Mollie vs Stripe: Pricing, features, and the best choice for your business in 2026

Key takeaways

• Mollie gets you live fast in Europe. Stripe gives you global reach and the flexibility to build subscriptions, marketplaces, or platform flows.  

• Once you earn in more than one currency, FX costs, reconciliation work, and extra treasury tools often outweigh the card fee itself. Both Mollie and Stripe apply conversion charges when funds are exchanged, and neither is built as a multi-currency treasury platform for holding or routing balances across currencies.

• If you plan to sell internationally, look at the financial infrastructure behind the checkout. With Airwallex, you get multi-currency accounts, local collection, interbank FX, and global payouts on one platform, with fewer conversions, less operational work, and stronger margins at scale.

Mollie and Stripe both let you accept online payments via cards, wallets, and bank methods. They’re used by platforms, marketplaces, SaaS companies, and online stores.

This guide compares them on pricing, payment methods, global reach, and integration effort, and shows why many companies are choosing Airwallex instead.

What is Mollie?

Mollie is a European payment provider that focuses on fast setup, clear pricing, and local payment methods. It connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and other store builders. Mollie is popular in Europe with small online shops due to its basic functionality and ease of use when getting started.

Mollie is primarily focused on payments rather than treasury or multi-currency control. Its strengths sit in European checkout conversion and clarity in pricing.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a global payments platform used by SaaS companies, marketplaces, subscription products, and online stores, and fast-growing startups. It lets you accept cards, bank transfers, and wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay, and supports 135+ currencies.

Stripe is popular with engineering teams because its APIs make it possible to design advanced checkout flows, subscription billing, marketplace payouts and complex fund-routing rules.

Compare Mollie and Stripe, side by side

Compare Mollie and Stripe on costs, reach, and integrations 

Here’s a closer look at the two providers.

Pricing, FX, and fees

Mollie

Mollie charges by payment method. For UK businesses, a typical UK consumer card payment costs 1.20% + £0.20. UK business cards or European cards are higher at 2.90% + £0.20, and non-EU cards can reach 3.25% + £0.20.

Mollie also applies FX markups when payments are converted from one currency to another. These vary by currency and grow quickly if most of your revenue comes from outside Europe.

More of the dispute and refund process sits inside Mollie’s method-based pricing, but charges can still change depending on card type and country.

Stripe

Stripe starts with standard UK card fees at 1.5% + £0.20, but total cost rises if you add tools like Billing, Radar, or Tax. European cards are usually around 2.5% + £0.20, and international cards can reach 3.25% + £0.20.

Stripe adds about 2% when converting currencies. If you sell globally, those FX fees can be applied more than once.

Stripe also charges separate fees for chargebacks and disputes, which can add up if you have a lot of returns or cross-border customers.

Verdict

Mollie is simpler to price at the start. Stripe gives more control at scale. But the real cost for both is FX, especially when revenue, settlement, and expenses aren’t all in the same currency.

Payment methods and local market support

Mollie

Mollie focuses on companies based in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK. It supports local payment methods like iDEAL, Bancontact, Klarna, SEPA Direct Debit, and PayPal, which are widely used in places like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. It also supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, but its core strength is local APMs and card acceptance within Europe. Currency acceptance is mainly EUR and GBP, with limited coverage further afield.

Stripe

Stripe also supports EU payment methods, but its strength is global reach. It covers 135+ currencies, with international card schemes, global wallets, and routing logic designed to improve conversion in multiple regions.

Verdict

If most of your buyers are in Europe, Mollie works well. If you’re expanding beyond the EU and want wider coverage, Stripe is more flexible.

Read more: Plug & pay: Getting started with payment gateway integrations

API, integrations, and time to launch

Mollie

Mollie is built for fast setup. It plugs into Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and other builders with little or no engineering. Its API is clean, but not designed for complex marketplace flows, split payments, or custom billing models.

Stripe

Stripe is known for its API. It lets you build subscription billing, marketplace payouts, custom checkout screens, split payments, and deep integrations with other systems. You get more control, but need developer time to set up and maintain.

Verdict

If you need to get live fast, Mollie wins. If you want custom payment flows, marketplace rules or advanced subscription logic, Stripe gives you more control.

Global reach, FX, and expansion potential

Mollie

Mollie is designed for European sellers first. It’s good in markets where local payment methods matter most, but it isn’t built for multi-currency treasury tools or heavy international expansion. Once you sell beyond Europe, you’ll see limits in settlement, currency support, and payout coverage.

Stripe

Stripe operates in 45+ countries and supports 135+ currencies. It lets you collect local payments, hold multi-currency balances and manage tax, settlement, and compliance across different regions. It applies FX markups when converting money, but its treasury capabilities go further than Mollie’s.

