Use Cases
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There’s no denying that Stripe is a robust platform, and you can do a lot with it. The real question is whether it’s the right solution to help you scale your SaaS or software company.
If you’re looking for a custom payment solution for SaaS, here are three reasons to consider FastSpring over Stripe:
- Stripe’s DIY model is hard to maintain and is slowing your growth
- The DIY model is more expensive.
- Unless you’re an enterprise-level company, Stripe isn’t interested in being a true growth partner. (But we are.)
You can also jump to our feature comparison between Stripe and FastSpring.
1. Stripe’s DIY Model Is Slowing Your Growth
The DIY Model (Stripe)
Using Stripe means that the bulk of the work building and supporting a commerce infrastructure falls on your in-house development team. Stripe provides the documentation, and your team must put it together.
The Merchant of Record Model (FastSpring)
As your merchant of record, you outsource nearly everything to us, which means your developers can focus on building a great product. Not only does our platform replace your entire payment stack, we even calculate, collect, and remit sales tax and VAT on your behalf! Learn more about the merchant of record model.
2. Stripe’s DIY Model Is More Expensive
Stripe’s pricing may look simple, but making the platform work for you can require several plugins and additional fees.
With FastSpring, our single flat rate includes everything you get in our platform and hands-on support. There are no hidden fees.
Learn more about Fastspring’s all-in-one pricing model.
3. Unlike Stripe, FastSpring Wants to Be Your True Growth Partner
Unlike DIY payment platforms that leave everything up to you, FastSpring’s merchant-of-record model means that we are true partners to our customers. This is how we deliver peace of mind with fully managed payment services, taxes and live, hands-on support options for every single customer. Get the support and expertise your business needs to grow.
Stripe Vs FastSpring Platform Comparison
| Stripe | FastSpring | |
| Subscription Management And Recurring Billing Support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Global online payment processing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Automatic VAT and sales tax calculation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Optimized checkout experience | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multiple payment methods and currency options | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fraud protection | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reporting and analytics | ✓* | ✓ |
| Refunds, cancellations and chargeback management | ✓* | ✓ |
| Third-party integrations | ✓ | ✓ |
| APIs and Webhooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Digital invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Global Tax Management | ✓ | |
| Global regulation compliance | ✓ | |
| Secure digital fulfillment | ✓ | |
| Customer support for you and your global customers | ✓ | |
| Affiliate network capabilities | ✓ |
*additional fees required
Global Revenue Optimization With Fastspring
We’ve designed our solution to optimize global revenue for our customers:
- Higher payment authorization rates: You shouldn’t have to worry about credit card processing failures because of where your customers are located. We use regional payment processing partners to process payments locally and get more transactions approved.
- Managed dunning services: we can help you reduce involuntary churn through custom subscription renewal reminders, automated card retries, and more. (See how one customer reduced churn by 50% using FastSpring!)
- Localized payments: Per internal research, we found that FastSpring users displaying local currencies and payment methods convert at twice the rate of those who don’t. We offer automated checkout localization in 20+ currencies and languages to streamline this process.
How We Can Help You Optimize Your Customer Experience
FastSpring provides a best-in-class web storefront, online checkout, and digital fulfillment so you can give your customers the best possible user experience.
Customize your store and checkout to fit your brand using our flexible javascript library, and let us handle the rest, including:
- Localized checkout
- Support of many pricing models and recurring payment options
- Customer-friendly subscription management portal
- Customer payment inquiries and refund requests
- And more
Frequently Asked Questions
Is FastSpring a payment gateway?
FastSpring acts as a payment gateway and so much more. With FastSpring, you can scale almost instantly to over 200+ regions because we stay in good standing with dozens of payment processors around the world.
What payment methods does FastSpring support?
Using FastSpring, you can accept many popular online payment forms, such as credit card payments, PayPal, Apple Pay, ACH or debit cards, SEPA, and Amazon Pay. See the full list here.
Does FastSpring work with startups?
Yes! FastSpring works with software companies of all sizes and growth stages.
Does Fastspring work with in-store sales?
Fastspring does not support in-person sales, the selling of physical goods or services. Since we don’t support in-person sales, we do not distribute card readers, either.
Related Posts:
8 Best Stripe Alternatives: See how Fastspring stacks up against Paddle, Verifone (formerly 2Checkout), Square, PayPal for Business, Authorize.net, Adyen, and Amazon.
A Detailed Comparison of Stripe vs Paddle vs FastSpring.
If you think FastSpring could be the right payment solution for your business, reach out to our team or set up a free account.
