Stax vs Stripe
Debating whether to go for Stax or Stripe? While Stax is easier to use, Stripe is more customizable. Here's a deep dive into their differences.
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Stax and Stripe are two well-established payment processors. Stax is used by over 20,000 businesses and has processed over $23 billion in payments, while Stripe is used by Fortune 500 companies.
Although both let you accept in-person and online payments, they don't do it equally well.
In this review, find out the more suitable option for your business based on features, pricing, and more. Read on.
Is Stax or Stripe Better?
- Stax is best for larger volume businesses
Stax is a merchant account provider with subscription-based pricing. Aside from the monthly fees (starting at $99/mo), you'll only need to pay direct interchange pricing.There's 0% processor markup, which can mean huge savings for your business.
Stax is better if you're a high-volume business with card sales of around $15,000/mo. The monthly fee can be too pricey for small businesses, especially for those with fluctuating sales.
- Stripe is best for online businesses
Stripe is a payment services provider with flat-rate pricing and no monthly fee. You only pay when you make a sale.Although it offers a Stripe terminal, the platform is mainly known for advanced features for online businesses. It's good for e-commerce, subscription services, mobile apps, and B2B businesses.
It offers a completely customizable hosted payment page and can even adapt to your customer's language. It also accepts over 135 currencies, which is good if you have global sales.[1]
 |  | |
| Visit Site | Visit Site | |
Stax by fattmerchant | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
Save Up to 40% - | Online Payment Processing - | |
Benefits and Features | ||
| Good For | Businesses processing $15,000 or more per month | Online businesses; Customized checkout experience |
| Pricing Model | Flat rate (also offers customized pricing packages) | |
| Monthly Fee | ||
| Swipe Rate | ||
| Online Rate | ||
| Keyed-in Transaction Fee | ||
| Chargeback Fee | ||
| Equipment | POS (EMV, Magstripe, Contactless, NFC), Mobile Payment Processing, Online Processing | Online Processing, Terminal, Stripe for Marketplace & Platforms, Billing Services (subscription & invoicing) |
| Accept International Payments | ||
| Deposit Time |
| 7-14 days after the first successful payment |
| Visit Site | Visit Site | |
Key Similarities
Here's what you can do with both platforms:
- Accept credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallet payments
- Send and manage invoices
- Send payment links and set up recurring payments
- Integrate the checkout page to your website
- Access reporting and analytics
- Purchase POS hardware for in-person payments
- Get encryption and tokenization security features
- Integrate with third-party software
To determine which payment processor can actually give more bang for your buck, check out their differences.
Key Differences
There are several main differences:
- Stax is a proper merchant account provider, while Stripe is a third-party payment processor (you don't get a merchant account).
- Stax is subscription-based pricing, while Stripe is flat-rate pricing.
- Stax is only available in the U.S., while Stripe supports merchants in 46 countries.[2]
- Stripe accepts over 135 currencies, while Stax only accepts payments in USD and CAD.
- Stripe offers more customization and advanced API.
Keep reading for a more detailed comparison between the two processors.
Stax vs. Stripe: Detailed Comparison
Stax and Stripe Payments offer similar features, but they're actually quite different since they cater to different types of businesses. Let's compare them head-to-head.
Pricing Model & Processing Fees — Winner: Tie
The ideal pricing model depends on your business size, so you can't say that one is better than the other.
Stax uses a subscription-based pricing model. You pay a monthly fee for the service, with no percentage processor markup on top of interchange rates.
It has 3 membership plans:[3]
- $99/mo for processing up to $250k per year
- $199/mo for processing $250k - $500k per year
- Custom pricing for over $500k per year
This is more suitable for mid-size to large businesses since the monthly fee can be expensive for small businesses. It can also make payment processing more affordable for high-volume businesses.
On the other hand, Stripe's pay-as-you-go model can be more affordable for small and seasonal businesses. There are no monthly fees to budget for. You only pay when you make a sale.
Stripe's processing fees are:[4]
- In-person: 2.7% + $0.05
- Online: 2.9% + $0.30
- Manual: 3.4% + 30¢
- International cards: Additional 1.5%
- Currency conversion: Additional 1%
For large businesses, this kind of flat-rate pricing can get expensive. But high-volume businesses can talk to Stripe for custom pricing.
