Overview

Recurly

Stacks123

Followers142

Votes64

PayPal

Stacks19.5K

Followers14.8K

Votes665

PayPal vs Recurly: What are the differences?

Introduction

Key differences between PayPal and Recurly are outlined below.

Payment Processing: PayPal primarily functions as a payment processor, allowing businesses and individuals to send and receive payments online. On the other hand, Recurly specializes in subscription billing management, helping businesses create and manage recurring billing plans for their customers. While PayPal can handle one-time payments, Recurly is designed specifically for subscription-based businesses.
Integration Capabilities: PayPal offers a wide range of integrations with various e-commerce platforms and tools, making it easier for businesses to accept payments online. Recurly, on the other hand, focuses on integrations with subscription-based businesses, offering specific features like dunning management, churn reduction, and revenue recovery tools to improve subscription billing efficiency.
Billing Model: PayPal charges a flat rate per transaction and additional fees for international transactions and currency conversions. Recurly, on the other hand, typically charges a percentage of the transaction value or a monthly fee based on the volume of transactions processed through their platform. This difference in billing models can impact the overall cost for businesses depending on their transaction volume and needs.
Subscription Management Features: Recurly provides advanced subscription management features like automated dunning emails, customizable billing cycles, and flexible pricing options. While PayPal offers recurring payments functionality, it lacks the extensive subscription management features that Recurly provides, making it a more suitable choice for businesses focused on subscription billing.
Analytics and Reporting: Recurly offers in-depth analytics and reporting tools specifically tailored to subscription billing metrics, allowing businesses to track customer churn, revenue trends, and subscription growth over time. PayPal provides basic transaction reporting but lacks the detailed subscription analytics that Recurly offers, making it more challenging for businesses to monitor and optimize their subscription revenue streams.
Customization and Branding: PayPal's checkout process can be customized to a certain extent, but it often retains the PayPal branding, which can cause a disconnect in the customer experience. Recurly allows businesses to create fully branded subscription signup pages and customer portals, providing a seamless and cohesive brand experience for subscribers. This level of customization and branding can contribute to higher customer retention and engagement for subscription-based businesses using Recurly.

In Summary, PayPal and Recurly differ in payment processing focus, integration capabilities, billing models, subscription management features, analytics and reporting, and customization options.

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Stripe

Payments

Payments for developers

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12.5k

Advice on Recurly, PayPal

James

Lead Application Architect at TekPartners

Nov 1, 2021

Decided

I used (tried to use) PayPal on one project and it was a total nightmare. At the time there was no cohesive "one" web-based product, you had to choose between three and the lines between them were very muddled. We reached out to developer support several times and they were no help at all. The documentation was old (incorrect) and confusing. Granted this was several years ago, but the pain remains. Given a choice of using PayPal and sticking hot needles in my eyes, I would first ask "How big and hot are these needles we're talking about?" Stripe is SO much easier!

65.1k views65.1k

Comments

Francesco

CTO at ORDR.menu

Dec 1, 2021

Decided

After the initial investigation on which platform to use to process our payments, Stripe was a total no brainer.

We are heavy users of Stripe Connect, which allows us to collect payments on behalf of our client restaurants. Connect makes it super easy to collect, payout and manage any fee structure.

At the time that the platform was written it was also the only platform that was working flawlessly with Google Pay and Apple Pay on the Web.

Today we also give out to our clients Terminals from Stripe, allowing us to process all payments under a single unified interface.

We are looking forward to further integrations, like with AliPay and other local payment methods.

37.7k views37.7k

Comments

Team

Product Team at Showwcase

Jan 19, 2021

Needs adviceon

Stripe

PayPal

Hi Folks,

I represent Showwcase, which is a network built for coders.

We're introducing a paywall for content creators on the platform to start accepting payments from their Followers for premium and unique content over and above the general free content. We are internally considering either Stripe or PayPal to handle this for us.

If we take the pricing out of the debate, what's the go-to choice when choosing which to integrate? Our current standpoint is that Paypal has wider consumer adoption, and since most creators are individuals, it makes sense to just use Paypal because they already have an account. However, our business uses Stripe, and so it makes it easier if both the platform (Showwcase) and creators to be on the Stripe platform. That being said, if creators don't already have an account, they will need to sign up with Stripe on the spot, which is a friction point.

I would like to hear the pros and cons in developer environments as well as any other things we might not know.

