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Personal Finance · head to head

Afterpay vs Trustly

Afterpay logo

Afterpay

Personal Finance

Buy now pay later app splitting purchases into four instalments, owned by Block

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trustly logo

Trustly

APIs

Pay-by-bank payments network, majority-owned by private equity firm Nordic Capital

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Afterpay has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Afterpay a missed instalment triggers a late fee, and while total late fees on a purchase are capped, repeated missed payments across multiple purchases can add up to a meaningful cost that the interest-free marketing does not foreground.; Trustly it is majority-owned by Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, so its long-term roadmap is ultimately oriented toward an eventual sale or IPO rather than indefinite independent operation.
  • They diverge on capability: Afterpay covers Four-instalment split, Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Afterpay and Trustly actually diverge.

Attributes where Afterpay and Trustly differ
AttributeAfterpayTrustly
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to shoppers with no interest on the standard plan; merchant pays a per-transaction fee, late fees apply to missed paymentsquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, API
CategoryPersonal FinanceAPIs

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Afterpay

  • Four-instalment split
  • No interest on standard plan
  • Late fee structure
  • Merchant transaction fee
  • Afterpay Card
  • Spending limit management

Only in Trustly

  • Pay by bank checkout
  • Instant refunds
  • Verified payouts
  • Multi-market bank connectivity
  • Merchant dashboard and reconciliation
  • Fraud and risk tooling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Afterpay

  • A shopper wanting to spread the cost of a purchase over six weeks without paying interest, provided every payment is made on timenot Trustly
  • A merchant accepting Afterpay to capture shoppers who would otherwise abandon checkout, in exchange for a higher per-transaction fee than card processingnot Trustly
  • A younger buyer without an established credit history using instalment purchases as an alternative to a credit cardnot Trustly
  • Someone tracking their spending who wants to understand that a missed Afterpay payment can now affect a credit report, not just incur a feenot Trustly

Trustly

  • An e-commerce merchant wanting a lower-cost alternative or complement to card payment acceptancenot Afterpay
  • A gaming or gambling operator needing verified, instant payouts to players' bank accountsnot Afterpay
  • A merchant wanting instant refunds processed directly to a customer's bank account rather than card reversal delaysnot Afterpay
  • A business in a market with strong open banking adoption wanting pay-by-bank as a checkout optionnot Afterpay

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Afterpay

  • A missed instalment triggers a late fee, and while total late fees on a purchase are capped, repeated missed payments across multiple purchases can add up to a meaningful cost that the interest-free marketing does not foreground.
  • Afterpay has updated its reporting policies so that late payment history can be shared with credit bureaus in some markets including the US, meaning a product marketed as simple instalments can now affect a credit score.
  • Merchants pay a transaction fee commonly in the 4 to 6 percent range plus a fixed fee, well above standard card processing, a cost that is typically absorbed into retail pricing rather than disclosed to the shopper choosing to use Afterpay.
  • Spending limits and approval are based on repayment history within the app rather than a full credit check, which can make it easier to accumulate multiple concurrent instalment obligations across different purchases than a shopper realises.
  • It is only usable at participating retailers or via the Afterpay Card, so coverage is narrower than a general-purpose credit or debit card despite behaving like one at checkout.

Trustly

  • It is majority-owned by Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, so its long-term roadmap is ultimately oriented toward an eventual sale or IPO rather than indefinite independent operation.
  • Consumer familiarity with paying by bank transfer still lags card payments in most markets, so merchants typically see it used as a secondary option rather than a full card replacement.
  • The 1.15 to 3.15% merchant fee range is not a single published rate, so a merchant cannot know its actual cost without a sales negotiation.
  • As with all open banking-dependent payment methods, reliability depends on the consistency of the underlying banks' own APIs, which Trustly does not control.
  • Its verified payout functionality is heavily used in gaming and gambling, a sector with additional regulatory scrutiny, which is worth factoring in when evaluating vendor risk exposure by association.

Pricing, plan by plan

Afterpay

Free
  • Pay in 4Free
    • No interest charged if all four instalments are paid on time
    • Late fee charged per missed payment, capped as a proportion of order value
    • Missed payment history can be reported to credit bureaus in some markets

Trustly

On request
  • Trustly$undefined/month
    • Typical merchant cost of 1.15% to 3.15% depending on volume and market
    • Exact rate negotiated per merchant, not published as a flat card

Which should you pick?

Choose Afterpay if

  • You need four-instalment split.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want no interest on standard plan.
Afterpay review

Choose Trustly if

  • You need pay by bank checkout.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want instant refunds.
Trustly review

Questions people ask

Is Afterpay or Trustly better?
Neither clearly leads. Afterpay starts at Free and Trustly at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Afterpay or Trustly?
Afterpay has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Afterpay and On request for Trustly.
Does Afterpay or Trustly run on more platforms?
Afterpay runs on iOS, Android, Web. Trustly runs on Web, API.
Can I use Afterpay for free?
Yes. Afterpay has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Trustly starts at On request.
What is Afterpay best used for?
Afterpay is most often used for a shopper wanting to spread the cost of a purchase over six weeks without paying interest, provided every payment is made on time, a merchant accepting afterpay to capture shoppers who would otherwise abandon checkout, in exchange for a higher per-transaction fee than card processing, a younger buyer without an established credit history using instalment purchases as an alternative to a credit card, someone tracking their spending who wants to understand that a missed afterpay payment can now affect a credit report, not just incur a fee. Of those, a shopper wanting to spread the cost of a purchase over six weeks without paying interest, provided every payment is made on time and a merchant accepting afterpay to capture shoppers who would otherwise abandon checkout, in exchange for a higher per-transaction fee than card processing are not what Trustly is typically brought in for.
What can Afterpay do that Trustly cannot?
Afterpay covers Four-instalment split, No interest on standard plan, Late fee structure, Merchant transaction fee. Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout, Instant refunds, Verified payouts, Multi-market bank connectivity.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Afterpay: Does Afterpay charge interest?

Not on the standard four-instalment Pay in 4 plan if every payment is made on time; longer instalment plans in some markets can carry interest, and missed payments incur late fees regardless.

Trustly: Who owns Trustly?

Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, holds a 51.1% majority stake; Alfven & Didrikson and BlackRock hold smaller stakes.

Afterpay: Can Afterpay affect my credit score?

Afterpay has updated its policies so that late payment history can be reported to credit bureaus in some markets including the US, which can affect a credit score even though the core product is marketed as interest-free.

Trustly: Is Trustly going public?

It has discussed an IPO but as of its most recent comments said one remained at least a year away.

Afterpay: Who actually pays for Afterpay to be free for shoppers?

Merchants pay a per-transaction fee, commonly 4 to 6 percent plus a fixed fee, which is generally built into retail pricing rather than shown to the shopper.

Trustly: What does it typically cost a merchant?

Roughly 1.15% to 3.15% of transaction value depending on volume and market, negotiated per merchant.

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