Best Payment Processors · head-to-head
Authorize.net vs Stax (by Fattmerchant)
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 Stax (by Fattmerchant) $99/mo — Authorize.net is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: Authorize.net No; Stax (by Fattmerchant) No.
- HIPAA: Authorize.net No; Stax (by Fattmerchant) No.
Side by side
| Authorize.net | Stax (by Fattmerchant) | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $25/mo (All-in-One) | $99/mo (Subscription (up to $150K/yr)) |
| 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 | Established SMBs processing $120K+/year wanting to eliminate percentage markups |
Sources — Authorize.net: authorize.net (verified 2026-06-13). Stax (by Fattmerchant): staxpayments.com (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
Stax (by Fattmerchant): 0% interchange markup — flat per-transaction cents only above direct interchange cost; Subscription model saves high-volume merchants vs. percentage-based processors; All-in-one: invoicing, recurring billing, virtual terminal, and reporting included; PCI DSS compliant platform; Dedicated account manager on higher tiers