Quick signals
Complexity
Medium
More complex integration than Stripe due to older API design, but extensive plugins reduce e-commerce setup time
Common upgrade trigger
Transaction volume exceeds 1,000/month - negotiate lower per-transaction fees
When it gets expensive
$25/month gateway fee cannot be waived - fixed cost regardless of volume
What this product actually is
Authorize.Net is an established payment gateway (since 1996) offering reliable card processing with monthly fees and per-transaction pricing. Known for stability and extensive integration ecosystem but dated developer experience.
Pricing behavior (not a price list)
These points describe when users typically pay more, what actions trigger upgrades, and the mechanics of how costs escalate.
Actions that trigger upgrades
- Transaction volume exceeds 1,000/month - negotiate lower per-transaction fees
- Need recurring billing - Account Updater add-on ($75/month) required
- Require advanced fraud rules beyond basic AFDS - custom configurations available
- International expansion needs multi-currency settlement accounts
- Need payment tokenization for stored cards - CIM add-on may be required
When costs usually spike
- $25/month gateway fee cannot be waived - fixed cost regardless of volume
- Daily batch settlement means 1-2 day delay for funds (vs Stripe's 2-day rolling)
- Account Updater for recurring billing costs $75/month extra (Stripe includes free)
- Transaction fee ($0.10) adds $100/month at 1,000 transactions vs competitors
- API rate limits undocumented - potential throttling during high-volume periods
- Refunds do not return gateway fee or transaction fee - lose $0.40 per refunded transaction
Plans and variants (structural only)
Grouped by type to show structure, not to rank or recommend specific SKUs.
Plans
- All-In-One - $25/month gateway + 2.9% + 30¢ + $0.10 per transaction - Includes Virtual Terminal, AFDS fraud tools
- Account Updater - +$75/month - For recurring billing and stored card updates
Enterprise
- Enterprise - Custom pricing - Volume discounts, dedicated support for high-volume merchants
Costs and limitations
Common limits
- Monthly gateway fee ($25) makes it expensive for low-volume merchants (<100 transactions)
- Dated API design - integration more complex than Stripe or modern alternatives
- Additional transaction fee ($0.10) on top of 2.9% + 30¢ standard rates
- Daily batch settlement (1-2 days) slower than modern real-time processing
- Mobile SDKs inferior to Stripe - limited native mobile payment features
- No built-in subscription billing - requires Account Updater add-on ($75/month)
What breaks first
- Low-volume periods make $25/month fee disproportionately expensive (30% of revenue at 85 transactions)
- Developer frustration with dated API documentation and integration complexity
- Monthly recurring billing needs force $75 Account Updater cost (Stripe includes free)
- Mobile app development limited by inferior mobile SDKs compared to Stripe
- Batch settlement delays cause cash flow issues for businesses needing faster access
Decision checklist
Use these checks to validate fit for AuthorizeNet before you commit to an architecture or contract.
- Developer Experience vs Simplicity: Assess internal technical capabilities and API integration requirements
- Transparent Pricing vs Cost Variability: Analyze transaction mix (card types, international %, currency conversions)
- Upgrade trigger: Transaction volume exceeds 1,000/month - negotiate lower per-transaction fees
- What breaks first: Low-volume periods make $25/month fee disproportionately expensive (30% of revenue at 85 transactions)
Implementation & evaluation notes
These are the practical "gotchas" and questions that usually decide whether AuthorizeNet fits your team and workflow.
Implementation gotchas
- API rate limits undocumented - potential throttling during high-volume periods
- 28-year track record and stability → Dated API design and developer experience
- Dated API design - integration more complex than Stripe or modern alternatives
- Mobile SDKs inferior to Stripe - limited native mobile payment features
Questions to ask before you buy
- Which actions or usage metrics trigger an upgrade (e.g., Transaction volume exceeds 1,000/month - negotiate lower per-transaction fees)?
- Under what usage shape do costs or limits show up first (e.g., $25/month gateway fee cannot be waived - fixed cost regardless of volume)?
- What breaks first in production (e.g., Low-volume periods make $25/month fee disproportionately expensive (30% of revenue at 85 transactions)) — and what is the workaround?
- Validate: Developer Experience vs Simplicity: Assess internal technical capabilities and API integration requirements
- Validate: Transparent Pricing vs Cost Variability: Analyze transaction mix (card types, international %, currency conversions)
Fit assessment
Good fit if…
- Established businesses already using traditional payment processors wanting proven stability
- Mid-volume merchants (200-2000 transactions/month) where $25/month is negligible
- Businesses using legacy e-commerce platforms with existing Authorize.Net plugins
- Companies prioritizing US-based phone support over developer experience
- Traditional retail/B2B businesses comfortable with batch settlement cycles
- Organizations needing Virtual Terminal for phone orders included in base pricing
Poor fit if…
- Low-volume merchants (<100 transactions/month) - $25/month + $0.10/transaction not cost-effective
- Developer-focused startups wanting modern REST APIs (use Stripe or Checkout.com)
- SaaS businesses needing native subscription billing features
- Mobile-first businesses requiring best-in-class mobile SDKs
- Companies needing real-time settlement - Authorize.Net uses daily batches
- Platforms building embedded payments - lacks Stripe Connect equivalent
Trade-offs
Every design choice has a cost. Here are the explicit trade-offs:
- 28-year track record and stability → Dated API design and developer experience
- US-based phone support → Higher monthly costs ($25 gateway + $0.10/transaction)
- Extensive e-commerce plugin ecosystem → Limited modern SaaS/subscription features
- Predictable monthly pricing → Uneconomical for low-volume merchants
- Virtual Terminal included → Daily batch settlement vs real-time processing
Common alternatives people evaluate next
These are common “next shortlists” — same tier, step-down, step-sideways, or step-up — with a quick reason why.
-
Stripe — Step-sideways / modern APIsEvaluated when teams want a modern developer experience and a broader ecosystem (Billing, Connect) instead of a legacy gateway model.
-
Braintree — Step-sideways / PayPal-enabled gatewayCompared when PayPal/Venmo acceptance matters and teams want an API-first gateway alternative.
-
Square — Step-down / simplicity-firstConsidered when merchants want an all-in-one POS + payments setup rather than a gateway + processor stack.
Sources & verification
Pricing and behavioral information comes from public documentation and structured research. When information is incomplete or volatile, we prefer to say so rather than guess.