Comparison · Updated September 19, 2026
GoCardless vs Stripe for recurring payments
GoCardless
B
A bank-payments specialist built for recurring billing. GoCardless collects by ACH and other direct debit schemes rather than by card, with published, capped per-transaction pricing — but it processes no card payments at all, and merchant complaints about account freezes and slow support are persistent.
Stripe
A
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.
VS
Overview
GoCardless and Stripe both collect US bank debits at a published, capped rate with no monthly fee and no contract, and on that one row GoCardless is cheaper: 0.5% + $0.05 capped at $5 on its Standard plan against Stripe's 0.8% capped at $5. Everything else separates them. GoCardless (a B on Payment Review) is a bank-debit specialist: ACH in the US and the equivalent direct debit schemes in 30-plus countries from one integration, mandate handling and retry logic built for recurring billing, and no card acceptance of any kind — most businesses run it alongside a card processor. Stripe (an A) is the full stack: cards at 2.9% + $0.30, wallets, ACH, SEPA and Bacs, Stripe Billing for subscriptions, Radar for fraud and 24x7 support. GoCardless was bought by Mollie in a deal that completed on 1 September 2026, with no immediate change to contracts. If your revenue is fixed recurring amounts collected from bank accounts — memberships, utilities, retainers, B2B invoices — GoCardless costs less per collection and pays out slightly faster; if customers pay by card, or you want one provider for everything, Stripe is the only one of the two that can do the job.
Key Takeaways
- ✓GoCardless is cheaper on US bank debits: 0.5% + $0.05 capped at $5 (Standard plan) against Stripe's 0.8% capped at $5 — a $500 collection costs $2.55 on GoCardless and $4 on Stripe; Stripe reaches its $5 cap at $625 and GoCardless at about $990, so from $1,000 up they cost the same.
- ✓Stripe is the only one that takes cards: 2.9% + $0.30 online, 2.7% + $0.05 in person. GoCardless is bank debit only and says so — you can run another provider alongside it.
- ✓GoCardless is cheaper when things go wrong: chargebacks cost $5 and only once an account exceeds 15 in a month, against Stripe's $15 per ACH dispute; Stripe's failed-payment fee is $4 to GoCardless's $5.
- ✓Stripe wins on breadth: Billing, Radar, Instant Payouts, 24x7 chat, email and phone support, and a payment-method list that includes cards, wallets, ACH, SEPA and Bacs.
- ✓Both clear a standard ACH debit in about four business days, and both offer two-day settlement — GoCardless as a feature of its Advanced and Pro plans, Stripe at 1.2% for accounts that have processed for about 120 days.
GoCardless
GoCardless is for businesses that collect fixed recurring amounts from bank accounts — accountancy retainers, memberships, utilities, B2B invoices — and either do not need cards or already have a card processor. Published capped pricing, a $5 chargeback fee and 30-plus countries of bank debit from one integration are the case for it; the 2.3 Trustpilot score and complaints about account restrictions are the case for reading the terms first.
