Merchants who run Authorize.net as a gateway usually search for an alternative because the $25 monthly fee and the 30 cent fixed charge look heavy on small tickets, because the product is built around US merchant accounts, or because they want billing, tax and payouts under one contract. They move to API-first processors, to acquirers with interchange-based pricing, or to merchant-of-record platforms.
Short answer: Looking for a replacement for Authorize.net? Stripe, Braintree and Square come first in our payment processing software ranking. Where a category has smaller vendors worth recommending, they occupy the first three places and the big brands come below them. Start with Stripe if your developers want the broadest API and you can accept add-on products priced separately. All 12 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Payment Processing Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Authorize.net.
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Pricing: Published: All-in-one $25 per month plus 2.9% + 30 cents; Gateway only $25 per month plus 10 cents and a 10 cent daily batch fee
Established in: United States
Built for: US merchants whose cart or invoicing software already integrates with a gateway and who want a bundled merchant account.
Not for: Non-US sellers needing local payment methods, or software sellers wanting tax and billing in one contract.
01
Why buyers look past Authorize.net
01
A monthly fee and a fixed charge on every sale
Authorize.net's All-in-one plan costs $25 per month plus 2.9% and 30 cents per transaction, and the Gateway only plan keeps the $25 and charges 10 cents per transaction plus a 10 cent daily batch fee. A shop with many small orders feels the fixed amounts first. Processors with no monthly fee, such as Stripe and Mollie, remove the standing charge.
02
Built around a US merchant account
The pricing page lists eCheck as available only to businesses based in the U.S., and the All-in-one plan is marked subject to eligibility. A company selling from Europe, or one that needs local payment methods beyond cards and wallets, ends up shopping for a processor that publishes rates per country and per method.
03
A gateway, not a billing stack
Authorize.net offers automated recurring billing, a customer information manager and digital invoices, but tax calculation, payouts to third parties and revenue reporting are not part of what it lists. Software sellers that want subscriptions, tax and invoices in one product tend to look at a merchant of record or a full billing platform.
you are a small UK business that mostly takes payments in person or by link
#3
03
What each one does differently
1
Stripe
United States · Published
An API-first platform whose standard pricing carries no setup or monthly fee, against Authorize.net's $25 monthly charge. Billing, Tax, Radar fraud screening and Managed Payments are separate products with their own prices, so the card rate is only the starting point. Rates on its pricing page vary by card region.
Switch from Authorize.net if your developers want the broadest API and you can accept add-on products priced separately.
PayPal's gateway, with a published US rate of 2.89% plus 29 cents for cards and wallets, an extra 1% for non-USD currency and for cards issued outside the US, and a $15 chargeback fee. It keeps the gateway-and-vault shape that Authorize.net users know, and it adds PayPal and Venmo to the checkout.
Switch from Authorize.net if you want a like-for-like gateway with a published US rate and PayPal wallets in the same contract.
Starts from a point-of-sale kit rather than a gateway. Online card payments cost 3.3% plus 30 cents on the free plan and 2.9% plus 30 cents on the paid plans, and the monthly fee is charged per location. It suits merchants who also sell in person, which Authorize.net's gateway-only plans do not cover with hardware.
Switch from Authorize.net if you want counter hardware and online checkout from one vendor and one dashboard.
Charges a fixed processing fee of $0.13 plus a payment-method fee that varies by method and region, with no setup or monthly fee, and publishes Interchange++ as an option for cards. It is one platform for online, in-store and marketplace flows. Smaller merchants will find the self-serve onboarding less direct than Authorize.net's sign-up page.
Switch from Authorize.net if you sell across countries and want one acquirer with local methods and Interchange++ pricing.
An acquirer that gives merchants a quote instead of a flat plan. Its UK online quote tool states a £20 chargeback fee and an authorisation fee per transaction, and notes that figures are indicative. It also bundles the merchant account, which Authorize.net does only on the All-in-one plan.
Switch from Authorize.net if you want a bank-style acquiring contract and a quote based on turnover and average ticket.
A wallet first and a processor second. Standard card payments cost 2.99% plus a fixed fee and PayPal Checkout 3.49% plus a fixed fee on its US schedule, which exceeds Authorize.net's 2.9% and 30 cents. Authorize.net's own site says a PayPal account cannot be used with its gateway as a merchant account.
Switch from Authorize.net if your buyers already pay with PayPal and you accept a higher percentage for that trust.
An enterprise acquirer that quotes each organisation either a flat rate or Interchange++ fees, with no published schedule. It says it covers 150+ currencies and domestic acquiring in 45+ countries, and is free for registered charities. There is no sign-up price, so a small shop cannot compare it on a page.
Switch from Authorize.net if your volume is high enough to negotiate a quoted rate and you process in many countries.
A Dutch payment institution with no minimum costs and no lock-in, charging per successful transaction. Its published EEA consumer card rate is 1.80% plus €0.25, SEPA Direct Debit is €0.35, and Payment Links, Invoicing and Recurring are included. Volume pricing begins around €100,000 a month.
