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E-Commerce · head to head

Klarna vs Very Good Security

Klarna logo

Klarna

E-Commerce

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

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • They diverge on capability: Klarna covers Pay in 4, Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Klarna and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Klarna and Very Good Security differ
AttributeKlarnaVery Good Security
Starting priceOn request$1000/month
Pricing modelquotePer month
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, API
CategoryE-CommerceCybersecurity

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 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 Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

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 Very Good Security
  • A merchant selling to younger shoppers who have low credit card penetration and would otherwise abandon at checkoutnot Very Good Security
  • A European retailer wanting a single hosted checkout that handles instalments, invoice and card in one flownot Very Good Security
  • A brand that wants distribution inside Klarna's shopping app as an acquisition channel rather than only a payment optionnot Very Good Security

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot Klarna
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Klarna
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Klarna
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot 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.

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

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

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

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 Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is Klarna or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Klarna starts at On request and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Klarna or Very Good Security?
Klarna starts at On request and Very Good Security at $1000/month.
Does Klarna or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
Klarna runs on Web, iOS, Android. Very Good Security 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 Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can Klarna do that Very Good Security cannot?
Klarna covers Pay in 4, Pay in 30 days, Longer-term financing, Klarna app placement. Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

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.

Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

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.

Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

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.

Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

Klarna: Is Klarna still independent?

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

Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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