Stripe vs. Airwallex: compare fees, features, and benefits

Key takeaways:

• Both Stripe and Airwallex offer global payment processing services. Stripe is well-known for its online payment processing solutions, while Airwallex is well-known for its end-to-end financial solutions for growing businesses.

• When assessing the two, consider their global reach, local payment method coverage, multi-currency settlement options, and end-to-end offerings.

• Compared to Stripe, Airwallex offers greater local payment method coverage, a multi-currency wallet for settling global funds without incurring foreign exchange fees, customer support at lower costs, and a wider range of financial solutions, including foreign exchange, transfers, and spend management solutions.

If you run an eCommerce business, you'll need an online payment gateway to accept credit and debit card payments from customers. Both Stripe and Airwallex offer payment gateways that plug into your eCommerce store, but which solution is right for your business?

Beyond payment processing costs, you’ll also want to compare the features on offer to assess total value and cost. Look for multi-currency settlement options, access to diverse local payment methods (LPMs), robust customer service support, and additional solutions, like foreign exchange (FX), transfer, and spend management solutions.

Read on to discover how our platform, Airwallex, compares to Stripe in terms of price, features, and benefits.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is a well-known payment technology company that provides businesses with a platform to accept payments from customers.

Stripe offers an online payment gateway for eCommerce businesses to accept online payments via credit and debit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, and buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) services. Stripe is widely recognized as developer-friendly due to its well-documented APIs and range of developer tools that simplify the process of building and managing payment systems.

What is Airwallex?

Airwallex is a financial solutions platform for growing businesses. Like Stripe, Airwallex also offers online payment acceptance via major card schemes and local payment methods, spanning digital wallets to BNPL. It’s easy to get started with no-code, low-code, and fully customizable integration options. 

In addition to payment processing, Airwallex provides FX management, which saves on conversion fees with same-currency settlement into its multi-currency wallet, as well as efficient transfer solutions and spend management tools to control and monitor business expenses. Airwallex also offers dedicated local support to help businesses expand more efficiently.

Compare Airwallex and Stripe features

One of the key differences with Airwallex is its' like-for-like settlement in 14+ major currencies, allowing you to receive payments in the same currency your customers pay in, without forced conversions or hidden FX fees. Funds settle directly into your Airwallex multi-currency wallet, with no need to open separate foreign currency bank accounts, unlike Stripe.

Additionally, Airwallex offers 160+ local payment methods, compared to Stripe’s 100+. These include digital wallets, such as Google Pay and Apple Pay, BNPL options like Klarna and Afterpay, and digital bank transfers like Trustly in Europe and iDEAL in the Netherlands. Airwallex also offers over 20 local payment methods in Asia that are not available on Stripe, including DOKU Wallet in Indonesia, Toss Pay in South Korea, and ShoppeePay in Malaysia.

See the complete list of Airwallex’s 160+ local payment methods.

Compare Airwallex and Stripe fees

Airwallex offers lower card processing fees than Stripe, along with competitive FX rates and more flexibility for like-for-like settlement in supported currencies.

*Additional payout fees may apply for embedded finance offerings. Additionally, while there are no FX conversion fees for like-for-like settlement, a 1% foreign currency settlement fee may apply in some instances.

Airwallex fees, explained 

• Per-transaction fees: Airwallex charges slightly lower fees than Stripe for each successful credit or debit card transaction. Rates vary based on whether the card is domestic or international.

• International fees and FX: For international cards, Airwallex’s transaction fees are slightly lower than those of Stripe. You can reduce foreign exchange costs through like-for-like settlement, which allows you to settle funds in the same currency in which they were received. This helps avoid foreign exchange conversion fees, although a 1% foreign currency settlement fee may apply in some cases. Airwallex also uses interbank FX rates with a 0.3%–0.6% markup when conversion is needed.

Stripe fees, explained

• Per-transaction fees: Stripe charges a standard fee for each successful card transaction. The rate depends on whether the customer uses a domestic or international card:

  • 2.9% + $0.30 for domestic cards

  • 4.4% + $0.30 for international cards³

• International fees: Stripe applies a 1% FX conversion fee when settling payments in a different currency. Unlike Airwallex, Stripe doesn’t support like-for-like settlement for US accounts, meaning all foreign currency payments must be converted to USD.¹

Compare online payment gateways between Stripe vs. Airwallex (US)

Both Stripe and Airwallex offer robust API integrations, robust security features (including encryption, fraud detection, and compliance with financial regulations), and comprehensive customer support. Both also handle multi-currency transactions and are suitable for both small and large businesses. However, there are some key benefits to partnering with one over the other.

