Comparison · Updated September 19, 2026
Cybersource vs Authorize.net
Cybersource
B
Visa's enterprise payment gateway, founded in 1994 in Silicon Valley and bought by Visa for about $2 billion in 2010. It is one of the largest gateways in the world — Cybersource's own marketing claims 14.3 billion transactions a year, connections to more than 200 acquirers and processors across 160-plus countries, and 99.999% uptime — and its Decision Manager fraud engine is genuinely among the best-regarded in the industry. What it does not do is publish a single price. Cybersource has no public rate card, no published gateway fee and no self-serve signup; every quote comes through a sales conversation or through whichever acquirer resells it to you. For a large merchant with a payments team that is normal. For anyone smaller, it is the main reason to look at its sister brand Authorize.net instead.
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.
VS
Overview
Cybersource and Authorize.net are the same family: Cybersource bought Authorize.net in 2007 and Visa bought Cybersource in 2010, and both now sit under Visa Acceptance Solutions. They serve opposite ends of the market. Authorize.net (an A- on Payment Review) publishes its prices — $25 a month plus 2.9% + $0.30 on the all-in-one plan with a merchant account, or $25 a month plus $0.10 a transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee if you bring your own — with no set-up fee, no contract and no early-termination fee on the gateway, fraud tools and recurring billing included, self-serve sign-up and 24/7 live support. Cybersource (a B) publishes no price at all: it is sold through Visa's enterprise sales team and through acquirers, priced by module, and built for merchants that need 200-plus acquirer connections across 160-plus countries, 50-plus settlement currencies and Decision Manager, a fraud engine drawing on VisaNet data. A US small or mid-sized business gets everything it needs from Authorize.net for a known price; a multi-country enterprise with a payments team is the customer Cybersource is designed for, and the sales process is the point of entry.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Authorize.net publishes its pricing and Cybersource does not: $25/mo plus 2.9% + $0.30 all-in-one, or $25/mo plus $0.10 a transaction and $0.10 per daily batch with your own merchant account, against a Cybersource quote that comes only from a sales conversation or a reseller.
- ✓Cybersource wins on reach: 200+ acquirers and processors in 160+ countries and 50+ currencies from one integration, where Authorize.net is priced and sold for US merchants and its eCheck service is US-only.
- ✓Authorize.net includes its Advanced Fraud Detection Suite, recurring billing and Customer Information Manager in the $25 fee; Cybersource's Decision Manager is the stronger fraud engine but is a separately priced module with no published cost.
- ✓Authorize.net has no contract and no early-termination fee on the gateway and signs you up online; Cybersource contracts are negotiated, have no published term, and there is no self-serve tier.
- ✓Neither has a good consumer-review record — Trustpilot 2.1 from 9 reviews for Cybersource and 1.6 from 92 for Authorize.net, both unclaimed — and Payment Review grades Authorize.net A- to Cybersource's B, the gap being pricing transparency and ease of use.
Cybersource
Cybersource is for large merchants with a payments team and volume in several countries: one integration to 200-plus acquirers, settlement in 50-plus currencies, Decision Manager fraud screening and processor-agnostic tokenisation that lets you change acquirer without rebuilding checkout. Expect a sales process, a modular quote and an integration that reviewers consistently describe as demanding.
