Top 5 GoCardless alternatives: compare fees, features, and benefits

If you run a growing business, you’ll need a payment platform that will allow you to open local accounts in several currencies, seamlessly accept payments from international customers, and send money across borders without excessive fees.

Whilst GoCardless may be one of your options, you may like to consider its alternatives to see which one suits your needs best.

What is GoCardless? 

GoCardless is a financial technology company with a reputation for providing a secure payment pathway for SMEs and larger enterprises with recurring billing systems across multiple countries.

Headquartered in London, the company helps businesses send and receive payments directly by facilitating domestic, international, one-off, recurring and scheduled payments via Direct Debit and Instant Bank Pay. GoCardless also now offers open banking services, after acquiring Nordigen in 2022.

Since 2011, GoCardless has processed over $35billion in payments annually for thousands of organisations around the world, including Sage, TripAdvisor and Les Mills­¹.

GoCardless offers a tiered subscription model for Australian customers, with incremental features included. There are no monthly subscription costs and transaction fees start at 1% +40c.

The top alternatives to GoCardless

Here are the top alternatives to GoCardless

Airwallex is a global financial technology company that offers a range of financial services, including international payments, multi-currency accounts, and Borderless Cards. As an Australian business, Airwallex aims to empower businesses of all sizes to drive ‌global growth through easy-to-use transaction solutions.

Payoneer is a global fintech company that offers digital payment solutions. It enables businesses and professionals to send and receive funds, manage finances, and operate internationally. With Payoneer, users can handle cross-border payments and access global markets.

PayPal has been a trusted payment gateway for over 20 years, serving the global community. It empowers eCommerce brands to process payments from credit cards, debit cards, and bank transfers.

Stripe is a technology company that creates the economic infrastructure for the internet. It equips businesses with a comprehensive suite of payment processing tools and APIs to facilitate payment acceptance, payouts, and financial management online.

Square is a financial services and mobile payment company that equips businesses with the means to accept payments, oversee sales, and optimise operations. Square is generally recognised for its portable card readers and innovative POS systems.

Compare the top 5 alternatives to GoCardless

The top GoCardless alternatives: key features and fees

Airwallex, Payoneer, PayPal, Stripe and Square are alternatives to GoCardless, but each have their own strengths. Our platform, Airwallex stands out from the rest with our end-to-end financial operations and global reach. It’s a strong option if you’re looking to scale your financial operations domestically or internationally. 

Below, we summarise the key features and fees of each. For full product and fee information, including other charges, please visit each provider’s official website. 

Airwallex

Airwallex is a global payment solution that lets you accept payments in more than 160 payment methods across 180 countries. No-code to fully-customisable integration options make it easy to get started quickly, and you can save your business a tonne of fees with like-for-like settlement into multi-currency accounts. In other words, you can settle payments in the same currency that your customers pay in, saving you on costly exchange rates. 

It’s easy to open an account with local bank details in Airwallex, without having to go to a bank or complete any complicated paperwork. The platform also offers FX and transfer solutions, with competitive interbank fees. Uniquely, our investment product, Yield, allows businesses to earn competitive rates on their idle AUD and USD funds. Other features like corporate, accounts payable, and expense management, make it ideal for growing businesses. 

Airwallex fees: 

Subscription Fees: Airwallex’s ‘Explore’ bundle starts from $29 per month, which can be waived by holding a minimum of $10,000 or depositing $5,000 per month. 

Domestic transactions: Free

International transactions: Free to 120+ countries

Pros

• An all-in-one platform for business financial operations, combining accounts, payments, corporate cards, and more

• Low-cost international transfers 

• Extensive global reach to convert, send, and hold funds

Cons

• No physical branches – digital only platform and service

• New updates and optimisations being released regularly, which may not suit the user habits of all consumers

• Physical POS system coming soon

Payoneer

Payoneer is used amongst freelancers and businesses due to its focus on cross-border transactions. The platform offers an intuitive interface, supporting multiple payment methods such as bank transfers and debit/credit cards. Payoneer also provides a prepaid Mastercard at $29.95 annually, which can be used for online and in-store purchases. Whilst they offer payment processing services for marketplaces and platforms, fees are higher for international transfers, which may become costly. 

Payoneer fees: 

Subscription fees: Free account. Prepaid Mastercard costs $29.95 per year.

Domestic transactions: Free for transactions between Payoneer accounts. All other transactions cost 2% or 3% per transaction if paying via credit card

International transactions: 0.5% transfer fee

Pros

• Supports multi-currency accounts and currency conversion 

• Serves both individuals and businesses

• Free transactions between Payoneer accounts

Cons

• Transfer limits of $15,000USD per credit card transaction, which may be limiting for larger businesses 

• Primarily a payments product, with no multi-currency accounts or corporate cards

• Users may likely need another platform to manage other financial operations

PayPal 

PayPal supports a variety of payment methods, including credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal balances. The platform also offers invoicing, subscription payments, and mobile payments. 