The benefits of Airwallex's online payment gateway include:

• Payment acceptance in 180+ countries and regions via major card schemes and 160+ payment methods. Includes access to domestic and international BNPL.

• Like-for-like settlement in 14+ currencies directly into the Airwallex multi-currency Wallet, with no currency conversions needed. Save on FX fees when paying out from the same multi-currency balances, and convert funds only when needed.

• Hold multi-currency funds indefinitely to hedge against currency fluctuations.

• Manage all global financial operations beyond just payment acceptance. Transfer, convert, hold, and manage global spend on one platform. Get access to interbank FX rates, branded corporate cards, expense management, and more.

• Additional features include billing, invoicing, corporate cards, and embedded finance.

The benefits of Stripe’s online payment gateway include:

• Payment acceptance in 135+ currencies via major card schemes and 100+ local payment methods. Includes access to domestic BNPL as a payment method.

• Like-for-like settlement for several currencies when you create a local Stripe account and link a corresponding foreign currency bank account (e.g. settle EUR payments into a separate EUR account).

• Focused on payment processing, with strong integration with eCommerce platforms.

• Additional features, including billing, invoicing, point of sale, and embedded finance.

Go global, faster with Airwallex

Both Stripe and Airwallex are strong payment providers, with Stripe being well-known across the industry for its comprehensive payment processing and developer-friendly APIs. Airwallex goes further with its global payment coverage and wider breadth of financial solutions that can jumpstart your global operations faster and at lower costs.

Here’s why you should consider Airwallex over Stripe:

• Airwallex offers greater global coverage of local payment methods. Our platform offers 160+ local payment methods, compared to Stripe’s 100+. That includes 20+ local payment methods in Asia that are not available through Stripe.

• Collect and settle foreign currency payments like-for-like into your Airwallex Wallet, with no need to convert currencies. This feature is available for 14+ major currencies. With Stripe, businesses first need to set up foreign currency bank accounts to get the same benefit.

• Airwallex lets you collect international payments with BNPL options like Klarna and Afterpay. With Stripe, businesses can only collect domestic payments using these options.

• Airwallex offers more affordable local support for businesses of all sizes. In comparison, Stripe charges thousands per year for a dedicated account manager.

All of these features can help your business onboard faster, launch into new markets quickly, and grow your business with confidence. Our value proposition is simple yet powerful: Airwallex can simplify cross-border payments and consolidate financial operations, backed by ongoing personal support.

FAQs

Is Stipe or Airwallex better for international businesses?

Both Stripe and Airwallex are excellent options for international businesses, but they have distinct strengths. Airwallex excels in multi-currency management and financial tools, making it ideal for companies with significant international operations. In contrast, Stripe is more well-known and widely available in more countries.

 How do Stripe's and Airwallex's pricing models compare?

Stripe generally charges a percentage of the transaction amount plus a fixed fee, which is straightforward and suitable for a wide range of businesses. Airwallex offers slightly lower payment processing costs and multi-currency accounts, which can be more cost-effective for businesses with substantial international transactions.

What are the key differences in the feature sets of Stripe and Airwallex?

Stripe has strong capabilities in eCommerce integrations and subscriptions, with a stronger brand presence globally. Airwallex is a rapidly growing fintech company that differs from Stripe through its multi-currency accounts, virtual cards, and financial management tools. Depending on your specific needs, one platform may be more suitable than the other. For example, if you primarily require payment processing, Stripe may be an appropriate option. If your business needs advanced financial management and international payment solutions, Airwallex may be the better choice.

What is like-for-like settlement?

Like-for-like settlement is a process that ensures the currency a business receives in its account matches the currency in which the payment was made. This means that if a customer pays a business in, for example, US dollars (USD), the funds will be settled directly into their account in USD, without currency conversion. This approach helps businesses avoid unnecessary foreign exchange fees and ensures that they receive the exact amount they are owed, making international transactions more transparent and efficient. Airwallex offers like-for-like settlement in 14+ currencies directly into its multi-currency wallet.

Sources and references

1. https://stripe.com/pricing

2. https://docs.stripe.com/currencies/conversions

3. https://stripe.com/pricing/local-payment-methods

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q3 2025. The information was based on our own online research, and we were not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only, and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].