Switch from Authorize.net if you sell to European buyers and want SEPA, iDEAL and card rates published per method.
A merchant of record, so Paddle is the seller of record to the buyer and handles tax and chargebacks. Pay-as-you-go is 5% plus 50 cents per checkout transaction, with no monthly fee. That is a much higher fee than a gateway, because it replaces a tax and billing workload as well as payment acceptance.
Switch from Authorize.net if you sell software or subscriptions internationally and want tax and buyer support taken off your desk.
Also a merchant of record, at 5% plus 50 cents per ecommerce transaction and no monthly charge, with licence keys and digital downloads built in. Its own blog says Stripe acquired it, and it now points at Stripe Managed Payments. It does not offer an Authorize.net-style gateway for cards you route yourself.
Switch from Authorize.net if you sell digital products or licences and want tax and delivery in one hosted checkout.
Collects by bank debit rather than by card. The Standard plan is 1% plus 20p per transaction, Advanced 1.25% plus 20p and Pro 1.4% plus 20p, excluding VAT, with a custom plan for businesses above £1m revenue. It replaces only the recurring-billing share of Authorize.net's work, not card checkout.
Switch from Authorize.net if most of your volume is repeat invoices and subscriptions that can be paid by direct debit.
A UK reader and payment-link vendor whose pay-as-you-go rate is 1.69% with no monthly fee, and a £19 monthly Payments Plus tier that it recommends from £3,000 of monthly sales. It is aimed at counter and mobile sales rather than a developer integration, so it replaces little of an API-driven Authorize.net setup.
Switch from Authorize.net if you are a small UK business that mostly takes payments in person or by link.
Authorize.net stays the sensible choice when your site, shopping cart or invoicing software already integrates with it, you hold a US merchant account, and a flat $25 per month is predictable enough for your volume. The 24/7 live support it advertises, the fraud detection suite and the customer information manager are included in the listed plans. A migration to a new processor means new tokens, new reports and a fresh underwriting round, so the saving has to be large enough to repay that work.
05
What moving off Authorize.net involves
01
Stored cards and customer profiles
Cards kept in Authorize.net's customer information manager are tokens that belong to that gateway. Moving them means asking Authorize.net and the new processor to arrange a PCI-compliant transfer, which neither side treats as a self-serve export. Plan for a period where both gateways run and new customers go to the new one first.
02
Subscriptions and recurring schedules
Automated recurring billing schedules live inside the gateway. Before you cancel, export every plan with its next charge date and amount, and decide whether the new platform recreates them or whether customers have to reconfirm payment details. A gap of one billing cycle is the usual cost of getting this wrong.
03
The merchant account underneath
On the All-in-one plan the merchant account came with the gateway, so leaving the gateway also means leaving the account that holds settled funds. Check chargeback windows, reserve balances and the date of the final payout before closing it, and confirm the new provider's underwriting has finished before you switch live traffic.
06
Questions about replacing Authorize.net
6 answers
Is Authorize.net still sold, and who owns it?
Yes. The site is live in 2026 with a redesigned product, a pricing page and a partner programme.
Its footer and privacy notice point to Visa and Visa Cybersource, so it operates within Visa's payments business. The terms of use for the site are governed by California law.
What does Authorize.net cost?
The pricing page lists All-in-one at $25 per month plus 2.9% and 30 cents per transaction, subject to eligibility, and Gateway only at $25 per month plus 10 cents per transaction and a 10 cent daily batch fee.
Gateway plus eCheck adds eCheck at 0.75%, for businesses based in the U.S.
What is the difference between the All-in-one and Gateway only plans?
All-in-one includes the merchant account that holds funds and deposits them to your bank. Gateway only connects Authorize.net to a merchant account you already have with a bank or processor, so you must keep paying that provider's own fees as well.
Which Authorize.net alternative has no monthly fee?
Stripe, Adyen and Mollie state pay-per-transaction pricing with no monthly fee, and Paddle and Lemon Squeezy state no monthly charges either. Square has a free plan, though its online card rate on that plan is 3.3% plus 30 cents.
Can I move from Authorize.net to Stripe without losing stored cards?
Only through a token migration that both companies agree to carry out, because the stored card data sits with Authorize.net. Customers whose cards cannot be migrated need to enter them again at their next purchase.
Is a merchant of record a replacement for Authorize.net?
Only if you sell digital goods or software and want someone else to be the legal seller.
Paddle and Lemon Squeezy each charge 5% plus 50 cents per transaction and take over tax and chargebacks, so the comparison is against a gateway plus a tax service, not against the gateway alone.
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Sources
Checked 31 October 2026
Authorize.net pricing: All-in-one and Gateway only prices, eCheck U.S. restriction, 24/7 support, gateway-versus-merchant-account FAQ.
Authorize.net home: redesigned product, payment types, Visa Cybersource links.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Author and fact-checker: Sebastiaan Smits. This page was last reviewed on 31 October 2026; our review process is public.