Verdict

Mollie suits single-region sellers. Stripe fits multi-region expansion.

Stripe vs Mollie pros and cons

Stripe

Pros

• Leading API and strong developer support

• Advanced billing, marketplace flows and subscription tools

• Accepts 135+ currencies

• Broad set of international payment methods

Cons

• Costs rise as you add modules

• FX fees can get expensive at scale

• Setup takes more time and engineering

Mollie

Pros

• Quick setup and clear onboarding

• Simple, transparent pricing

• Great support for EU payment methods

• Helpful customer service

Cons

• Narrower coverage outside Europe

• Higher fees on some card types

• Limited treasury or multi-currency capability

• Less suited to complex platform or SaaS models

Airwallex is built for global business

Mollie and Stripe let you accept payments, but they aren’t designed as full multi-currency treasury platforms. When businesses start selling in multiple markets, they often want to consolidate control over how funds are collected, held, converted and deployed.

Airwallex gives you:

• Collection in 130+ currencies

• Multi-currency business accounts with local bank details

• FX in 60+ currencies at market-leading rates

• Local and international payouts to 150+ countries

• Cards that spend directly from wallet balances

• One platform to manage payments, FX, treasury and reconciliation

That means one ledger, one integration, and one financial system that keeps scaling as you grow. You get:

• Higher margins, because you avoid repeated currency conversions

• Faster market expansion, without opening foreign bank accounts

• Lower exposure to risk, with local collection, transparent FX and built-in controls

• Less operational load, because you’re not stitching together multiple finance tools

• More space to grow, with support for marketplace routing, multi-entity structures and platform flows

Some companies keep Stripe or Mollie as the checkout option but run their global finance infrastructure on Airwallex. It gives them scale, clear costs, and a stronger foundation for international growth.

If you’re scaling beyond the UK, widening your customer base, or moving money between multiple currencies, Airwallex gives you more control, fewer hidden costs and a stronger foundation to grow.

FAQs

Is Mollie cheaper than Stripe for UK businesses?

Mollie can be slightly cheaper on UK card fees, but both providers charge more once payments involve European cards, international cards or currency conversion. If most revenue comes from outside the UK, FX fees and reconciliation work often outweigh the card fee itself. Many international businesses use Airwallex to reduce FX spreads, hold funds across currencies, and avoid repeated conversions.

Does Mollie support international payments?

Mollie supports cross-border acceptance, but its strength is Europe and local APMs. Coverage beyond EUR and GBP is limited. Stripe offers wider currency and wallet support, which helps if you sell to customers in multiple regions. If you need multi-currency accounts, local settlement rails and treasury controls as you expand, Airwallex provides that full setup.

Which is better for European ecommerce: Mollie or Stripe?

For European stores selling mainly in EUR and GBP, Mollie works because of its local methods and fast onboarding. If your customers are more spread out, Stripe gives you wider coverage and more flexibility. Companies planning to sell beyond Europe often switch to Airwallex for better FX, local collection and multi-currency accounts.

Do Mollie and Stripe charge FX fees?

Yes. When a payment lands in a different currency, both add FX charges. Neither platform lets you hold balances in multiple currencies by default, which means repeated conversions. Airwallex gives you local currency accounts, interbank FX pricing and control over when conversions happen, helping you keep more of your revenue.

Which offers better global reach?

Stripe supports more currencies and is designed for multi-region acceptance. Mollie focuses on Europe, with limited expansion tools beyond that. If you want local collection, settlement and payout rails in multiple markets, Airwallex has broader coverage and lower costs.

Which works best for subscriptions, SaaS or marketplaces?

Stripe usually suits complex billing, routing and payout rules. Mollie offers simpler recurring tools but is less suited to multi-party flows or engineered subscription logic. When businesses start earning across currencies or entities, many switch their finance infrastructure to Airwallex to simplify settlement, treasury and FX.

Can Airwallex replace Mollie or Stripe?

Yes. Some businesses keep Mollie or Stripe at checkout, but move their multi-currency accounts, FX, payouts, treasury and spend management to Airwallex. Others replace them entirely. If you plan to sell in different regions, handle multi-currency revenue, or want more control over cash flow as you scale, Airwallex is usually the more cost-efficient and simpler option.

Sources and references 

1. mollie.com/payments

2. docs.stripe.com/global-payouts/pricing

3. docs.mollie.com/docs/multicurrency

4. mollie.com/gb/pricing

5. docs.stripe.com/disputes

6. docs.stripe.com/currencies

7. mollie.com/products/recurring

8. docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/overview

9. docs.mollie.com/reference/overview