Stripe vs. Checkout.com: A Comprehensive Comparison

Choosing the Right Enterprise Payment Platform for Global Commerce

When selecting a payment processing solution for high-growth or enterprise businesses, the choice between Stripe and Checkout.com represents a critical decision about your technical architecture and global expansion strategy. Stripe offers the industry’s most comprehensive developer ecosystem with extensive financial services beyond payments, while Checkout.com provides an enterprise-focused platform with AI-powered payment optimization specifically designed for large digital merchants. This decision shapes not just your payment costs, but your technical capabilities, international reach, and revenue optimization potential.

Stripe dominates with $1.4 trillion in total payment volume processed in 2024, representing approximately 1.3% of global GDP, while Checkout.com is on track to process more than $300 billion in e-commerce payment volume in 2025, with AI-powered tools that have unlocked over $15 billion in additional merchant revenue since launch.

Key Takeaways

Scale and Reach: Stripe processes $1.4 trillion annually across 46 countries with 135+ currencies, while Checkout.com processes $300+ billion with domestic acquiring in 45+ countries and growing US presence
Market Position: Stripe serves businesses from startups to Fortune 100 (half now use Stripe), while Checkout.com exclusively targets enterprise merchants with 40+ processing over $1 billion annually
Pricing Model: Both offer interchange++ pricing for enterprise clients, but Checkout.com provides more transparent cost breakdowns while Stripe offers simpler published rates for smaller businesses
Technical Approach: Stripe excels in developer experience with extensive APIs and financial services stack, while Checkout.com focuses on AI-driven payment optimization and modular enterprise tools
Valuation and Growth: Stripe is valued at $91.5 billion with 38% YoY payment volume growth, while Checkout.com is valued at $12 billion with 45% revenue growth and full-year profitability in 2024

Payment Solution Type Overview

Modern enterprise payment processors can be categorized into two distinct approaches based on their platform philosophy and target market.

Full-Stack Financial Infrastructure Platforms provide comprehensive payment processing combined with extensive financial services including billing, treasury, lending, and embedded finance. These platforms prioritize developer experience, broad market coverage from startups to enterprises, and building an interconnected ecosystem of financial tools.

Enterprise Payment Optimization Platforms focus specifically on serving large digital merchants with sophisticated payment needs. These platforms emphasize payment performance optimization, AI-driven acceptance improvements, and highly customizable solutions for complex enterprise requirements.

Stripe Overview

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, founded in 2010 by brothers Patrick and John Collison in Palo Alto, California. Stripe processed $1.4 trillion in total payment volume in 2024, up 38% from the prior year, and is currently valued at approximately $91.5 billion, making it the largest privately-held fintech company globally.

What Is Stripe?

Stripe revolutionized online payments by making complex payment infrastructure accessible through simple, elegant APIs. What began as a payments company has evolved into a comprehensive financial infrastructure platform offering billing, treasury, lending, issuing, and embedded finance capabilities. The platform serves businesses of all sizes, from two-person startups to half of the Fortune 100, with a developer-first philosophy that has made it the default payments choice for technology companies.

How Does Stripe Work?

Stripe operates as a complete payment ecosystem that handles every aspect of the payment flow. When customers make purchases, Stripe securely captures payment information, performs real-time fraud analysis using machine learning, processes the transaction through optimal banking networks, and provides detailed reporting and reconciliation.

Beyond payment acceptance, Stripe’s platform extends to subscription billing for over 300,000 companies managing nearly 200 million active subscriptions, treasury services for holding and managing funds, lending through Stripe Capital, and card issuing for embedded finance applications. This comprehensive approach allows businesses to build their entire financial operations on a single platform.

Stripe Features and Pricing

Stripe’s Features

Complete payment processing supporting 135+ currencies and 100+ payment methods across 46 countries
Stripe Billing for subscription and recurring payments, part of a $500 million revenue run rate Revenue and Finance Automation Suite
Radar fraud prevention using machine learning with customizable risk rules
Treasury and Issuing for embedded banking and card programs
Connect for marketplace and platform payments with multi-party payouts
Tax automation for global tax calculation and compliance

Stripe’s Pricing

Standard online processing: 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge
In-person payments: 2.7% + 5¢ per transaction
Custom enterprise pricing with interchange++ available for high-volume businesses
Additional fees for international cards and currency conversion

Stripe’s Transaction Fees

Domestic cards: 2.9% + 30¢
International cards: Additional 1.5%
Currency conversion: Additional 1%
ACH Direct Debit: 0.8%, $5 cap
Invoicing: 0.4% per paid invoice, $2 cap

Stripe’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths of Stripe

Developer Experience: Industry-leading APIs, documentation, and developer tools that set the standard for payment integration
Comprehensive Platform: Full financial infrastructure including payments, billing, treasury, lending, and embedded finance
Market Leadership: Processes approximately 1.3% of global GDP with proven enterprise scalability
AI and Optimization: 78% of Forbes AI 50 companies build on Stripe, with continuous ML optimization across transactions
Ecosystem Depth: Extensive integrations with over 100 companies processing $1 billion+ annually
Global Reach: Available in 46 countries with support for 135+ currencies

Weaknesses of Stripe

Pricing Transparency: Standard flat-rate pricing can be expensive for high-volume enterprises compared to interchange++ models
Enterprise Service Model: One-size-fits-all support approach may not satisfy merchants requiring dedicated, high-touch relationships
Account Management: Some users report challenges with account holds and risk management decisions
Modular Flexibility: Tightly integrated platform may be less flexible for enterprises wanting to mix best-of-breed solutions

Who Benefits the Most From Stripe?