Authorize.net
Authorize.net is for US businesses that want a gateway with a known price and no contract — $25 a month plus either 2.9% + $0.30 or $0.10 a transaction with your own merchant account — fraud tools and recurring billing included, sign-up online and 24/7 live support. Consumer-review complaints centre on billing and settlement timing, and it is not built for multi-country acquiring.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
For most businesses that will read this, Authorize.net is the answer, and Cybersource's own review on this site says as much: it publishes its prices, has no contract, includes fraud screening and recurring billing in a $25 monthly fee, signs you up online and answers the phone around the clock. Payment Review grades it A- to Cybersource's B, and the gap is pricing transparency and ease of use rather than capability. Cybersource is the right choice only for the customer it is built for — a large merchant with a payments team, volume in several countries and a need for acquirer choice, multi-currency settlement and Decision Manager's fraud screening — and that customer should expect a sales process, a modular quote whose modules matter more than the headline, and an integration budget. The two are sister brands under Visa, so choosing between them is a question of size and geography, not of trust.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Pricing (USD, published rates, September 2026)
| Feature | Cybersource | Authorize.net |
|---|---|---|
| Published rate card | None — every quote comes from Visa's sales team or a reseller | Yes: all-in-one $25/mo + 2.9% + $0.30; gateway-only $25/mo + $0.10 per transaction + $0.10 per daily batch Winner |
| Cybersource's site has no rate card, no gateway fee and no self-serve sign-up; its own pages route to 'Contact sales' and 'get pricing'. Authorize.net's all-in-one rate is marked 'subject to eligibility'. | ||
| Monthly gateway fee | Not disclosed | $25, prorated if you start mid-month |
| Per-transaction gateway fee | Not disclosed | $0.10 per transaction plus $0.10 per settled batch on gateway-only plans; charges, refunds, voids and declines all count |
| On Authorize.net's all-in-one plan the 2.9% + $0.30 replaces the per-transaction and batch fees. | ||
| Card processing rate | Set by whichever acquirer you are boarded with; Cybersource's gateway charge sits on top | 2.9% + $0.30 on the all-in-one plan, or your own acquirer's rate on gateway-only |
| Both are gateways first. Cybersource connects to 200-plus acquirers and does not publish its own margin; Authorize.net's all-in-one merchant account is provided as a registered ISO of PNC Bank. | ||
| ACH / eCheck | Not disclosed | 0.75% per eCheck with a $10 monthly minimum, on the gateway + eCheck plan; US businesses only |
| Chargeback fee at the gateway | Not disclosed | $0 per card chargeback at the gateway (your acquirer's fee still applies); $25 per eCheck chargeback |
| Authorize.net's fee schedule also lists a $25 returned-payment fee and a $20 late-payment fee on its own billing. | ||
| Fraud tooling cost | Decision Manager is a separately priced module; cost not disclosed | Advanced Fraud Detection Suite included, no additional monthly fee Winner |
| The row is about price, not capability — see the fraud engine row below. | ||
| Set-up fee and early termination | Not disclosed; terms are negotiated per agreement | $0 set-up; no contract and no early-termination fee on the gateway Winner |
| Authorize.net notes that a merchant account opened through its all-in-one plan may have separate terms shown at sign-up. | ||
Published rate card
Cybersource
None — every quote comes from Visa's sales team or a reseller
Authorize.net
Yes: all-in-one $25/mo + 2.9% + $0.30; gateway-only $25/mo + $0.10 per transaction + $0.10 per daily batch
Winner
Cybersource's site has no rate card, no gateway fee and no self-serve sign-up; its own pages route to 'Contact sales' and 'get pricing'. Authorize.net's all-in-one rate is marked 'subject to eligibility'.
Monthly gateway fee
Cybersource
Not disclosed
Authorize.net
$25, prorated if you start mid-month
Per-transaction gateway fee
Cybersource
Not disclosed
Authorize.net
$0.10 per transaction plus $0.10 per settled batch on gateway-only plans; charges, refunds, voids and declines all count
On Authorize.net's all-in-one plan the 2.9% + $0.30 replaces the per-transaction and batch fees.
Card processing rate
Cybersource
Set by whichever acquirer you are boarded with; Cybersource's gateway charge sits on top
Authorize.net
2.9% + $0.30 on the all-in-one plan, or your own acquirer's rate on gateway-only
Both are gateways first. Cybersource connects to 200-plus acquirers and does not publish its own margin; Authorize.net's all-in-one merchant account is provided as a registered ISO of PNC Bank.
ACH / eCheck
Cybersource
Not disclosed
Authorize.net
0.75% per eCheck with a $10 monthly minimum, on the gateway + eCheck plan; US businesses only
Chargeback fee at the gateway
Cybersource
Not disclosed
Authorize.net
$0 per card chargeback at the gateway (your acquirer's fee still applies); $25 per eCheck chargeback
Authorize.net's fee schedule also lists a $25 returned-payment fee and a $20 late-payment fee on its own billing.
