The best payment processors, according to hackers
11 payment processors recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedStripe143 people recommend it
- Built to lastPayPalowners report a median of 20 years
- Least regretMollie11 recommend, 4 criticize
- Free and lovedZoneless6 people recommend it
All payment processors
- StripeRecommended for fast signup, strong developer docs and an integrated payments API, though many warn of sudden account freezes or closures and fees that sting at scale.143recommend
- PayPalA convenient way to pay online without handing card or bank details to every merchant, with valued buyer protection; critics warn of sudden account locks, frozen funds and app breakage.103recommend
- AdyenEU-based payment processor with a unified platform, popular with European retailers; critics say it suits larger merchants, with sales-led signup and strict acceptance.17recommend
- MolliePayment processor recommended for its easy API, developer experience and fees; critics say it turns away small businesses and handles recurring payments poorly.11recommend
- PaddlePeople recommend Paddle because, as merchant of record, it handles payments and sales tax or VAT collection, so sellers have little account setup. Critics point to its 5% cut.10recommend
- Agree payment processorOpen source payment processor praised for its design and developer experience. Critics call it a thin Stripe frontend with lock-in risk.8recommend
- FlowgladDevelopers recommend it as a payments layer that handles Stripe billing and webhooks, so customer billing data stays out of their own database.7recommend
- ZonelessOpen-source, self-hostable Stripe Connect alternative that takes stablecoin payments with no transaction fees on top.6recommend
- OpenNodeBitcoin payment processor praised for simple integration, instant settlement and low net cost. Critics say fee calculations are unclear and there is no way to recover funds.6recommend
- BraintreeRecommended for a better developer experience than Adyen and for being better than PayPal. Critics call it outdated, with little new development and weak support.5recommend
- BTCPay ServerOpen-source, self-hosted Bitcoin payment server that people trust, with 0% fees of its own. Main caveat: stablecoin support is painful, and the web UI lags behind Stripe.5recommend