What’s the best way for my business to accept online payments—Stripe, PayPal, or something else?
If your business wants to sell online, one of the first decisions is how to accept payments. The right payment processor depends on your industry, your customers, and your growth goals. Stripe, PayPal, Square, and others all have strengths—and choosing the wrong one can cost you in fees or lost sales.
1. PayPal: Familiar and trusted
PayPal is one of the oldest online payment systems, and many customers already have accounts. Its biggest advantage is trust and ease of setup—you can start accepting payments almost immediately. The downside is higher fees for some transactions and limited flexibility for customization.
2. Stripe: Flexible and developer-friendly
Stripe is popular for businesses that want full control over checkout and payment experiences. It offers powerful APIs, supports subscriptions, recurring billing, and works with nearly every platform. It’s highly scalable, but setup can be more technical if you’re not using a prebuilt integration.
3. Square: Great for small businesses and POS
Square is ideal for businesses that sell both online and in-person. It combines payment processing with point-of-sale hardware, invoicing, scheduling, and more. If you want an all-in-one solution that goes beyond just payments, Square is worth considering.
4. Other options
Authorize.net – reliable but older; often used by traditional merchants.
Shopify Payments – convenient for Shopify users, powered by Stripe.
Apple Pay / Google Pay – mobile-first, fast checkouts, often layered with Stripe or PayPal.
5. What really matters when choosing
Fees: Most processors charge around 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, but rates can vary for volume or industries.
Integration: Make sure it works with your e-commerce platform, website, or invoicing software.
Flexibility: If you need subscriptions, global payments, or custom checkout, Stripe is often the better pick.
Customer trust: Some people only want to pay with PayPal because of its buyer protection.
Bottom Line
There’s no one-size-fits-all payment processor. PayPal wins on trust and ease, Stripe leads on flexibility and scale, and Square is a favorite for small businesses that need more than payments. The best choice comes down to your business model, technical needs, and customer preferences.
If you’d like help reviewing your payment options and setting up the best system for your business, I can walk you through the process.