PayPal’s widespread acceptance is available for personal and business use. However, PayPal is likely to incur higher fees for business transactions, which in the long-term may affect a business’ bottom line. 

PayPal Fees: 

Subscription Fees: Free account

Domestic transactions: 2.6% plus fixed fee 

International transactions: 3.6% plus fixed fee

Pros 

• Wide-spread acceptance and various payment methods

• Suitable for physical and digital stores

• Offers buyer and seller protection

Cons

• Higher fees for international transactions

• Whilst it may be easy to use, there are limited customisations available 

• Doesn’t hold multi-currency funds

Stripe 

Stripe is a financial technology company that provides businesses with infrastructure for offline and online payments. It offers a suite of payment processing APIs, letting businesses accept, manage, and reconcile online transactions. For brick-and-mortar stores, they offer a POS system to accept in-person payments. Stripe's tools and services support various payment methods and currencies. However, Stripe doesn't offer a multi-currency account to hold international funds, or expense management tools to assist with a full suite of financial operations. 

Stripe fees: 

Subscription fees: No account fees

Domestic transactions: 1.7% + $0.30 per transaction

International transactions: 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction. An additional 2% is charged if currency conversion is required. 

Pros

• Extensive analytics and reporting tools

• POS system for physical stores

• Minimal subscription fees may make Stripe an accessible option

Cons

• Primarily a payments product, with no multi-currency accounts or corporate cards

• Users may need another platform to manage other financial operations

• Costly for international transactions, especially where currency conversion is involved

Square 

Square is widely used by both physical and online businesses for its point-of-sale (POS) solutions and customisable payment links for online transactions. It's well-suited for physical businesses, offering a range of hardware tools, inventory management, and employee management features. However, the higher fees for online transactions and the inconsistency in customer support can make it a less favourable option for eCommerce and international businesses.

Square Fees: 

Subscription fees: Free account

Domestic transactions: Physical card transactions incur a 1.6% surcharge whereas online or no-card transactions cost 2.2% 

International transactions: 2.2% per transaction 

Pros

• Services in-person and online businesses 

• Social media management tools available as it integrates with Facebook and Instagram

• Easy set up with POS

Cons

• Higher fees for international transactions

• Separate software is required for multi-currency accounts and Square does not hold muli-currency funds 

• Limited customisation options in exchange for easy use

Why choose Airwallex over GoCardless?

*These are Account-to-Account payments and not card payments.

What questions should I ask when considering alternative providers to GoCardless?

With so many providers on the market, it can be tricky to find the right payment software for your business. But it matters; the time and money it takes to find a new provider and exit a contract can add up quickly.

Find out if GoCardless, or one of the alternatives we’ve mentioned in this article, is a good fit for your needs by finding out the answer to these 10 questions: 

• What industries and business sizes do you serve?

• Which countries and currencies do you support?

• What are your transaction fees?

• Are there any additional costs (FX fees, etc)?

• What payment methods do you support?

• Do you offer tiered pricing or volume discounts?

• Do you offer recurring billing and subscription management features?

• How easy is it to integrate your platform with my business systems?

• How do you protect sensitive financial information?

• What kind of technical and customer support do you offer?

Final thoughts on alternatives to GoCardless

While GoCardless is a smart choice for domestic businesses that rely on recurring billing models, Airwallex can offer a more flexible, cost-effective solution for businesses with diverse and international payment needs.

As a cross-border payments specialist, Airwallex helps you accept payments in 160+ local payment methods in 180+ countries and collect and hold funds in 23 countries. If you need to convert to another currency, we offer transparent, competitive FX rates (Interbank rate + 0.5%-1%).

With GoCardless, you can only accept payments from 30+ countries and currency conversions are powered through third-party Wise. You’ll be charged 2%+ 40c to collect international transactions, plus you can only hold 8 currencies.

Sources

For more information on Airwallex, visit Airwallex Business Account and Airwallex pricing. 

1. https://gocardless.com/en-au/pricing/

2. https://gocardless.com/international-payments/

3. https://www.payoneer.com/about/pricing/#pay-your-supplier

4. https://www.paypal.com/au/enterprise/payment-methods

5. https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees

6. https://stripe.com/au/pricing

7. https://stripe.com/au/pricing/local-payment-methods

8.  https://squareup.com/au/en/payments

9. https://squareup.com/au/en/pricing

Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on our own online research. Airwallex was not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. This research is reviewed annually. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [[email protected]].

The Airwallex Yield Liquidity Fund (Yield) is issued by K2 Asset Management Limited (K2) (ABN 95 085 445 094, AFSL No 244393), a wholly owned subsidiary of K2 Asset Management Holdings Limited. This information doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation, or needs. Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Financial Services Guide (FSG) for Yield, available at www.airwallex.com.au/terms from Airwallex Capital Pty Ltd (ABN 37 609 653 312, AFSL No. 549026). All investments carry risk.