Stripe
Stripe is for any business whose customers pay by card, or that wants cards, wallets and bank debits from one provider with subscription billing, fraud tooling and 24x7 support included. Its ACH costs more than GoCardless's and its dispute fee is three times higher, but it is the only one of the two that can be your whole payments stack.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
These two overlap on exactly one thing — collecting US bank debits — and GoCardless is cheaper at it: 0.5% + $0.05 against 0.8%, both capped at $5, with a $5 chargeback fee against Stripe's $15. A business built on fixed recurring collections from bank accounts, in the US or across the 30-plus countries GoCardless reaches from one integration, will pay less and settle about as fast. But GoCardless takes no cards at all, so for most businesses it is a second provider rather than a replacement, and Stripe is the one that can be the whole stack: cards, wallets, ACH and European bank debits, Stripe Billing, Radar, Instant Payouts and 24x7 support. Payment Review grades Stripe an A and GoCardless a B, and the gap is breadth and support rather than price. Choose GoCardless if your customers pay by bank debit and you already have cards covered; choose Stripe if they pay by card or you want one provider.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
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Pricing (USD, US published rates, September 2026)
| Feature | GoCardless | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| US bank debit (ACH) rate | 0.5% + $0.05, capped at $5 (Standard plan) Winner | 0.8%, capped at $5 |
| Same basis: a domestic ACH debit on standard settlement. Stripe's cap is reached at $625 and GoCardless's at about $990, so for collections between those amounts Stripe charges $5 and GoCardless slightly less; from $1,000 up both charge $5. GoCardless's Advanced plan is 0.75% + $0.05 capped at $6.25 and Pro is 0.9% + $0.05 capped at $7 — the higher-featured plans cost more per transaction, not less. Stripe's two-day settlement option is 1.2%. | ||
| Online card rate | Not offered — bank debit only | 2.9% + $0.30 Winner |
| GoCardless's own FAQ lists taking credit card payments as something it does not do and suggests using another provider alongside it. Stripe adds 0.5% for manually keyed cards, 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion. | ||
| Monthly fee | $0; optional $25/mo to show your name on payer statements, $50/mo for branded payment pages | $0 |
| Both state there are no set-up fees. GoCardless's branded-page add-on is available on Advanced and Pro only. | ||
| International bank debit | 1.5% + $0.05 (Standard); 1.75% + $0.05 Advanced; 1.9% + $0.05 Pro | Scheme rate plus international and conversion fees: SEPA 0.8% + $0.30 capped at $6, Bacs 1% + $0.30 capped at $6, Canadian PAD 1% + $0.30 capped at $4 |
| Not the same basis. GoCardless's international rate covers collecting outside your home scheme through its FX service; Stripe's local-scheme rates are charged from a US account with its international and currency-conversion fees on top, which Stripe's pricing page lists without quantifying for these methods. | ||
| Failed payment fee | $5 | $4 per failed ACH payment Winner |
| Stripe does not charge the failure fee on retries it initiates automatically through Billing's Direct Debit retries. | ||
| Chargeback / dispute fee | $5, charged only once an account exceeds 15 chargebacks in a month Winner | $15 per ACH dispute; $15 per card dispute |
| GoCardless's pricing page says the chargeback fee affected 0.25% of merchants as of February 2024. Stripe's ACH dispute fee is non-refundable whatever the outcome, and ACH disputes cannot be contested through the network. | ||
| Refunds | $0.50 per refund | No fee to refund; the original processing fee is not returned Winner |
US bank debit (ACH) rate
GoCardless
0.5% + $0.05, capped at $5 (Standard plan)
Winner
Stripe
0.8%, capped at $5
Same basis: a domestic ACH debit on standard settlement. Stripe's cap is reached at $625 and GoCardless's at about $990, so for collections between those amounts Stripe charges $5 and GoCardless slightly less; from $1,000 up both charge $5. GoCardless's Advanced plan is 0.75% + $0.05 capped at $6.25 and Pro is 0.9% + $0.05 capped at $7 — the higher-featured plans cost more per transaction, not less. Stripe's two-day settlement option is 1.2%.
Online card rate
GoCardless
Not offered — bank debit only
Stripe
2.9% + $0.30
Winner
GoCardless's own FAQ lists taking credit card payments as something it does not do and suggests using another provider alongside it. Stripe adds 0.5% for manually keyed cards, 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion.
Monthly fee
GoCardless
$0; optional $25/mo to show your name on payer statements, $50/mo for branded payment pages
Stripe
$0
Both state there are no set-up fees. GoCardless's branded-page add-on is available on Advanced and Pro only.
International bank debit
GoCardless
1.5% + $0.05 (Standard); 1.75% + $0.05 Advanced; 1.9% + $0.05 Pro
Stripe
Scheme rate plus international and conversion fees: SEPA 0.8% + $0.30 capped at $6, Bacs 1% + $0.30 capped at $6, Canadian PAD 1% + $0.30 capped at $4
Not the same basis. GoCardless's international rate covers collecting outside your home scheme through its FX service; Stripe's local-scheme rates are charged from a US account with its international and currency-conversion fees on top, which Stripe's pricing page lists without quantifying for these methods.
Failed payment fee
GoCardless
$5
Stripe
$4 per failed ACH payment
Winner
Stripe does not charge the failure fee on retries it initiates automatically through Billing's Direct Debit retries.
