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E-Commerce · head to head

Stripe vs Very Good Security

Stripe logo

Stripe

E-Commerce

Financial infrastructure for the internet

From
Free
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

  • Only Stripe has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Stripe requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases; 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: Stripe covers Payment processing, 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 Stripe and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where Stripe and Very Good Security differ
AttributeStripeVery Good Security
Starting priceFree$1000/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, API
CategoryE-CommerceCybersecurity
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Stripe

  • Payment processing
  • Subscription billing
  • Invoicing
  • Terminal (in-person payments)
  • Fraud prevention
  • 3D Secure
  • Global payouts
  • Financial reporting

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.

Stripe

  • Online paymentsnot Very Good Security
  • Subscription managementnot Very Good Security
  • Marketplace paymentsnot Very Good Security
  • Global expansionnot Very Good Security
  • Platform monetizationnot 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 Stripe
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Stripe
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Stripe
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot Stripe

Where each one falls short

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

Stripe

  • Requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases
  • Dispute fee of $15 per chargeback is standard industry cost
  • Limited offline payment capabilities

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

Stripe

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Stripe review.

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 Stripe if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want subscription billing.
Stripe 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 Stripe or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. Stripe starts at Free 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, Stripe or Very Good Security?
Stripe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Stripe and $1000/month for Very Good Security.
Does Stripe or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
Stripe runs on Web, iOS, Android. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
Can I use Stripe for free?
Yes. Stripe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Very Good Security starts at $1000/month.
What is Stripe best used for?
Stripe is most often used for online payments, subscription management, marketplace payments, global expansion. Of those, online payments and subscription management are not what Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can Stripe do that Very Good Security cannot?
Stripe covers Payment processing, Subscription billing, Invoicing, Terminal (in-person payments). Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Stripe: What are Stripe's transaction fees?

Standard US rates are 2.9% plus 30 cents for online card payments, 2.7% plus 5 cents for in-person, 3.4% plus 30 cents for keyed/phone transactions, and 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH payments.

Source
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.

Stripe: How many currencies and countries does it support?

Stripe accepts 135+ currencies and supports payment acceptance in 40+ countries through Stripe Connect, enabling sellers to onboard and receive payouts in minutes.

Source
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.

Stripe: What payment methods are supported?

Stripe supports dozens of payment methods including credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, and local payment options, with additional support through partnerships with Meta and Google.

Source
Very Good Security: What does it cost?

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

Stripe: Are there monthly fees or contracts?

No. Stripe charges no monthly fees or contracts, only per-transaction fees and dispute fees, making costs fully transparent and variable.

Source
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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