Softwr

E-commerce · head to head

Braintree vs Principle

B

Braintree

E-commerce

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

Principle

Design

Animate your ideas, design better apps

From
$129/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Principle macOS only with no Windows or Linux editor available

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Braintree and Principle actually diverge.

Attributes where Braintree and Principle differ
AttributeBraintreePrinciple
Starting priceOn request$129/one-time
Pricing modeltransactionUnknown
PlatformsWebmacOS
CategoryE-commerceDesign
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Braintree

Nothing recorded that Principle does not also cover.

Only in Principle

  • Timeline-based animation
  • Interactive prototypes
  • Touch gestures
  • Component reuse
  • Video export
  • Sketch import
  • Figma import
  • Driver animations

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.

Principle

  • Mobile app prototypesnot Braintree
  • Micro-interactionsnot Braintree
  • Animation designnot Braintree
  • User flow designnot Braintree
  • Gesture-based interfacesnot 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

Principle

  • macOS only with no Windows or Linux editor available
  • No vector morphing capability for complex shape transformations
  • Limited asset creation tools; cannot create vectors or shapes directly within Principle
  • Sketch import flattens certain properties including paths, fills, borders, masks, blur effects, and text layers
  • Limited variable support, logical loops, and data input capabilities compared to tools like ProtoPie or Origami

Pricing, plan by plan

Braintree

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Braintree review.

Principle

$129/one-time
  • License$129/one-time
    • One year of upgrades
    • Full access to all features
  • Upgrade License$99/year
    • Annual renewal for ongoing upgrades

Which should you pick?

Choose Braintree if

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

Braintree review

Choose Principle if

  • You need timeline-based animation.
  • You work on macOS.
  • You also want interactive prototypes.
Principle review

Questions people ask

Is Braintree or Principle better?
Neither clearly leads. Braintree starts at On request and Principle at $129/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Braintree or Principle?
Braintree starts at On request and Principle at $129/one-time.
Does Braintree or Principle run on more platforms?
Braintree runs on Web. Principle runs on macOS.
What can Braintree do that Principle cannot?
Principle covers Timeline-based animation, Interactive prototypes, Touch gestures, Component reuse.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Principle: Does Principle run on Windows or Linux?

No. Principle is macOS only and runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. There is no Windows or Linux editor available; however, prototypes can be shared and viewed on any platform via web link.

Source
Principle: What is the cost of Principle?

Principle costs $129 for a one-time purchase with 1 year of upgrades included. After 1 year, upgrade licenses cost $99/year. A 14-day free trial is available with all features included.

Source
Principle: Can I import designs from Figma or Sketch into Principle?

Yes. Principle supports importing designs from Figma and Sketch with intelligent merging of re-imported files. Some Sketch properties such as paths, fills, borders, blur effects, masks, and text layers are flattened upon import.

Source
Principle: How do I share Principle prototypes with others?

Prototypes can be shared via web link with one click (File > Export > Share to Web). Recipients can view and interact with prototypes in any browser on any platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS. No installation required.

Source
Principle: Can I create vector shapes and morphing animations in Principle?

Principle does not support vector morphing, where vector objects transform into other vector shapes. It also has limited asset creation capabilities and editing is restricted to basic operations like scale and rotate.

Source
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