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.
Shopify Payments
Payfac / Aggregator · 4.3/5 mean
Shopify Payments is Shopify’s own branded payments service — processed by Stripe, per Shopify’s published processor list — giving merchants one-click access to accepting cards and wallets inside Shopify, simplifying setup and eliminating third-party gateway fees for supported merchants.
Read the full review →Stax
ISO · 4.0/5 mean
Stax is a payments technology company founded in 2014 that partners with SaaS companies, ISOs, and SMBs to enable flexible, multi-channel payment processing and invoicing solutions, claiming a distinctive subscription-based pricing model with 0% interchange markup.
Read the full review →Shopify 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 16, 2026 and September 2, 2026.
| Criterion | Shopify Payments | Stax |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Feature set | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 5.0wins this criterion | 4.0 |
Straight from each provider's published documentation. Where a number isn't published, we say so rather than estimate.
| Metric | Shopify Payments | Stax |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate | 2.9% + $0.30 (Basic), 2.7% + $0.30 (Grow), 2.5% + $0.30 (Advanced), 2.25% + $0.30 (Plus) on standard cards; premium cards, meaning all domestic American Express cards and commercial, corporate or business cards, run 3.5% / 3.3% / 3.1% / 2.95% + $0.30 on the same plans | $0.15 per transaction (flat, no % markup) |
| Monthly fee | No separate gateway fee — the Shopify plan carries it: $39/mo Basic, $105 Grow, $399 Advanced billed monthly ($29 / $79 / $299 billed annually), Plus from $2,300. | $99–$199+/month (depending on subscription tier) |
| Payout | 3 business days after the charge (US), plus 1–3 days for your bank to post it | Next business day |
| Contract | Standard Shopify accounts are month-to-month; Enterprise / Plus customers have custom agreements. | month-to-month subscription |
| In-person rate | 2.6% + $0.10 (Basic), 2.5% + $0.10 (Grow), 2.4% + $0.10 (Advanced), 2.3% + $0.10 (Plus) |
From the Stax review
Shopify Payments activates in one click inside Shopify and removes the platform's third-party transaction fee, something Stax as an outside processor cannot do. Stax makes more sense for multi-channel or professional-service businesses whose volume justifies its subscription-based, zero-markup pricing.
Pick Shopify Payments if you sell primarily through a Shopify store and want payments built into the admin
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 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
|---|
| Contract terms | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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| Industry reputation | 5.0wins this criterion | 4.0 |
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| $0.08 per transaction (flat, no % markup) |
| Keyed rate | 3.5% + $0.10 for manually entered in-person cards on Basic, Grow and Advanced; 3.4% + $0.10 on Plus | $0.15 per transaction |
|---|
| International rate | +1% on cards issued outside the US on every plan, plus a 1.5% currency conversion fee for US stores (2% in other regions) when the order currency differs from your payout currency | Not publicly specified |
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| PCI fee | These vary by region and merchant agreement. | Not on Stax's published rate card; $10/month is third-party reporting |
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| Statement fee | These vary by region and merchant agreement. | Not disclosed |
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| Chargeback fee | $15 in the US, returned if you win the dispute | Not on Stax's published rate card; chargeback protection is offered as an add-on at an unpublished price |
|---|
| Early termination | These vary by merchant agreement. | None (month-to-month; 30 days written notice required to cancel) |
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| Last fact-checked | September 16, 2026 | September 2, 2026 |
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