Authorize.net vs. PayPal Payments Pro

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Authorize.net
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Authorize.net is a payment gateway software solution offered by Visa featuring secure data processing and fraud protection.
$25
monthly gateway
PayPal Payments Pro
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
PayPal Payments Pro is an enterprise-class ecommerce payment solution, that provides payment processing security to build a professional-grade ecommerce site. It can be configured to meet business needs and works across devices. Users can tap into over 390 million active customer accounts around the globe.
$0.02
per transaction
Pricing
Authorize.netPayPal Payments Pro
Editions & Modules
All-in-One Option
25 & 2.9% + $0.30
monthly gateway/per transaction
Payment Gateway Only
$25
monthly gateway
QR code Transactions
1.90% + fixed fee
per transaction
Charity Transactions
2.20% + fixed fee
per transaction
Commercial Transactions - In-Store
2.70% + fixed fee
per transaction
Commercial Transactions - Online
2.90% + fixed fee
per transaction
PayPal's pay later offers
2.90% + fixed fee
per transaction
Venmo
2.90% + fixed fee
per transaction
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Authorize.netPayPal Payments Pro
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Authorize.netPayPal Payments Pro
Considered Both Products
Authorize.net
Chose Authorize.net
I have found a similar feature on Authorize.net like PayPal, that's why I have shifted here. Few things are even better than Paypal. Authorize.net offers your customers a variety of payment options online. Authorize.net accepts payments from customers using mobile devices. …
Chose Authorize.net
Authorize.net is a reliable and affordable payment processing service that offers more robust security than other services, such as Stripe or PayPal with their monthly fees at $25 dollars month lot of people may be turned off by these high prices but you get what you pay for - …
Chose Authorize.net
Stripe's platform doesn't seem to offer a lot in the way of customer service. I felt Authorize.Net's customer service was far superior. I didn't like that PayPal's platform redirected you to their site and then back into our site. It seemed confusing to the user and I'd rather …
Chose Authorize.net
We did not select authorize.net, it came with the software package with our catering system Spoonfed. I would prefer either Toast or LevelUp as a payment processor over authorize.net—those two are easier to use from a manager perspective and process refunds. My experience with …
PayPal Payments Pro
Chose PayPal Payments Pro
I currently use both Quickbooks and PayPal in conjunction. I stopped using Authorize.Net because the company I went through had so many extra charges that it was hard to budget for. I like how PayPal just combines all the charges into one simple fee per transaction. I know how …
Chose PayPal Payments Pro
We use Authorize.Net on one of our other websites as the payment processor. It is good too but definitely took a while to integrate because of some issues. PayPal Payments was much easier.
Chose PayPal Payments Pro
PayPal Payments, at the end of the day, was an easy sell to management and an auto integration with our eCommerce software. We already informally accepted PayPal for international customers to reduce risk, and taking it a step further was an easy next step. It was a one or …
Chose PayPal Payments Pro
  • On the micropayments side, PayPal Payments was the clear victor, charging significantly less as compare to other payment gateways in past.
  • PayPal Payments used to return our original processing fee in the past.
  • PayPal Payments is currently available in over 200 countries/regions …
Chose PayPal Payments Pro
We use both Amazon Pay and PayPal on our website. Paypal is more well known, but Amazon Pay works better with subscriptions and offers better business support.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Authorize.netPayPal Payments Pro
Small Businesses
Apple Pay
Apple Pay
Score 9.1 out of 10
Apple Pay
Apple Pay
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Apple Pay
Apple Pay
Score 9.1 out of 10
Apple Pay
Apple Pay
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Adyen
Adyen
Score 8.8 out of 10
Adyen
Adyen
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Authorize.netPayPal Payments Pro
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(31 ratings)
8.2
(73 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(1 ratings)
2.3
(9 ratings)
User Testimonials
Authorize.netPayPal Payments Pro
Likelihood to Recommend
Visa
Authorize.net is reliable and I feel confident that customers' information is protected. The security protocols used by Authorize.net appear to be as good, and probably better than many credit card payment processors. However, the initial setup process was very difficult. I distinctly recall getting up and running as being very cumbersome and time-consuming. I also was disappointed with how the processing and deposit of payments were not consistent. I distinctly remember regretting the decision to go with Authorize.net. However, as mentioned before, with the time and effort required to get the account set up and running, I refused to go through the process again and try a different provider.