Save Up to 40%
- Flat Monthly Subscription Price, Starting at $99
- 0% Markup on Direct-Cost Interchange
- 24/7 Support
Getting Started — Winner: Stripe
If you need to start processing quickly, you can set up an account with Stripe in just minutes. This makes Stripe popular for new/micro businesses.
Stripe is a payment services provider (PSP). You don't get a merchant ID and you share one big merchant account with many other businesses. It's easier to get started, but your account will be more susceptible to holds or freezes.
Stax is a proper merchant account provider, which means you'll have to go through underwriting to get approved. There's more scrutiny when getting started.
But you get your own dedicated merchant ID and merchant account, which provides more security.
Supported Payment Methods — Winner: Stripe
Stripe offers more payment methods for your customers without the need for add-ons.
| Stripe | Stax | |
|---|---|---|
| Credit cards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Debit cards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Digital wallets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bank debits and transfers | ✓ | Add-on |
| Buy now, pay later options | ✓ | Through PayPal Integration |
| Gift cards | Through Integrations | Add-on (digital gift cards) |
If you have global sales, Stripe also lets you accept digital wallets used around the world,[5] including Alipay, WeChat Pay, GrabPay, and Link.
You can only accept Apple Pay and Google Pay with Stax.[6]
Ease of Use — Winner: Stax
Stax can be easier to use for small businesses. The dashboard is more intuitive. You can get an overview of your sales, number of customers and transactions, outstanding receivables, etc., with just a glance.
The prebuilt payments page (or lightbox) is also easier to integrate on your website. There's no coding needed. Depending on your website builder, you can just embed Stax's ready-made HTML snippet.
On the other hand, Stripe's pre-built checkout page can be intimidating to look at. There are also more steps to follow when integrating the platform into your website.
In general, integrating Stripe's features can be more confusing since the platform is built for developers. It's known for advanced APIs that let you completely customize everything.
If you're not a developer, Stripe does have no-code options and partner integrations.
Customization — Winner: Stripe
Stripe offers more customization features than Stax. For example, you can customize your Checkout page according to your brand. You can change the logo/colors/fonts, display your policies, add custom text, and more.
It also lets you translate the UI to your customer's language, create responsive designs, and auto-fill customers' info.
If you have a mobile app, you can use Stripe's prebuilt UI components or code from scratch to create your own checkout.
Although Stax lets you customize receipts, invoices, and website payments, you can only edit the colors, set custom fields, and hide the Stax logo.
Integrations — Winner: Stripe
Stripe offers a large library of partner integrations, including Dropbox, Mailchimp, Intuit, Salesforce, and hundreds more. It's convenient if you already use a lot of small business tools and software.
It beats Stax's limited library of software integrations. But Stax does integrate with popular third-party software like Slack, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp.
Stax also integrates with various payment gateways like BigCommerce, Magento, WooCommerce, etc.
Equipment — Winner: Tie
Both payment processors offer POS hardware options for in-person payments. Stripe offers their own integrated card reader, while Stax uses third-party equipment, including the popular Clover machines.
Stax Payment Processing Equipment:
- Dejavoo terminals
- Clover terminals and POS system
- Swipe Simple B250 Reader
Stripe Payment Processing Equipment:
- Stripe readers
- BBPOS WisePOS E
- Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android (no extra hardware needed)
Reporting and Analytics — Winner: Stax
Both Stripe and Stax offer reporting and analytics features. But Stripe's reports are more focused on transactions and revenue.
It offers:
- Monthly transaction history
- Balance reports
- Payout reconciliation report
- Key revenue and growth metrics, such as revenue by product, customer, growth, and monthly recurring revenue
Stax's reporting gains an edge since its features can help you make better data-driven decisions. With Stax, you can:
- Compare sales by item or category
- View or print reconciliation deposit reports
- Monitor customer records and payment history
- See customer payment methods that are saved, expired, or expiring soon
- Monitor staff promotions
With these insights, you can make decisions like phasing out products that aren't selling. You can also view loyal customers and possibly offer them rewards.
Recurring Billing — Winner: Stripe
If you have a subscription business, you'll want to check out Stripe. Its recurring billing feature comes with your account.
