Best Payment Processors · head-to-head
Authorize.net vs Braintree (a PayPal service)
A sourced, side-by-side comparison for payment processors. Authorize.net has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.
At a glance
- Price: Authorize.net $25/mo vs Braintree (a PayPal service) —/mo — Authorize.net is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: Authorize.net No; Braintree (a PayPal service) No.
- HIPAA: Authorize.net No; Braintree (a PayPal service) No.
Side by side
| Authorize.net | Braintree (a PayPal service) | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $25/mo (All-in-One) | — |
| Free tier | No | No |
| HIPAA (BAA) | No | No |
| SOC 2 | — | — |
| GDPR | — | — |
| Best for | Established SMBs wanting a gateway-only solution with their own merchant account | Enterprise merchants wanting PayPal/Venmo alongside cards in one integration |
Sources — Authorize.net: authorize.net (verified 2026-06-13). Braintree (a PayPal service): quote-only (verified 2026-06-13).
Key features
Authorize.net: Established payment gateway with 25+ years in market (Visa subsidiary); Advanced Fraud Detection Suite (AFDS) with customizable rules; Account Updater to automatically refresh stored card data; Recurring billing and subscription payment management; Supports Tap to Pay on mobile and eCheck/ACH payments
Braintree (a PayPal service): Payment orchestration with multi-acquirer routing; PayPal, Venmo, and card in a single SDK integration; Global payouts to 200+ markets in 50+ currencies; Fraud management tools; Mobile SDKs for iOS and Android