Mollie vs Stripe: What are the differences?

Mollie and Stripe are leading payment processing platforms, each offering tailored solutions for businesses. Let's explore the key differences between them.

1. Pricing structure: Mollie offers a simpler and more transparent pricing structure with no setup, monthly, or recurring fees. They charge per transaction, which makes it easier for small businesses to budget their payment processing costs. On the other hand, Stripe has a tiered pricing model that includes setup fees, monthly fees, and a percentage fee per transaction. This can be beneficial for businesses with higher transaction volumes and specific needs.

2. Supported countries: Mollie primarily focuses on serving businesses in Europe, offering extensive coverage across European countries. They provide a local payment experience by supporting various payment methods specific to each country. In contrast, Stripe has a broader global reach, enabling businesses to accept payments from customers worldwide. They support multiple currencies and have operations in various countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and many European nations.

3. Payment methods: Mollie supports a wide range of local and international payment methods, such as credit cards, iDEAL, Bancontact, SOFORT, and SEPA direct debit. They place a strong emphasis on serving the specific payment preferences of each country they operate in. Stripe, while offering various payment methods, primarily focuses on credit card processing and enabling businesses to accept online payments securely.

4. Integration complexity: Mollie provides a developer-friendly API and comprehensive documentation, making it relatively straightforward to integrate their payment system into websites or applications. They offer plugins and libraries for popular programming languages and e-commerce platforms. Stripe also offers a robust API, but its integration can be more complex for less experienced developers due to its extensive feature set and flexibility.

5. Subscription and recurring billing management: Stripe provides advanced subscription and recurring billing management tools, making it suitable for businesses with subscription-based models or recurring payments. They offer flexible billing periods, proration for mid-cycle upgrades/downgrades, and built-in support for trial periods. Mollie does not provide extensive subscription management features, focusing more on regular payment processing.

6. Customization and branding: Stripe offers more flexibility for businesses to design custom payment forms and integrate them seamlessly into their websites or applications. They provide more control over the user interface, allowing customization to match the branding and design preferences of the business. Mollie, while supporting basic customization options, may have limitations in terms of branding and design control.

In summary, Mollie specializes in providing customizable payment solutions for European markets, supporting various payment methods like iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit, and credit cards. In contrast, Stripe offers a comprehensive global payment infrastructure with features such as subscription billing, customizable checkout, and support for over 135 currencies, making it a preferred choice for businesses worldwide.