Depending on your business type, you can create:[7]
- Flat-rate billing: set a single monthly or annual price
- Per-seat billing: set prices depending on the number of active customers during the billing period
- Usage-based billing: set variable/tiered pricing
- Flat-rate + overage billing: Combination of flat-rate and tiered pricing (for customers that exceed a quota)
- Multiple prices: offer the same product at different prices
Although Stripe Billing comes with your account, you will be charged 0.5% to 0.8% for recurring payments and one-time invoice payments.[8] Stripe also offers solutions to automatically update expired cards to avoid failed payments.
On the other hand, recurring billing for Stax is an add-on feature, starting at $199/mo.[9]
Or you can set recurring billing through invoices at no extra cost. Once you schedule these invoices, you can automate invoice reminders to ensure that your clients pay on time.
Security and Compliance— Winner: Tie
Stax and Stripe are labeled PCI Service Provider Level 1. It's the most stringent level of certification. And both offer encryption and tokenization to protect the cardholder's data and your business.
In addition, Stax's fraud detection software tracks possible unauthorized charges. Plus, the cloud-based terminals are constantly tested for any vulnerability.
Stripe, on the other hand, offers Stripe Radar to identify and prevent fraud. And its Dynamic 3D Secure feature adds another layer of authentication with high-risk transactions.
Many huge companies partner and work with Stripe. Some of them include Amazon, Shopify, Google, and Notion. This makes the platform a trusted and well-established credit card processing company.
Customer Support — Winner: Stripe
Stripe offers 24/7 customer support. If you send them an email, you'll receive a reply within 24 hours. For chat and phone calls, the average wait time is only 3 minutes.
Stripe even has a Discord server you can join for technical questions. Or just try to search for the answers from their support page.
You can also call Stax for customer support or visit their online knowledge base for immediate answers. However, Stax doesn't specify the schedule of their support team on their website.
International Payments — Winner: Stripe
Expanding your business to global customers? Stripe works with over 135 currencies and is supported in 46 countries.
Stripe's Checkout page even adapts to the language and payment methods available to your customers, making it convenient to use.
In comparison, Stax only accepts USD and CAD payments, and is available to U.S. merchants only.
Stax is still able to accept payments from international cards (through invoices and website links), as long as the payment is in USD. You can also input the international billing address and international phone number of your customers.
Mobile App — Winner: Stripe
Stripe Dashboard (Stripe's mobile app) is packed with helpful features if you're on the go. Although, it's more suitable for getting an overview of your business than for taking payments.
With Stripe, you can view your earnings, investigate disputes, issue refunds, email customers, etc.
Stax, however, lets you accept customer payments with its mobile app (Stax Pay). You can scan your customer's credit card with your phone camera to take keyed payments.
If you connect a wireless card reader, you can take swiped and tapped payments, too.
| Stax Pay | Stripe Dashboard | |
|---|---|---|
| App Store Ratings | 2.4/5 stars of 19 reviews | 4.7/5 stars of over 40,000+ reviews |
| Google Play Store Ratings | 2.8/5 stars of 31 reviews | 4.3/5 stars of over 20,000+ reviews |
Unfortunately, the Stax Pay app is unstable compared to Stripe Dashboard. So even if Stax Pay can accept payments, Stripe is better if you want a reliable mobile app.
Stax Pros & Cons
To recap, here are the upsides and downsides of using Stax:
Pros:
- Predictable monthly fee
- 0% processor markup
- Month-to-month billing
- Integrated payment platform
- Easier to use for non-developers
Cons:
- Add-on fees
- Underwriting process
- Pricey for small businesses
- Negative reviews of customer service
Save Up to 40%
- Flat Monthly Subscription Price, Starting at $99
- 0% Markup on Direct-Cost Interchange
- 24/7 Support
Whether Stax is cheaper than Stripe depends on the size of your business and sales volume. A high sales volume can mean cheaper costs with Stax's subscription pricing. However, a lower sales volume can make Stripe's pay-as-you-go pricing more affordable.
Stripe Pros & Cons
And here are the upsides and downsides of using Stripe:
Pros:
- Customizable with advanced APIs
- Pre-integrated platforms available
- Predictable flat-rate pricing
- Comprehensive security features
- 24/7 customer support
Cons:
- May get confusing for small business owners
- Can get pricey for larger businesses
- Needs developers to maximize the platform
Stripe can be the best option for your business due to its customizable features and support for international customers. You won't have to sacrifice your branding with its Checkout. And you can accept over 135 currencies, which can be a big help for e-commerce businesses.
