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 →PayPal
Payment Processor · 4.0/5 mean
PayPal is a global, feature-rich digital payments platform (consumer wallet + merchant services) with extensive integrations and brand reach. It is trusted by many businesses but criticized in public reviews for dispute handling and account-hold practices.
Read the full review →Authorize.net 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 | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Feature set | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Straight from each provider's published documentation. Where a number isn't published, we say so rather than estimate.
| Metric | Authorize.net | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate | Not disclosed | 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction |
| Monthly fee | $25 a month gateway fee | $0 Pay-as-you-go | Enterprise agreements have monthly fees |
| Payout | 1-2 business days after settlement for most merchants (Authorize.net advises allowing 2-3; the acquirer sets the schedule) | 1-3 business days (standard bank transfer) |
| Contract | commonly month-to-month for the gateway fee. Merchant-account contracts vary by reseller/ISO and can have multi-month commitments. | Pay as you go or month-to-month business accounts |
| In-person rate | Not disclosed | 2.29% + $0.09 per card-present transaction (PayPal's published POS rate, not Tap to Pay only) |
| Keyed rate |
From the PayPal review
Authorize.net works with your existing merchant account and builds in advanced fraud detection and recurring billing, letting you shop processors without replacing your integration — flexibility PayPal's all-in-one model doesn't offer. PayPal remains the simpler pick for merchants who want checkout, invoicing, POS, and payouts in one account with no monthly fee.
Pick Authorize.net if you already have a merchant account and just need a mature, fraud-focused gateway
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 | 4.0wins this criterion | 3.0 |
|---|
| Contract terms | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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| Industry reputation | 5.0 | 5.0 |
|---|
| 3.49% + $0.09 for manually entered cards, published on PayPal's POS pricing page |
| International rate | Not disclosed | Cross-border fee +1.50%; currency conversion spread 4.00% (3.00% on some transaction types) |
|---|
| PCI fee | Not listed publicly. Some resellers/processors charge separate PCI compliance fees. | None |
|---|
| Statement fee | Depends on reseller/merchant account | Varies by product/region |
|---|
| Chargeback fee | Not listed publicly. | Region dependent ($20 US) |
|---|
| Early termination | Depends on the merchant account / reseller contract (gateway itself often month-to-month; merchant-account contracts vary) | Not applicable for standard pay as you go accounts; enterprise/reseller contracts may have terms |
|---|
| Last fact-checked | September 2, 2026 | September 2, 2026 |
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