Fraud tooling cost
Cybersource
Decision Manager is a separately priced module; cost not disclosed
Authorize.net
Advanced Fraud Detection Suite included, no additional monthly fee
Winner
The row is about price, not capability — see the fraud engine row below.
Set-up fee and early termination
Cybersource
Not disclosed; terms are negotiated per agreement
Authorize.net
$0 set-up; no contract and no early-termination fee on the gateway
Winner
Authorize.net notes that a merchant account opened through its all-in-one plan may have separate terms shown at sign-up.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
US online store or service business processing a few thousand dollars a month upwards
Recommended
Authorize.net
The all-in-one plan at $25/mo plus 2.9% + $0.30 gives you a merchant account, gateway, fraud rules, recurring billing and invoicing with no contract, and Authorize.net's own FAQ puts the break-even against no-monthly-fee providers at around $2,500 a month in volume.
Business with an existing merchant account that wants a gateway it can keep while shopping processors
Recommended
Authorize.net
Gateway-only at $25/mo plus $0.10 a transaction and $0.10 a batch works with the acquirer you already have, and the fee schedule is published down to the batch fee.
Enterprise retailer or marketplace selling in several countries with a payments team
Recommended
Cybersource
One integration to 200-plus acquirers in 160-plus countries with settlement in 50-plus currencies, Decision Manager fraud screening and tokenisation that survives a change of acquirer is what Cybersource sells, and no published price is the normal condition of buying at that scale.
Subscription business billing US customers monthly
Recommended
Authorize.net
Automated Recurring Billing and the Customer Information Manager are included in the $25 fee, and Account Updater is available at $0.25 per update; Cybersource offers the equivalent through separately priced modules with no published cost.
Very low-volume seller processing a few hundred dollars a month
Neither. Authorize.net's $25 monthly fee is hard to justify below a couple of thousand dollars a month, and Cybersource has no small-business tier at all; a pay-as-you-go processor with no monthly fee is the better fit until volume grows.
Cybersource: Best for 1 use case
Authorize.net: Best for 3 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
They are sister brands. Cybersource, founded in 1994, bought Authorize.net in 2007, and Visa bought Cybersource in 2010; both now operate under Visa Acceptance Solutions and share a support centre. They are sold to different customers: Authorize.net to US small and mid-sized merchants at a published price, Cybersource to enterprises through Visa's sales team and through acquirers.
Only one of them will tell you. Authorize.net charges $25 a month plus 2.9% + $0.30 with its own merchant account, or $25 a month plus $0.10 a transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee with yours. Cybersource publishes no rate card, no gateway fee and no module prices; every figure comes from a sales quote or a reseller, and the gateway, Decision Manager, tokenisation and hosted checkout are priced separately. For a small merchant Authorize.net is almost certainly cheaper; at enterprise volume the comparison depends entirely on the negotiated quote.
No. Cybersource's website has no rate card and no self-serve sign-up; its pages route to 'Contact sales' and 'get pricing'. Pricing is modular and negotiated per account, so ask for the full module list and the per-transaction cost of each before signing — a quote covering only the base gateway will not resemble the invoice once fraud and tokenisation modules are switched on.
Yes. The Advanced Fraud Detection Suite — customisable rules that flag suspicious transactions — is included in the $25 monthly fee on every plan, along with Automated Recurring Billing, the Customer Information Manager and digital invoicing. Cybersource's Decision Manager is a more powerful engine, scoring transactions with machine learning on Visa network data, but it is a separately priced module.
Not on the gateway. Authorize.net states there is no contract requirement and no early-termination fee, and you can cancel the gateway subscription at any time without penalty. If you took a merchant account through the all-in-one plan, that account may have its own terms, which are shown at sign-up. Cybersource's contracts are negotiated and their length and exit terms are not published.
In practice, rarely by choice. There is no month-to-month tier, no published entry price and no self-serve sign-up; small merchants who end up on Cybersource have usually been placed there by an acquirer or a platform that resells it. Cybersource's own review on this site points smaller businesses to Authorize.net, its sister brand, for exactly that reason.
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