Is Braintree or FastSpring better?

Neither clearly leads. Braintree starts at On request and FastSpring at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Braintree or FastSpring?

Braintree starts at On request and FastSpring at On request.

Does Braintree or FastSpring run on more platforms?

Braintree runs on Web. FastSpring runs on web, api.

What can Braintree do that FastSpring cannot?

FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance.

E-commerce · head to head

Braintree vs FastSpring

Braintree

E-commerce

End-to-end checkout experiences for businesses, from PayPal

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

FastSpring

E-commerce

Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Braintree vendor overview page names no transaction fee percentage or fixed charge, requiring a separate signup flow to see pricing; FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Braintree and FastSpring actually diverge.

Attributes where Braintree and FastSpring differ
Attribute	Braintree	FastSpring
Platforms	Web	web, api
Founded	Unknown	2006

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (transaction), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-commerce).

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 Braintree

Nothing recorded that FastSpring does not also cover.

Only in FastSpring

Global online payments
Subscription billing
Branded checkout
Tax compliance
Fraud prevention
Digital invoicing and quotes

What people use each for

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

Braintree

No use cases recorded yet. See the Braintree review.

FastSpring

Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Braintree
B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Braintree
Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Braintree
Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Braintree

Where each one falls short

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

Braintree

Vendor overview page names no transaction fee percentage or fixed charge, requiring a separate signup flow to see pricing
Now marketed and hosted directly under the PayPal brand at paypal.com rather than a standalone braintreepayments.com site, which now redirects

FastSpring

Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.

Pricing, plan by plan

Braintree

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Braintree review.

FastSpring

On request

Custom$undefined/mo
- All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
- No subscription fees or per-feature charges
- Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers

Which should you pick?

Choose Braintree if

Nothing in the data separates Braintree from FastSpring on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Braintree review

Choose FastSpring if

You need global online payments.
You work on web, api.
You also want subscription billing.

FastSpring review

Questions people ask

Is Braintree or FastSpring better?: Neither clearly leads. Braintree starts at On request and FastSpring at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Braintree or FastSpring?: Braintree starts at On request and FastSpring at On request.
Does Braintree or FastSpring run on more platforms?: Braintree runs on Web. FastSpring runs on web, api.
What can Braintree do that FastSpring cannot?: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?

FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.

Source

FastSpring: Is there a free plan?

FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.

Source

FastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?

FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.

Source

Braintree vs FastSpring

Braintree

FastSpring

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Braintree

Only in FastSpring

What people use each for

Braintree

FastSpring

Where each one falls short

Braintree

FastSpring

Pricing, plan by plan

Braintree

FastSpring

Which should you pick?

Choose Braintree if

Choose FastSpring if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Braintree

More on FastSpring

Keep looking

Other head to heads