Stripe Is Best For

Technology Companies: Startups and SaaS businesses needing developer-friendly payment integration
Platform Businesses: Marketplaces requiring multi-party payments and embedded finance through Stripe Connect
Subscription Businesses: Companies with recurring revenue models leveraging Stripe Billing
Global Expansion: Businesses expanding internationally needing broad currency and payment method support
Full-Stack Needs: Organizations wanting integrated payments, billing, treasury, and financial services on one platform

Ideal Use Cases For Stripe

SaaS companies with complex subscription billing and usage-based pricing
Marketplaces and platforms managing payments between multiple parties
E-commerce businesses requiring seamless checkout optimization
Companies embedding financial services into their products
AI and technology startups needing rapid payment integration

Checkout.com Overview

Checkout.com is a global digital payments company founded in 2012 by Guillaume Pousaz in London, serving enterprise merchants with customizable, high-performance payment solutions. The company achieved 45% net revenue growth in 2024 and returned to profitability, with more than 40 merchants processing over $1 billion annually on its platform.

What Is Checkout.com?

Checkout.com is an enterprise-focused payments platform built specifically for large digital merchants with complex payment needs. Unlike platforms serving the full market spectrum, Checkout.com concentrates exclusively on sophisticated enterprise clients including Alibaba, Sony, Uber Eats, eBay, and Pinterest. The platform differentiates through AI-powered payment optimization, transparent interchange++ pricing, and dedicated enterprise relationships that deliver measurable revenue improvements.

How Does Checkout.com Work?

Checkout.com operates as a unified payments API that enables enterprises to process online payments across multiple currencies and payment methods through a single technical integration. The platform handles the entire payment flow from initial transaction capture through fraud analysis, intelligent routing, and settlement.

What distinguishes Checkout.com is its focus on payment optimization for large merchants. The Intelligent Acceptance system processes over 26,000 transactions per minute, applying AI-driven optimizations at every step including messaging, routing, authentication, and retries. The platform’s data advantage comes from processing billions of transactions, allowing network-wide learning that benefits all merchants using the optimization tools.

Checkout.com Features and Pricing

Checkout.com Features

Enterprise payment processing across 150+ countries with domestic acquiring in 45+ countries
Intelligent Acceptance AI engine that has unlocked over $15 billion in additional merchant revenue
Flow hosted checkout live in 190 countries, supporting 35+ alternative payment methods
Fraud Detection Pro with machine learning-powered fraud prevention
Card vault storing over 2.5 billion cards
Business Account for optimized cash flow management and same-day settlements
Card issuing in partnership with Visa

Checkout.com Pricing

Interchange++ pricing model with transparent fee breakdown
European cards: approximately 0.95% + $0.20
Non-European cards: approximately 2.90% + $0.20
Enterprise pricing: Custom interchange++ rates of 0.10%-0.40% + $0.08 for qualifying volumes
No setup fees or early termination fees

Checkout.com Transaction Fees

Custom per-transaction fees based on volume and geography
Transparent breakdown of interchange, scheme fees, and acquirer markup
Separate gateway and method-specific fees for alternative payment methods
Competitive cross-border processing rates

Checkout.com’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths of Checkout.com

Payment Optimization: AI-powered Intelligent Acceptance delivers measurable 3.8% average acceptance rate improvements
Enterprise Focus: Dedicated support and relationships with 63 Net Promoter Score from enterprise clients
Transparent Pricing: Clear interchange++ model showing exact cost components
Modular Approach: Allows merchants to use specific capabilities without full platform lock-in
Performance Under Load: 67 merchants processed over $10 million each on Black Friday 2024
Global Expansion: First global payments provider with direct Visa/Mastercard integration in Japan

Weaknesses of Checkout.com

Enterprise Only: Not suitable for small or medium businesses; focused exclusively on high-volume merchants
Smaller Scale: Processes significantly less volume than Stripe, potentially limiting network optimization data
Product Breadth: Less comprehensive financial services stack compared to Stripe’s billing, treasury, and lending offerings
Geographic Coverage: While expanding, fewer countries with domestic acquiring than Stripe’s global footprint
Brand Recognition: Lower visibility compared to Stripe among developers and smaller businesses

Who Benefits the Most From Checkout.com?

