compliance is a significant advantage for businesses selling to a worldwide customer base. - Con: Fees are higher than standard gateways to account for the additional services, and the platform is less suited for businesses selling physical goods. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #9 Amazon Pay · 7.6/9.4 - Best for: E-commerce merchants looking to provide a fast, familiar, and trusted checkout experience for the hundreds of millions of customers with Amazon accounts. - Seattle, USA · founded 2007 · $$ (Pay-as-you-go) - Amazon Pay makes the list at #9 because it effectively leverages Amazon's massive customer base and trusted brand, allowing merchants to offer a one-click checkout experience that reduces friction and boosts conversion. - Pro: For customers already logged into Amazon, the checkout process is incredibly fast and seamless, using their stored payment and shipping information. - Con: It is not a full-service gateway for processing all payments, but rather an alternative checkout button that complements an existing gateway. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #10 Cybersource · 7.4/9.4 - Best for: Large enterprises that need sophisticated, global fraud management tools and payment services integrated into a single platform. - Foster City, USA · founded 1994 · $$$ (Custom) - Cybersource, another Visa solution, is ranked #10 for its enterprise-grade fraud detection capabilities, which are among the most powerful in the industry, making it a critical tool for large businesses managing global risk. - Pro: Its Decision Manager tool, powered by data from Visa's global network, provides incredibly powerful and accurate fraud screening. - Con: The platform is complex, can be difficult to integrate, and is overkill for most small and medium-sized businesses. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ### #11 [WILDCARD] GoCardless · 7.2/9.4 - Best for: Subscription-based businesses and companies that invoice B2B clients and want to reduce churn and fees by collecting payments directly from bank accounts. - London, UK · founded 2011 · $ (Pay-as-you-go) - Our wildcard #11, GoCardless, is not a traditional card gateway but a specialist in recurring bank-to-bank payments (like ACH and SEPA), making it an essential tool for subscription businesses looking to combat card churn and lower costs. - Pro: By pulling payments directly from bank accounts, it dramatically reduces payment failures from expired or canceled cards, a major source of involuntary churn. - Con: It is not a solution for one-off e-commerce checkouts as it doesn't process card payments, making it a complementary service rather than a primary gateway for many. - Risk signals (none, checked 2026-06-09): No material public risk signals as of 2026-06-09. ## FAQ **What is a payment gateway?** A payment gateway is a technology service that acts as a secure intermediary between a merchant's website and the payment processing network. It encrypts sensitive credit card details and routes them to the processor to authorize and complete a transaction. **Which payment gateway has the lowest fees?** There is no single 'cheapest' gateway, as fees depend on volume, transaction size, card type, and business model. Stripe and PayPal offer competitive flat-rate pricing for simplicity, while providers offering interchange-plus pricing may be cheaper for high-volume businesses. Always model your specific costs. **Can I use multiple payment gateways?** Yes, many businesses use multiple gateways to increase resilience, optimize costs for different regions or payment types, or offer customers more choices at checkout. This adds complexity but can improve conversion and reduce fees. **What is PCI DSS compliance and why does it matter?** The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Using a PCI-compliant gateway like those on this list significantly simplifies your own compliance burden.