Head to head
Compared side by side on published facts and the same six criteria every review is graded on — generated from the live directory, not a sales page.
Authorize.net
Payment Processor · 4.2/5 mean
Authorize.Net is a mature, Visa-owned payment gateway that offers robust, developer-friendly payment tools, strong fraud controls, and wide platform integrations. Pricing and merchant-account terms that vary depending on whether you use Authorize.Net’s all-in-one plan or attach your own processor.
Read the full review →Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
Payment Processor · 4.3/5 mean
Braintree is a full-featured, globally-capable payment gateway solution (online + mobile) backed by PayPal, offering robust APIs, developer tooling, and enterprise-class features for merchants. Primarily deals in mobile and web payment systems.
Read the full review →Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) holds the higher standing — by grade, then mean category score. The row-by-row picture below is what should actually decide it for your business.
Both graded against the same six criteria. How we grade · Last fact-checked September 2, 2026.
| Criterion | Authorize.net | Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 3.0 | 4.0wins this criterion |
| Feature set | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 4.0 |
Straight from each provider's published documentation. Where a number isn't published, we say so rather than estimate.
| Metric | Authorize.net | Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate | Not disclosed | 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction |
| Monthly fee | $25 a month gateway fee | $0 monthly fee for standard processing. Third-party guides report a $49/month gateway-only model with $0.10 per transaction; neither PayPal nor Braintree publishes such a rate. |
| Payout | 1-2 business days after settlement for most merchants (Authorize.net advises allowing 2-3; the acquirer sets the schedule) | Typically 1-2 business days after batch settlement (varies by acquiring bank) |
| Contract | commonly month-to-month for the gateway fee. Merchant-account contracts vary by reseller/ISO and can have multi-month commitments. | Public sources indicate month-to-month terms for many merchants |
| International rate | Not disclosed | typically an additional +1% surcharge |
From the Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) review
Authorize.net works with your existing merchant account, so you can shop acquirers for better terms without replacing your integration, whereas Braintree is a bundled gateway-and-processing package. Braintree holds up for merchants who prefer one flat-rate relationship with native PayPal and Venmo acceptance built in.
Pick Authorize.net if you want a gateway on your own merchant account so you can shop processors
Ideal for
Not recommended for
Ideal for
Not recommended for
The full reviews carry the pricing narratives, contract analysis and everything else behind these numbers — or let the matching funnel score the whole directory against your business.
| Customer support | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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| Contract terms | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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| Industry reputation | 5.0 | 5.0 |
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| PCI fee | Not listed publicly. Some resellers/processors charge separate PCI compliance fees. | Not disclosed |
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| Statement fee | Depends on reseller/merchant account | Not disclosed |
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| Chargeback fee | Not listed publicly. | Not disclosed |
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| Early termination | Depends on the merchant account / reseller contract (gateway itself often month-to-month; merchant-account contracts vary) | Likely no early termination penalty |
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| Last fact-checked | September 2, 2026 | September 2, 2026 |
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