Chargeback / dispute fee
GoCardless
$5, charged only once an account exceeds 15 chargebacks in a month
Winner
Stripe
$15 per ACH dispute; $15 per card dispute
GoCardless's pricing page says the chargeback fee affected 0.25% of merchants as of February 2024. Stripe's ACH dispute fee is non-refundable whatever the outcome, and ACH disputes cannot be contested through the network.
Refunds
GoCardless
$0.50 per refund
Stripe
No fee to refund; the original processing fee is not returned
Winner
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Accounting firm, gym, membership organisation or utility collecting fixed recurring amounts by bank debit
Recommended
GoCardless
This is what GoCardless is built for: mandates, retries and capped pricing at 0.5% + $0.05, with a $5 chargeback fee and integrations into Xero, Sage, Chargebee and Zuora. Stripe can do it too, but at 0.8% and $15 per dispute.
B2B company invoicing a few hundred dollars per invoice by ACH
Recommended
GoCardless
Below about $990 an invoice GoCardless is cheaper per collection ($2.55 against $4 on a $500 invoice, $3.80 against $5 at $750); from $1,000 up both are at the $5 cap and the difference disappears, so the decision then rests on the dispute fee and whether you need cards.
Subscription SaaS selling to card-paying customers in several countries
Recommended
Stripe
Cards are the payment method and GoCardless does not take them. Stripe Billing, Radar and 24x7 support cover the rest of the job from one account.
E-commerce store or any business selling to first-time or walk-up customers
Recommended
Stripe
Bank debit takes about four business days to clear and can be disputed for 60 days with no right of appeal, which makes it a poor fit for one-off sales to strangers; Stripe's cards and in-person Terminal at 2.7% + $0.05 are the right tools.
Business that wants cards and bank debits from a single provider
Recommended
Stripe
Only Stripe offers both. Running GoCardless alongside a card processor is common, but it means two dashboards, two payout schedules and two sets of terms.
GoCardless: Best for 2 use cases
Stripe: Best for 3 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
For US bank debits, yes: GoCardless charges 0.5% + $0.05 capped at $5 on its Standard plan, against Stripe's 0.8% capped at $5, and its chargeback fee is $5 (only once you exceed 15 in a month) against Stripe's $15. On a $500 collection that is $2.55 against $4; at $1,000 and above both reach the $5 cap. Stripe's failed-payment fee is lower ($4 against $5) and it does not charge to issue a refund, where GoCardless charges $0.50. Neither charges a monthly fee.
No. GoCardless collects by ACH in the US and by the equivalent direct debit schemes elsewhere, and its own FAQ lists taking credit card payments as something it does not do, suggesting you use another provider alongside it. Stripe accepts cards at 2.9% + $0.30 online and 2.7% + $0.05 in person, as well as ACH, SEPA and Bacs bank debits.
Yes, and many businesses do: Stripe for cards and one-off sales, GoCardless for recurring bank-debit collections where the capped rate saves money. Billing platforms such as Chargebee and Zuora, and accounting software such as Xero, connect to both. The cost is two dashboards, two payout schedules and two sets of terms.
About the same on standard terms. GoCardless's US timing is roughly four business days from creating the payment to receiving the payout; Stripe settles ACH to your balance in four business days and then pays out on your payout schedule. Both offer two-day settlement: GoCardless as a feature of its Advanced and Pro plans, Stripe at 1.2% per transaction for US accounts that have processed for about 120 days. Stripe also has Instant Payouts within about 30 minutes for 1.5% on eligible accounts.
Mollie, the Dutch payments company, completed its acquisition of GoCardless on 1 September 2026. GoCardless continues under its own name as a Mollie company, with co-founder Hiroki Takeuchi still leading it, and both companies say there are no immediate changes to services, contacts or contracts for existing customers. Stripe remains independent and privately held.
It depends on how customers pay. If they pay from bank accounts, GoCardless was built for it — mandates, retries and instant bank verification are plan features rather than a separate product. If they pay by card, only Stripe can take the payment, and Stripe Billing adds subscription management at 0.7% of billing volume pay-as-you-go or from $620 a month on a one-year contract.
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