Is Klarna or Medius better?

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

Which is cheaper, Klarna or Medius?

Klarna starts at On request and Medius at On request.

Does Klarna or Medius run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

What is Klarna best used for?

Klarna is most often used for a fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basket, a merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkout, a european retailer wanting a single hosted checkout that handles instalments, invoice and card in one flow, a brand that wants distribution inside klarna's shopping app as an acquisition channel rather than only a payment option. Of those, a fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basket and a merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkout are not what Medius is typically brought in for.

What can Klarna do that Medius cannot?

Klarna covers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, Longer-term financing, Klarna app placement. Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments.

E-Commerce · head to head

Klarna vs Medius

Klarna

E-Commerce

Buy now pay later and instalment checkout for online and in-store merchants

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Medius

Accounting

Accounts payable automation and supplier payments for mid-market finance teams, Marlin Equity owned

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Klarna merchant fees for the short-term products run around 5.99% plus a fixed fee in the United States, roughly double a standard card rate, so unless Klarna measurably lifts average order value or conversion it is a straight margin loss.; Medius the sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
They diverge on capability: Klarna covers Pay in 4, Medius covers Invoice capture and coding.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Klarna and Medius actually diverge.

Attributes where Klarna and Medius differ
Attribute	Klarna	Medius
Category	E-Commerce	Accounting

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Klarna

Pay in 4
Pay in 30 days
Longer-term financing
Klarna app placement
Klarna Checkout
In-store payments
On-site messaging
Merchant portal

Only in Medius

Invoice capture and coding
Matching and exception handling
Fraud and anomaly detection
Supplier payments
Approval workflow
ERP integration

What people use each for

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

Klarna

A fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basketnot Medius
A merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkoutnot Medius
A European retailer wanting a single hosted checkout that handles instalments, invoice and card in one flownot Medius
A brand that wants distribution inside Klarna's shopping app as an acquisition channel rather than only a payment optionnot Medius

Medius

A mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match againstnot Klarna
A group with several legal entities on different ERPs that wants one AP process across all of themnot Klarna
Reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changesnot Klarna
Replacing a scanning bureau and a shared AP inbox with automated capture and exception-based reviewnot Klarna

Where each one falls short

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

Klarna

Merchant fees for the short-term products run around 5.99% plus a fixed fee in the United States, roughly double a standard card rate, so unless Klarna measurably lifts average order value or conversion it is a straight margin loss.
Rates are negotiated and unpublished, which means small merchants pay the standard rate while large ones negotiate down, and you cannot benchmark what you are being charged without going to market.
Returns and partial refunds are handled through Klarna's systems rather than your payment processor, so your finance team reconciles a second settlement flow and customer service handles a second dispute process.
Buy now pay later is being brought under consumer credit regulation in the UK, the EU and Australia, which is already changing affordability checks and disclosures; the checkout experience that converts today may be legally required to add friction.
Klarna owns the post-purchase relationship, sending payment reminders and marketing in its own name, so a shopper who has a poor collections experience associates it with your brand while you have no control over the messaging.

Medius

The sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
Pricing is quote-only and driven by invoice volume, so a business with many low-value invoices pays disproportionately relative to the spend being controlled.
Payments are billed on transaction volume separately from the AP subscription, which is easy to omit from a cost comparison against a licence-only AP tool.
Private equity ownership since 2017 has produced an acquisition-driven product line, so payments and adjacent capability come from bought-in technology rather than the original platform.
ERP integration depth varies sharply by system, and organisations on less common or heavily customised ERPs face integration work that lengthens the implementation.

Pricing, plan by plan

Klarna

On request

Klarna for Business$undefined/year
- Per-transaction percentage plus a fixed fee, negotiated by merchant
- No published rate card; rates vary by market, product and volume
- Short-term products priced materially above card interchange

Medius

On request

Medius AP Automation$undefined/year
- Two packaged AP automation tiers
- Priced by invoice volume and entity count
- Sourcing, contracts and procurement modules sold separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Klarna if

You need pay in 4.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want pay in 30 days.

Klarna review

Choose Medius if

You need invoice capture and coding.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want matching and exception handling.

Medius review

Questions people ask

Is Klarna or Medius better?: Neither clearly leads. Klarna starts at On request and Medius at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Klarna or Medius?: Klarna starts at On request and Medius at On request.
Does Klarna or Medius run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Klarna best used for?: Klarna is most often used for a fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basket, a merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkout, a european retailer wanting a single hosted checkout that handles instalments, invoice and card in one flow, a brand that wants distribution inside klarna's shopping app as an acquisition channel rather than only a payment option. Of those, a fashion or furniture retailer with average order values high enough that a 3% fee uplift is repaid by a larger basket and a merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkout are not what Medius is typically brought in for.
What can Klarna do that Medius cannot?: Klarna covers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, Longer-term financing, Klarna app placement. Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Klarna: What does Klarna cost a merchant?

Klarna does not publish a rate card. In the United States most merchants pay around 5.99% plus $0.30 for short-term products, with longer-term financing nearer 3.29% plus $0.30, and large merchants negotiate lower.

Medius: Is Medius a procurement suite or an AP tool?

Primarily an AP automation platform with procurement modules attached. If sourcing is your main requirement, look elsewhere.

Klarna: Does the merchant carry the credit risk?

No. Klarna pays the merchant the full amount less fees and takes the risk of the shopper not paying.

Medius: Who owns Medius?

Marlin Equity Partners, which acquired it in 2017 and has funded several bolt-on acquisitions since.

Klarna: Can I use Klarna alongside my existing processor?

Yes. It is normally added as an additional payment method through Shopify, Adyen, Stripe or a direct integration rather than replacing your card acquirer.

Medius: How is it priced?

By quote, driven by invoice volume and entity count, with payments billed separately on transaction volume.

Klarna: Is Klarna still independent?

Yes. It listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2025 and holds a Swedish banking licence.

Medius: Does it replace our ERP?

No. It sits alongside the ERP and posts approved invoices into it.

Klarna vs Medius

Klarna

Medius

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Klarna

Only in Medius

What people use each for

Klarna

Medius

Where each one falls short

Klarna

Medius

Pricing, plan by plan

Klarna

Medius

Which should you pick?

Choose Klarna if

Choose Medius if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Klarna

More on Medius

Keep looking

Other head to heads