Read full review
PayPal
Paypal is great for personal payments as well as business payments for ecommerce of for paying monthly memberships. It is a user friendly software that needs little expertise to get used to. For larger payments, the fees become high therefore it is more suitable for payments of upto few hundred dollars.
Read full review
Pros
Visa
  • Very smooth workflow to authorizing, capturing, voiding, and refunding charges. This can all be done via API calls, or through their online dashboard.
  • Their AVS settings for validating credit cards are substantial and have been reliable in ensuring that our customers cards are being used safely and properly.
  • Their uptime and response times are very good in general. The only issues we ever have communicating with their services is when our connection quality is compromised.
Read full review
PayPal
  • PayPal offers me the option of converting my currency deposited in my account to another currency, so I can complete all kinds of payments and send money to employees who are in another country for business reasons.
  • The mobile phone application is too fast, I can make payments to my employees in a matter of seconds without having to wait for the web version to load.
  • Scheduled payments are great. PayPal allows me to add a list of contacts to my PayPal Business account, and after adding the contacts, I can schedule payments for a specific day and time. It's easier to make automated payroll payments with PayPal.
Read full review
Cons
Visa
  • The lack of data portability is a big issue for me.
  • Authorize.net uses the same $49.00 gateway setup fee to scam merchants out of money, which is no better than any of the other gateways out there.
  • Their customer service is not up to the mark. You can get stuck if you need any help from their end.
Read full review
PayPal
  • Sometimes the UX flow would not deliver the customer back to our site, leaving orders in limbo "Pre-approved" status. The customer would call days later asking why we hadn't shipped it.
  • The PayPal logo on the checkout page can be kind of large and obtrusive.
  • They mention new features and programs on their login page, but it's hard to find any details on them deeper in the software.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Visa
Authorize.net has been a useful system for our Chamber. We appreciate the ease of use and access to our Main Frame. Connecting Authorize.net to our system for membership, event and other payment ease has been excellent and we have experienced no problems whatsoever.
Read full review
PayPal
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Visa
I have no experience directly with the support offered by Authorize.Net.
Read full review
PayPal
Customer service representatives were unable to explain why customer in Australia were unable to make payments using our link. It turned out that customers in Australia must create an account. PayPal's user interface did not reveal this to our customers in Australia. There was plenty about this issue appearing in online forums and PayPal customer service couldn't explain this. This change in PayPal's usability happened between April and May of 2021 and was done without notice to vendors (like us).
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Visa
Authorize.net is a reliable and affordable payment processing service that offers more robust security than other services, such as Stripe or PayPal with their monthly fees at $25 dollars month lot of people may be turned off by these high prices but you get what you pay for - protection against fraud in risky transactions so I would recommend using Authorize.net if this matters to your business!
Read full review
PayPal
I don't think there's really any competition here. There's Venmo (also owned by PayPal) who is now offering business accounts, but it still isn't quite the same. The closest thing in terms of ease of use would be Apple Pay or Google Pay (and there are a handful of others out there, but we offer Apple and Google Pay). As a business, I prefer Apple or Google Pay to PayPal Payments, but we offer either Google or Apple Pay, PayPal, and credit card options and PayPal is always right up there with credit cards. I don't foresee us ever getting rid of PayPal Payments as an option, but we do try to only offer it on request for higher ticket items or high dollar installment purchases.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Visa
  • Lets us charge cards so we can get paid on time, every time.
  • It was very difficult to setup the DocuSign integration the first time, but after we got it setup, it's made the onboarding process very easy. That probably saves about 30 minutes every time we get a new client.
Read full review
PayPal
  • Our daily revenue has been increased when started PayPal Payments as the payment gateway.
  • Refund rate and recurring revenue is stable and disputes are handled properly.
  • Forex Fluctuations is controlled and solved the buying experience for few users.
  • Solved problem for different currencies and retained our users.
Read full review
ScreenShots