Checkout.com Is Best For

Large Digital Enterprises: Companies processing significant e-commerce volume requiring optimization
Performance-Focused Merchants: Businesses prioritizing authorization rates and payment success over platform breadth
Enterprise Relationship Seekers: Organizations wanting dedicated support and customized solutions
European Businesses: Companies with strong EU presence benefiting from London headquarters and European acquiring
Modular Architecture Needs: Enterprises wanting best-of-breed payment optimization without full platform commitment

Ideal Use Cases For Checkout.com

Large e-commerce brands requiring payment performance optimization
Global marketplaces processing high cross-border transaction volumes
Digital enterprises seeking transparent interchange++ pricing
Companies requiring same-day settlement and cash flow optimization
Businesses expanding into EMEA and seeking strong European acquiring presence

Financial & Market Insights

Market Position: Stripe processed $1.4 trillion in payments during 2024, up 38% year-over-year, representing approximately 1.3% of global GDP. The company serves half of the Fortune 100 and 80% of the largest US software companies, demonstrating its dominance in the technology sector.

Checkout.com is set to process more than $300 billion in e-commerce payment volume in 2025, regularly processing more than $1 billion of e-commerce payment volume per day. Over 40 merchants now process more than $1 billion annually on the platform, comparable to Adyen’s enterprise customer concentration.

Growth Trajectories: Stripe continues expanding with 38% payment volume growth in 2024 and strategic moves into AI commerce (acquiring Bridge for stablecoins) and usage-based billing (acquiring Metronome). The company has returned to profitability with approximately $5.1 billion in net revenue and $2.2 billion in free cash flow in 2024.

Checkout.com achieved 45% net revenue growth in 2024 with particularly strong performance in the US (80% volume growth). The company exited 2024 profitably and targets 30% net revenue growth in 2025 while growing headcount by 15% to 2,000+ employees.

Investment and Innovation: Stripe is valued at $91.5 billion as of February 2025, having raised approximately $9.4 billion in total funding. The company continues heavy R&D investment, with acquisitions including Bridge ($1.1 billion for stablecoins) and Metronome (~$1 billion for usage-based billing).

Checkout.com conducted an employee share buyback at a $12 billion valuation in September 2025, down from its 2022 peak of $40 billion but up 30% from its 2023 internal valuation. The company has raised approximately $1.8 billion in total funding and continues investing in AI capabilities, agentic commerce protocols, and global acquiring expansion.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Stripe	Checkout.com
Billing & Invoicing	✅	✅
Currency Support	✅	✅
Customizable Branding/White Label	✅	✅
Deployment Options	✅	✅
Fraud Prevention Tools	✅	✅
Integration Capabilities	✅	✅
Management Tools	✅	✅
Payment Types Support	✅	✅
Reconciliation Tools	✅	✅
Reporting & Data Analysis	✅	✅
Security/Compliance	✅	✅
Smart Routing	✅	✅
Split Payments	✅	✅
Supported Payment Methods	✅	✅
Tokenization	✅	✅
Vaulting	✅	✅

Final Summary & Recommendation

Key Reasons to Choose Stripe

You’re a technology company or startup needing developer-friendly payment integration with comprehensive documentation
You require a full financial infrastructure stack including billing, treasury, lending, and embedded finance
You want to start with simple pricing and scale to enterprise custom rates as you grow
You’re building a platform or marketplace requiring Stripe Connect’s multi-party payment capabilities
You need the broadest possible payment method and currency support across 135+ currencies
You value ecosystem depth with proven scale processing 1.3% of global GDP

Key Reasons to Choose Checkout.com

You’re a large enterprise merchant focused specifically on payment performance optimization
You require transparent interchange++ pricing with detailed cost breakdowns
You want dedicated enterprise relationships with high-touch support and customization
You prioritize AI-driven authorization rate improvements that translate directly to revenue
You have strong European presence and want a London-headquartered provider with EU acquiring expertise
You prefer modular payment optimization without committing to a full-stack financial platform

The Bottom Line: The choice between Stripe and Checkout.com depends largely on your company’s size, technical philosophy, and specific payment optimization needs. Stripe excels as a comprehensive financial infrastructure platform serving businesses from startup to Fortune 100, with unmatched developer experience and ecosystem breadth. Checkout.com shines for large enterprise merchants prioritizing payment performance optimization, transparent pricing, and dedicated enterprise relationships.

For most businesses under $100 million in annual payment volume, Stripe’s combination of developer tools, comprehensive platform, and scaling capabilities makes it the default choice. For large enterprises processing hundreds of millions or billions annually, where basis points of authorization improvement translate to millions in revenue, Checkout.com’s focused optimization capabilities and enterprise service model become highly compelling.

Many large enterprises use both platforms strategically—Stripe for its financial services stack and developer tools, and Checkout.com for specific high-volume flows requiring payment optimization. The platforms compete most directly for primary processor relationships at the enterprise level.

Important Note: Both platforms serve fundamentally different market positions despite overlapping enterprise capabilities. Stripe provides a complete financial infrastructure platform for businesses of all sizes, while Checkout.com focuses exclusively on enterprise payment optimization. Businesses should evaluate based on their primary need: comprehensive financial platform (Stripe) versus dedicated payment performance optimization (Checkout.com).

This comparison is based on publicly available information as of January 2026. Pricing and features may vary based on specific business requirements and negotiations with each provider.