Stripe vs Airwallex: Compare fees, features, and benefits

If you run an eCommerce business in the US, you'll need an online payment gateway to accept credit and debit card payments from local and international customers. Both Stripe and Airwallex offer payment gateways that plug into your eCommerce store, but which solution is right for your business? Read on to find out how Stripe competitor Airwallex compares on pricing, features, and benefits in the American market.

What is Stripe?

First things first — what is Stripe?

Stripe is a payment technology company that provides businesses with a platform to accept payments from customers. It offers an online payment gateway for eCommerce businesses to accept credit and debit card payments. Stripe also accepts mobile wallet payments and offers “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services.

What is Airwallex?

Stripe competitor Airwallex is a one-stop solution for business financial operations. The Airwallex online payment gateway integrates seamlessly with eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce, among others. It offers hyper-competitive processing fees and the ability to eliminate unnecessary FX conversion fees.

Airwallex empowers users to accept payments from customers in 180+ countries and regions through a variety of payment methods, including popular local options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Klarna. eCommerce businesses can also easily connect to their existing platforms through smart integrations and configure sharable Payment Links.

Compare Airwallex vs Stripe

Here’s a quick overview of the features, benefits, and pricing for Stripe and Airwallex. 

Stripe fees, explained

• Per-transaction fees: Stripe fees include a per-transaction charge for each successful credit or debit card payment your customers make. Stripe fees vary based on whether the customer’s card is domestic or international.³

• International fees: On top of the regular per-transaction costs, Stripe charges an additional 1.5% for each successful international transaction. Stripe payment fees also increase by 1% if currency conversion is involved.¹

Airwallex fees, explained 

• Per-transaction fees: Compared to Stripe, Airwallex charges slightly lower per-transaction fees for credit and debit card payments, with varying rates depending on whether the payment is domestic or international.

• International fees: Airwallex international transaction fees to accept international cards are slightly lower compared to Stripe, but we offer ways to save on FX conversion fees with like-for-like settlement. This allows you to settle funds in the same currency you charge your customer, avoiding FX conversions altogether. 

Compare additional features between Stripe and Airwallex

Diving deeper into the Stripe vs Airwallex comparison, you’ll spot key differences in:

• International payments: Airwallex supports over 160+ international payment methods compared to Stripe's 100+. In addition, Airwallex customers can settle in multiple currencies directly, avoiding FX conversions.

• Security: Both platforms have robust security systems to protect against fraud using extensive data analytics and encryption technologies. Airwallex enhances its security by implementing a pre-chargeback program, which identifies potentially fraudulent transactions before they result in chargebacks. This proactive approach, combined with smart retry logic that optimizes transaction resubmissions, helps to improve payment acceptance rates and lower the risk of revenue loss for businesses.

• Product suite: Stripe’s full stack of products and services includes online payments, billing, invoicing, and embedded finance. While Airwallex has many of these capabilities, customers can also access Global Accounts, Global Transfers, Borderless Cards, and software to manage and track company expenses and invoices.

Final thoughts: Stripe vs Airwallex

When comparing Stripe vs Airwallex, both offer online payment gateways for businesses to make local and international card payments. Airwallex has the edge on more competitive fees, global currency and local payment coverage, as well as an extensive suite of financial products, including Borderless Cards, transfers, and built-in spend management tools, which Stripe does not.

US-based eCommerce companies can save money while growing their businesses at home and abroad by signing up for an Airwallex account.

Sources and references

1. https://stripe.com/pricing

2. https://docs.stripe.com/currencies/conversions

3. https://stripe.com/pricing/local-payment-methods

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q4 2024. The information was based on our own online research, and we were not able to manually test any competitor 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 every six months. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].