You might be wondering what payment solution or merchant service to use for your ecommerce website. It can be a bit overwhelming, and sometimes hard to know which one to use. We recommend the following merchant account / payment gateway “full-stack” solutions for our ecommerce websites. These fees were accurate as of this writing, but please check these websites directly for the most up-to-date information. If you know that any of this information has changed, please contact us. Thanks!
Shopify
Shopify offers an ecommerce solution with the ability to accept credit cards online and in-person. They offer competitive rates for all major credit cards and you can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time:
Basic Plan No Setup Fee
Online: 2.9% + 30¢
In Person: 2.7% + 0¢
Professional Plan No Setup Fee
Online: 2.5% + 30¢
In Person: 2.4% + 0¢
Unlimited Plan No Setup Fee
Online: 2.25% + 30¢
In Person: 2.15% + 0¢
Benefits: Shopify eliminates the need for 3rd-party website hosting fees, merchant service fees, PCI compliance fees, and licensing fees that may be involved with other ecommerce solutions. However, you can use other merchant services with your Shopify site. You can consolidate your point-of-sale system and website into one perfect plan.
PayPal
Paypal has 3 options for accepting payments. Here are some details on your options, all of which have 2.9% + $0.30 Per Transaction No Setup Fee; No Cancellation Fee
No monthly fee. 2.9% + $0.30 Per Transaction No Setup Fee; No Cancellation Fee
This can really only be used for very simple payments (buying one item with very few or no variations). A Buy Now button will take users away from your site to PayPal’s to pay. Benefits: Easy to set up and no set-up fee. Disadvantages: User leaves your site to pay. Only very simple products with simple shipping can be sold using this method.
$5 per month. 2.9% + $0.30 Per Transaction No Setup Fee; No Cancellation Fee
This is a brand new solution, which addresses a lot of the concerns that people have about the PayPal Pro option, which is the high monthly fee. This option is definitely the best if you are doing low volume on your site ($100 per month or less) and also if most of your sales are very inexpensive (less than $5.) For example, instead of paying $0.35 per $3 sale (like with Authorize.net), you would only pay 2.9% of $3, which is 9 cents. Benefits: Inexpensive monthly fees. Users stay on your site to pay. Disadvantages: No flexibility on what the checkout experience actually looks like. Because it is a new option, not as many shopping carts support this option.
$30 per month. 2.9% + $0.30 Per Transaction No Setup Fee; No Cancellation Fee
Benefits: Users stay on your site to pay. Works with nearly any shopping cart. Flexibility in the appearance of the checkout. Disadvantages: High monthly fees.
Sign Up for PayPal Payments Pro!
Authorize.net
Set-up fee $99.00. Monthly Gateway Fee $17.95. Transaction Fee $0.10. Batch Fee $0.25
While this may seem like the most expensive option because of all those different fees, this option is the best if you are doing a lot of business on your website ($750+ per month), and/or if you are selling more expensive items $50+. Because you are being charged a set fee instead of a percentage, this can be a huge savings for those higher dollar items. For example, for a $50 purchase, you would still only be charged at most $0.35 instead of $1.45 (if you were doing a 2.9% rate). So as long as you are doing enough transactions a month to pay for the monthly $17.95, this may be the best option. This is also a good option if you also need brick and mortar credit card processing.
Benefits: The most recognized and trusted online payment gateway solution. Users stay on your site to pay. Works with nearly any shopping cart. Flexibility in the appearance of the checkout. Disadvantages: A relatively high set-up cost.
Stripe
2.9% + 30 cents per successful charge. No setup fees, no monthly fees, no card storage fees, no hidden costs.
This payment gateway was built by developers, for developers, so it has a lot of flexibility in terms of your website integration. This is a good option for low-volume sites.
Benefits: No monthly fee. Users stay on your site to pay. Works with many shopping carts. Flexibility in the appearance of the checkout. You only get charged when you earn money. Earnings are transferred to your bank account on a 7 day rolling basis. Disadvantages: Percentage-based pricing + $0.30, so not the best option if you are selling expensive items ($50+).
In the end, you may need to run the numbers on the expected volume of sales each month as well as the average transaction amount to determine which is best for your website.
Disclosure: We are an affiliate partner of Authorize.net, PayPal, and Shopify. Following a sign-up link above will take you off the Bizzy Bizzy site to an affiliate landing page.