Authorize.net vs Braintree
Last updated: September 7, 2026
Authorize.net
A-
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.
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
A-
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.
VS
Overview
Both publish their US pricing in full, which makes this an unusually clean comparison. Authorize.net charges $25 a month and 2.9% + 30c on its all-in-one plan, includes its fraud suite and recurring billing at no extra cost, and answers the phone around the clock — but it requires a merchant account from a US or Canadian provider and settles one currency per account. Braintree charges no monthly fee, 2.89% + 29c, and brings PayPal and Venmo plus 150+ settlement currencies, at the cost of a $15 chargeback fee, paid fraud add-ons and no published support hours.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Braintree has no monthly fee; Authorize.net charges $25 a month whether you process anything or not.
- ✓Authorize.net includes its Advanced Fraud Detection Suite and recurring billing at no extra cost; Braintree charges 0.4%-0.6% per transaction for chargeback protection and 5c per fraud inquiry.
- ✓Braintree settles in 150+ currencies and adds PayPal and Venmo natively; Authorize.net settles one currency per account, USD or CAD on North American processors.
- ✓Authorize.net's published fee table lists a $0.00 card chargeback fee against Braintree's $15.
- ✓Authorize.net answers the phone 24/7; Braintree publishes a help-request form and no support hours.
Authorize.net
Authorize.net suits US and Canadian merchants who want a predictable monthly bill, fraud rules and recurring billing included, 24/7 phone support, and the option to keep their existing merchant account.
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
Braintree suits online sellers who want no monthly fee, PayPal and Venmo in the same integration, and multi-currency settlement — and who can live without published support hours.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
These are the same grade for good reason: each wins the rows the other loses. Braintree is cheaper on the meter — no monthly fee, a fractionally lower card rate, a $5 cap on ACH — and it is the only one of the two that settles 150+ currencies and puts PayPal and Venmo in the same integration. Authorize.net costs $25 a month before you sell anything, but that $25 buys a fraud rules engine, recurring billing, a $0 card chargeback fee and a phone answered at any hour, and it is the only one that will sit in front of a merchant account you negotiated yourself. Volume decides it: below roughly $10,000 a month the monthly fee dominates and Braintree wins; above it, the cost difference narrows to cents per transaction and the choice turns on whether you need multi-currency and PayPal, or bundled fraud tooling and 24/7 support.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Cost of acceptance
| Feature | Authorize.net | Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $25 on every plan | $0 Winner |
| Authorize.net's $25 is charged whether or not you process. It is the single figure that decides this comparison for a low-volume seller. Its published fee table also carries ancillary charges Braintree's does not: $25 for a returned billing payment, $20 for a late payment, $10 on an abandoned account, and Account Updater priced separately. | ||
| Standard card rate | 2.9% + 30c (All-in-one plan) | 2.89% + 29c (standard merchants) Winner |
| Both are the published standard rate for card and digital-wallet transactions; the difference is about 1c on a $100 sale. Braintree lists custom flat rates and interchange-plus for established businesses; Authorize.net says its rate is subject to eligibility. | ||
| Gateway-only option | $25/month + 10c per transaction + a 10c daily batch fee, used with your own merchant account | Not offered on published pricing — Braintree is gateway and processing together |
| This is the structural difference. Authorize.net can sit in front of a merchant account you negotiated elsewhere, so a merchant with a good interchange-plus deal keeps it. Braintree's rate is the whole price. | ||
| ACH / eCheck | 0.75% per eCheck, uncapped, with a $10 monthly minimum on eCheck processing and a $3.00 returned-item fee | 0.75%, capped at $5.00; same-day ACH 1.5% + 10c; $5.00 returned-item fee Winner |
| The $5 cap is what decides this row on large invoices: a $5,000 ACH payment costs $5.00 through Braintree and $37.50 through Authorize.net. Authorize.net is the cheaper of the two on returns, at $3.00 against $5.00. | ||
| Chargeback fee | $0 on card chargebacks; $25 on eCheck chargebacks Winner | $15.00 |
| Authorize.net's own fee table defines this line as "the fee charged by the payment gateway for each chargeback" and sets it at $0.00 — so read it as the gateway's fee, not the whole cost. On a gateway-only account the acquiring bank can still levy its own chargeback fee, which Authorize.net does not set. Braintree's $15 covers the whole transaction, since Braintree is the processor. | ||
| International surcharges | Not published | +1% for a transaction presented in a non-USD currency; +1% for a card issued outside the US |
| Braintree publishes these; they stack, so a non-USD sale on a foreign-issued card runs 2% above the headline rate. | ||
Monthly fee
Authorize.net
$25 on every plan
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
$0
Winner
Authorize.net's $25 is charged whether or not you process. It is the single figure that decides this comparison for a low-volume seller. Its published fee table also carries ancillary charges Braintree's does not: $25 for a returned billing payment, $20 for a late payment, $10 on an abandoned account, and Account Updater priced separately.
Standard card rate
Authorize.net
2.9% + 30c (All-in-one plan)
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
2.89% + 29c (standard merchants)
Winner
Both are the published standard rate for card and digital-wallet transactions; the difference is about 1c on a $100 sale. Braintree lists custom flat rates and interchange-plus for established businesses; Authorize.net says its rate is subject to eligibility.
