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.
Payment Depot
ISO · 2.8/5 mean
Payment Depot, now operating as "Payment Depot by Stax," is a California-based merchant services provider founded in 2013 that pioneered the subscription/interchange-plus pricing model for small businesses, but has experienced significant customer service and transparency issues since its 2021 acquisition by Stax.
Read the full review →Stripe
Payfac / Aggregator · 4.5/5 mean
Stripe is a leading payment processor known for its developer-friendly API, transparent pricing, and comprehensive suite of payment solutions for businesses of all sizes.
Read the full review →Stripe 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 7, 2026 and September 16, 2026.
| Criterion | Payment Depot | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 3.0 | 5.0wins this criterion |
| Feature set | 2.0 | 5.0wins this criterion |
| Ease of use | 3.0 |
Straight from each provider's published documentation. Where a number isn't published, we say so rather than estimate.
| Metric | Payment Depot | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate | Interchange + 0% + $0.15 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Monthly fee | $0 | No monthly fees |
| Payout | Next business day | First payout 7-14 days; then a rolling schedule of about 2 business days |
| Contract | None | No long-term fixed contract requirements for standard services / 1-year minimum commitment for add-ons and enterprise services |
| In-person rate | Interchange + 0% + $0.08 | 2.7% + $0.05, plus $0.10 per authorization for Tap to Pay |
| Keyed rate | Interchange + 0% + $0.15 | 3.4% + $0.30 (the online rate plus 0.5% for manually entered cards) |
From the Payment Depot review
Stripe publishes a flat 2.9% + $0.30 online rate with no monthly or PCI fees and offers best-in-class APIs, where Payment Depot's markup is confirmed at quoting time and an unpublished $10 monthly PCI fee applies. Payment Depot still suits high-volume merchants for whom interchange-plus pricing beats a flat rate.
Pick Stripe if you sell online and want transparent published pricing with strong developer tools
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.
| 4.0wins this criterion |
| Customer support | 2.0 | 4.0wins this criterion |
|---|
| Contract terms | 4.0 | 5.0wins this criterion |
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| Industry reputation | 3.0 | 4.0wins this criterion |
|---|
| International rate | Not disclosed | +1.5% + ~1% for conversion |
|---|
| PCI fee | $10/month, or $19.99/month if non-compliant | No separate PCI fee |
|---|
| Statement fee | Not disclosed | No monthly statement fee |
|---|
| Chargeback fee | Not disclosed | $15 dispute received fee per dispute, kept whether you win or lose; a further $15 dispute countered fee if you respond manually, returned if you win and kept if you lose |
|---|
| Early termination | None | No early termination fee under the pay-as-you-go model |
|---|
| Last fact-checked | September 7, 2026 | September 16, 2026 |
|---|