Stax and Stripe Alternatives
If neither Stax nor Stripe sound right for you, there are other credit card processing companies out there.
Square: for new and small businesses
While Stripe can be overwhelming with all its coding features, Square is simple and intuitive. It's good for small mobile businesses, retailers, foodservices, and online stores.
You can accept online and in-person payments with the help of Square's POS app and hardware. You can even create a free online store through Square Online.
Just like Stripe, Square offers flat-rate pricing. And anyone can get started in just minutes.
Square Reader: Free Mobile Credit Card Reader
- Pay 2.6% + 10¢ Per Swipe for Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express
- Accept Credit Cards Anywhere
- Fast Setup, No Commitments
Payment Depot: for mid-large businesses
If you're looking for a Stax alternative, then Payment Depot may fit the bill. Like Stax, it's a subscription based merchant account provider.
Compared to Stax, it has a lower monthly fee starting from $79/month.[12] And it also has no added percentage markup. There's no contract and no early termination fee.
PaymentCloud: for high-risk businesses
If you're a high-risk business, look at PaymentCloud. Stax and Stripe both don't cater to high-risk businesses. But PaymentCloud accepts them.
It offers customized pricing, so there are no disclosed rates. You also get a ton of payment processing solutions from e-commerce, retail, mobile, ACH, to cryptocurrency processing, etc.
High Risk? No Problem
- Competitive Options for Payment Processing at All Risk Levels
- Fast Funding
- No Setup/Hidden Fees
- No Minimum Credit Score
- All Industries Accepted
Bottom Line
Stax and Stripe are two of the best payment processors out there. But whether it's good for your business depends on several factors.
Stax can be a better option for mid-size to large businesses. The subscription pricing can help you save money than flat-rate pricing. It can also be easier to work with and offers better reporting features.
On the other hand, Stripe can be a better option for online businesses and startups. It has more advanced customization features and more integrations with business tools.
References
- ^ Stripe. Supported currencies, Retrieved 10/28/2023
- ^ Stripe. Global availability, Retrieved 10/28/2023
- ^ Stax. Pricing, Retrieved 10/28/2023
- ^ Stripe. Pricing, Retrieved 10/28/2023
- ^ Stripe Docs. Wallets, Retrieved 10/04/2023
- ^ Stax. Contactless Payments, Retrieved 10/04/2023
- ^ Stripe. Stripe Billing, Retrieved 10/04/2023
- ^ Stripe. Billing Pricing, Retrieved 10/28/2023
- ^ Stax Bill. Pricing, Retrieved 10/28/2023
- ^ Stripe. Stripe Support, Retrieved 09/16/2023
- ^ Stripe Documentation. Explore Connect, Retrieved 10/04/2023
- ^ Payment Depot. Pricing Plans, Retrieved 10/28/2023
Save Up to 40%
- Flat Monthly Subscription Price, Starting at $99
- 0% Markup on Direct-Cost Interchange
- 24/7 Support
Square Reader: Free Mobile Credit Card Reader
- Pay 2.6% + 10¢ Per Swipe for Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express
- Accept Credit Cards Anywhere
- Fast Setup, No Commitments
Online Payment Processing
- Accept payments worldwide and automate payouts and financial workflows seamlessly
- Grow with confidence: Whether you're running an e-commerce store, subscription service, or marketplace, Stripe adapts to any business model
- Trusted by millions: From startups to Fortune 500 companies, Stripe powers businesses of every size
- Predictable costs: Transparent flat-rate pricing with no setup fees or monthly charges – pay only for what you use
- Enable more sales: Support credit cards, mobile wallets, and 135+ international payment methods
- Developer-friendly tools: Integrate payments quickly with Stripe's intuitive APIs and documentation
Free Credit Card Processing with Surcharging
- You keep 100% of every credit card sale: when you sell $100, you receive $100. Pay only for debit card transactions.
- Fully Compliant
- CardX passes on the fee for credit card transactions only. Your customers can always choose debit as a no-fee option.
Write to Karen Eloriaga at feedback@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.
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