Gateway-only option
Authorize.net
$25/month + 10c per transaction + a 10c daily batch fee, used with your own merchant account
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
Not offered on published pricing — Braintree is gateway and processing together
This is the structural difference. Authorize.net can sit in front of a merchant account you negotiated elsewhere, so a merchant with a good interchange-plus deal keeps it. Braintree's rate is the whole price.
ACH / eCheck
Authorize.net
0.75% per eCheck, uncapped, with a $10 monthly minimum on eCheck processing and a $3.00 returned-item fee
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
0.75%, capped at $5.00; same-day ACH 1.5% + 10c; $5.00 returned-item fee
Winner
The $5 cap is what decides this row on large invoices: a $5,000 ACH payment costs $5.00 through Braintree and $37.50 through Authorize.net. Authorize.net is the cheaper of the two on returns, at $3.00 against $5.00.
Chargeback fee
Authorize.net
$0 on card chargebacks; $25 on eCheck chargebacks
Winner
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
$15.00
Authorize.net's own fee table defines this line as "the fee charged by the payment gateway for each chargeback" and sets it at $0.00 — so read it as the gateway's fee, not the whole cost. On a gateway-only account the acquiring bank can still levy its own chargeback fee, which Authorize.net does not set. Braintree's $15 covers the whole transaction, since Braintree is the processor.
International surcharges
Authorize.net
Not published
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
+1% for a transaction presented in a non-USD currency; +1% for a card issued outside the US
Braintree publishes these; they stack, so a non-USD sale on a foreign-issued card runs 2% above the headline rate.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Low-volume seller taking a few hundred dollars a month
Recommended
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
Braintree charges no monthly fee. Authorize.net's $25 is 8% of a $300 month before any transaction fee is applied.
Established merchant with a negotiated interchange-plus merchant account
Recommended
Authorize.net
Authorize.net's gateway-only plan — $25/month plus 10c a transaction and a 10c daily batch fee — lets you keep the acquiring deal you already have. Braintree does not offer a comparable standalone gateway.
Subscription or DTC business that wants PayPal and Venmo at checkout
Recommended
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
Braintree processes PayPal and Venmo natively in one integration. Venmo runs 3.49% + 49c, well above the card rate, so price it into your mix.
Seller pricing in more than one currency
Recommended
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
Authorize.net sets one currency per account and needs a second account for a second currency; Braintree supports 150+.
Merchant that wants fraud rules and phone support included in the price
Recommended
Authorize.net
Authorize.net bundles its Advanced Fraud Detection Suite and answers the phone 24/7. Braintree meters fraud tooling from 5c per inquiry and 0.4% per transaction, and publishes no support hours.
Business based outside the United States and Canada
Recommended
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments)
Authorize.net requires a merchant account from a US or Canadian provider and routes everyone else to Cybersource. Braintree is sold more widely, though it does not publish its merchant country list.
Authorize.net: Best for 2 use cases
Braintree (PayPal Enterprise Payments): Best for 4 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
No. Braintree's published US pricing is 2.89% + 29c per card or third-party wallet transaction with no monthly gateway or account fee. Authorize.net charges $25 a month on every plan, all-in-one or gateway-only, regardless of volume.
Not on published rates alone. Authorize.net's all-in-one plan is 2.9% + 30c plus $25 a month; Braintree is 2.89% + 29c with no monthly fee. Authorize.net gets cheaper in two situations: when you already hold a competitive merchant account and can use the gateway-only plan at 10c a transaction plus a 10c daily batch fee, and when chargebacks are frequent, since its fee table lists $0.00 for a card chargeback against Braintree's $15. Braintree gets cheaper on large ACH payments, where its 0.75% is capped at $5 and Authorize.net's is not — and Authorize.net adds a $10 monthly minimum on eCheck processing.
Not directly. Authorize.net's knowledge base states that a merchant account or merchant bank account from a merchant service provider based in the United States or Canada is necessary, and directs businesses elsewhere to Cybersource, its sister company inside Visa. It also sets one currency per account — USD or CAD through North American processors — so a second currency needs a second account.
Yes, both in the same integration. PayPal transactions are billed under the terms of your PayPal account rather than the Braintree card rate, and Venmo, which is US-only, is priced at 3.49% + 49c. Authorize.net supports PayPal through Express Checkout but does not offer Venmo.
Braintree charges $15 per chargeback, plus $5 for an ACH return and $5 for an ACH payment disputed as unauthorised. Authorize.net's published fee table lists $0.00 for card chargebacks, $25.00 for eCheck chargebacks and $3.00 for a returned eCheck. Read the $0.00 as covering the gateway — the table defines it as the fee charged by the payment gateway — so on a gateway-only account your acquiring bank can still charge its own chargeback fee, which Authorize.net has no part in setting. Braintree's $15 covers the whole transaction because Braintree is the processor.
Authorize.net, on what each publishes. It advertises 24/7 live support with a phone number on its pricing page. Braintree's help page offers a request form and a sales contact and states no hours, no phone number and no response-time commitment. Trustpilot rates both 1.5, but both profiles are unclaimed and dominated by complaints, so that number distinguishes very little.
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