Comparison
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs the alternatives
Choose Enterprise Pay Gateway when you want a complete payment stack without engineers and want to keep your own customer relationship. Build directly on Stripe if you have developers and unusual requirements. Use a marketplace if you are buying its demand, not its payments. Open a merchant account if your volume is large enough to negotiate interchange-plus.
Last updated 9 September 2026
| Enterprise Pay Gateway | Building on Stripe yourself | Marketplace platform | Traditional merchant account | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who you contract with for processing | Stripe, directly | Stripe, directly | The marketplace | An acquiring bank |
| Time to first payment | Same day | Days to weeks of build work | Same day | 1–4 weeks of underwriting |
| Engineering required | None | Substantial and ongoing | None | Varies, usually some |
| Software cost | $49–$499/mo + 0.20%–0.75% | Your engineering time | Commission, often 10%–30% | Monthly account and gateway fees |
| Processing cost | Stripe's rates, billed to you | Stripe's rates, billed to you | Bundled into commission | Interchange-plus, negotiated |
| Whose name is on the statement | Yours | Yours | The marketplace's | Yours |
| Who owns the customer | You | You | The marketplace | You |
| Dispute liability | You | You | Usually shared or absorbed | You |
| Recurring billing included | Yes | Build it yourself | Sometimes | Usually an add-on |
| Best suited to | Businesses that want a full stack without engineers | Teams with developers and specific requirements | Sellers who want the platform's demand | High volume with negotiating power |
Head-to-head comparisons
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs Square
Square is the simpler choice if you mainly sell in person and want hardware in the box. Enterprise Pay Gateway is the better choice if you take payments online, want your own Stripe account rather than an aggregated one, and need recurring billing, invoicing, multi-location and team access without paying per feature.
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs Stripe on its own
Stripe is the processor in both cases — we build on Stripe Connect. Use Stripe directly if you have developers and unusual requirements. Use Enterprise Pay Gateway if you want a storefront, checkout links, recurring billing, invoicing, team access and reporting running today, without writing code.
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs Shopify Payments
Shopify Payments is excellent if your business is a product catalogue with a cart and shipping. Enterprise Pay Gateway suits service businesses: appointments, packages, memberships, invoices and deposits, where the checkout is a link or an invoice rather than a shopping cart.
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs PayPal
PayPal is the fastest way to accept a one-off payment from someone who already has PayPal. Enterprise Pay Gateway is the better long-term home for a business: your own Stripe account, your brand at checkout, proper recurring billing and reporting, and no reliance on the buyer having an account.
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs Stripe Billing
Stripe Billing is Stripe's own developer-first subscription and invoicing engine, built to be configured through the API. Enterprise Pay Gateway is a no-code operations layer that runs on your own Stripe account, adding a storefront, checkout links, deposits, prepaid packages and memberships without engineering time. Teams with developers who want full programmatic control usually reach for Stripe Billing directly; businesses that want this working today without code use Enterprise Pay Gateway.
Enterprise Pay Gateway vs GlossGenius
GlossGenius is booking and point-of-sale software for independent stylists and small salons, typically with its own bundled card processing. Enterprise Pay Gateway is not a booking calendar — it is payments and billing software that runs on your own Stripe account, so funds settle directly to your bank rather than an aggregated balance. Businesses whose main need is a booking page usually reach for GlossGenius; businesses that want their own Stripe account, deposits, packages and invoicing use Enterprise Pay Gateway.
Alternatives to popular platforms
- Boulevard Alternative for Med Spas & Salons
- Vagaro Alternative for Salons & Spas
- GlossGenius Alternative for Salons & Beauty Pros
- Mindbody Alternative for Fitness Studios
- Glofox Alternative for Gyms
- Weave Payments Alternative for Dental Practices
- Rectangle Health Alternative for Dental Practices
- Jobber Payments Alternative for Home Services
- Memberful Alternative for Stripe Membership Businesses
- Payhip Alternative for Stripe Sellers
- Stripe Dashboard Alternatives for Merchants
When Enterprise Pay Gateway is the wrong tool
If you already employ engineers who have built on Stripe, our platform fee buys you little. If your entire business depends on a marketplace's built-in demand, the commission is buying customers, not payment plumbing. And if you process several million dollars a year, an interchange-plus merchant account negotiated directly will usually beat any flat-rate arrangement.
When it is the right tool
You want to take card payments this week, you want your own name on the customer's statement, you need recurring billing and a product catalogue, and you would rather pay a predictable software fee than hire a developer.
Costs shown for Enterprise Pay Gateway come from our pricing page. Third-party figures are typical published ranges and change often — verify with each provider before deciding.