Is Klarna or Trustly better?

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

Which is cheaper, Klarna or Trustly?

Klarna starts at On request and Trustly at On request.

Does Klarna or Trustly run on more platforms?

Klarna runs on Web, iOS, Android. Trustly runs on Web, API.

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 Trustly is typically brought in for.

What can Klarna do that Trustly cannot?

Klarna covers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, Longer-term financing, Klarna app placement. Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout, Instant refunds, Verified payouts, Multi-market bank connectivity.

E-Commerce · head to head

Klarna vs Trustly

Klarna

E-Commerce

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

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Trustly

APIs

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

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.; 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: Klarna covers Pay in 4, 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 Klarna and Trustly actually diverge.

Attributes where Klarna and Trustly differ
Attribute	Klarna	Trustly
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, API
Category	E-Commerce	APIs

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 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 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.

Klarna

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

Trustly

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

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

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

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 Klarna if

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

Klarna 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 Klarna or Trustly better?: Neither clearly leads. Klarna starts at On request and Trustly at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Klarna or Trustly?: Klarna starts at On request and Trustly at On request.
Does Klarna or Trustly run on more platforms?: Klarna runs on Web, iOS, Android. Trustly runs on Web, API.
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 Trustly is typically brought in for.
What can Klarna do that Trustly cannot?: Klarna covers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, Longer-term financing, Klarna app placement. Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout, Instant refunds, Verified payouts, Multi-market bank connectivity.

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.

Trustly: Who owns Trustly?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Klarna: Is Klarna still independent?

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

Klarna vs Trustly

Klarna

Trustly

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Klarna

Only in Trustly

What people use each for

Klarna

Trustly

Where each one falls short

Klarna

Trustly

Pricing, plan by plan

Klarna

Trustly

Which should you pick?

Choose Klarna if

Choose Trustly if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Klarna

More on Trustly

Keep looking

Other head to heads