74.5k views74.5k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Recurly	PayPal
Recurly is the leading pay-as-you-go recurring billing service because setup is easy, integrations are quick, and our service grows with the needs of your business.	PayPal is an online payments and money transfer service that allows you to send money via email, phone, text message or Skype. They offer products to both individuals and businesses alike, including online vendors, auction sites and corporate users. PayPal connects effortlessly to bank accounts and credit cards. PayPal Mobile is one of PayPal’s newest products. It allows you to send payments by text message or by using PayPal’s mobile browser.
Subscription Plans;Account Dashboard;Dunning Management;Automated Communications;Trial Periods + Setup Fees;Add-Ons;Coupons + Discounts;Multiple Subscriptions;Virtual Terminal;One-Time Transactions;Value Added Tax (V.A.T.);Metered Billing;Intelligent Payment Routing;MailChimp Integration;Multi-Currency Support;Salesforce Integration;Import Customers;Javascript Checkout Forms;Hosted Payment Pages;Push Notifications;API Capabilities;Gateway Support	2.9% + $0.30 or less- With our flat, transparent pricing, you’ll never be surprised by hidden or variable fees. We also offer discounted rates when you sell a lot, or when you use our card reader.;Keeping every seller secure- If you’re sent an unauthorized payment, or a buyer claims they never received an item, our Seller Protection covers you for the full amount of the eligible payment.;Easy for them, easy for you- With just a few clicks, you can get paid by debit card, credit card, or a PayPal transfer. All someone needs to start buying from you is your e-mail address or mobile number.;Adaptive Payments- The Adaptive Payments API allows merchants and developers to pay almost anyone and set up automated payments.;Express Checkout- Express Checkout allows merchants and developers to minimize the number of steps customers must complete when they checkout.;PayPal Payments Advanced- PayPal Payments Advanced allows merchants to enable their online stores to collect payment directly via credit card or via PayPal Express Checkout.
Statistics
Stacks 123	Stacks 19.5K
Followers 142	Followers 14.8K
Votes 64	Votes 665
Pros & Cons
Pros 22 Recurring billing 10 Simplicity 9 Works with multiple gateways 9 Supports Value Added Tax 7 Great support & easy to use	Pros 196 Most known service 135 Consumers know it 113 It's available for many countries 70 Easy 54 Best way to get paid outside US Cons 1 Less countries supported 1 Harder to get started with 1 Not well written recurring payment api
Integrations
Mailchimp Salesforce Sales Cloud KISSmetrics	Formstack Wufoo Constant Contact Shopify

What are some alternatives to Recurly, PayPal?

Stripe

Stripe makes it easy for developers to accept credit cards on the web.

Braintree

Braintree replaces traditional payment gateways and merchant accounts. From one touch payments, to mobile SDKs and international sales, we provide everything you need to start accepting payments today.

Adyen

A payments technology company that provides a single global platform to accept payments anywhere in the world. Businesses can process payments across online, mobile and in-store (POS) with over 250 payment methods and 187 currencies.

Payoneer

It is a financial services company that provides online money transfer and digital payment services and working capital solutions

TransferWise

It bypasses pricey international payments entirely by using two local transfers instead of one international transaction. If you want to convert your pounds to euros, you send the money in pounds to its UK-based account.

Amazon FPS

With Amazon Flexible Payments Service developers can accept payments on their website for selling goods or services, raise donations, execute recurring payments, and send payments. Amazon customers can pay using the same login credentials, shipping address and payment information they already have on file with Amazon. Amazon FPS supports the processing of payments using credit cards, bank accounts and Amazon Payments account balances to send or receive money.

Zuora

Zuora gives you the enterprise-class, cloud-based tools you need to launch and scale any subscription service, quickly and affordably. Design your pricing and packaging, start taking quotes and placing orders, automate your billing and payments, and keep tabs on your financials.

Razorpay

Razorpay is the only payments solution in India that allows businesses to accept, process and disburse payments with its product suite. It gives you access to all payment modes including credit card, debit card, netbanking, UPI and more.

WePay

WePay helps people sell tickets to events, send invoices, sell items online, and accept donations online. WePay also provides an API that allows developers to access its payments platform.

2checkout

Accept payments online, anytime, anywhere. 2Checkout.com is an online payment processing service that helps you accept credit cards, PayPal, and debit cards.