PayPal BrainTree
Subscription billing software
Payment processing software
E-commerce software
Payment software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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Pay-as-you-go
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Small
Medium
Large
- Retail and wholesale
- Accommodation and food services
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation
What is PayPal BrainTree
PayPal Braintree is a payment processing platform that provides APIs and tools to accept and manage online and in-app payments. It is used by developers and product teams to integrate card payments, digital wallets, and local payment methods into web and mobile checkout flows. The product supports features such as tokenization, vaulting, recurring billing capabilities, and fraud tooling, with settlement and reporting managed through PayPal’s payments infrastructure.
Developer-friendly API integrations
Braintree provides APIs and SDKs designed for embedding payments into custom web and mobile applications. It supports tokenization and customer vaulting to reduce the need to store sensitive payment data in merchant systems. This approach fits organizations that want to control the checkout UX while relying on a third-party processor for payment handling.
Broad payment method support
The platform supports major card networks and commonly used digital wallets, enabling a single integration to cover multiple tender types. This can reduce the need to manage separate integrations for different payment methods across channels. It is particularly useful for e-commerce and app-based businesses operating in multiple markets (availability varies by country).
Recurring and subscription capabilities
Braintree includes recurring billing primitives (such as stored payment methods and recurring transactions) that can support subscription use cases. It can be used as the payment layer for subscription workflows when paired with a merchant’s own billing logic or additional billing systems. This is helpful for teams that need payments plus basic subscription charging without adopting a full revenue management suite.
Not a full billing suite
Braintree focuses on payment processing rather than end-to-end subscription billing operations. Complex requirements such as proration, multi-entity invoicing, advanced revenue recognition, and sophisticated subscription lifecycle management typically require additional systems. Organizations comparing it to dedicated subscription billing platforms may find gaps in native billing administration.
Pricing and contract complexity
Total cost can be difficult to estimate for businesses with multiple payment methods, currencies, or value-added services (for example, fraud tooling). Some capabilities may involve separate terms, add-ons, or PayPal account configuration. This can create procurement and finance overhead compared with simpler, all-in-one pricing models.
Operational dependence on processor
Using Braintree ties payment operations (settlement, disputes, and certain risk controls) closely to PayPal’s processing stack. Migrating to another processor later can require re-tokenization strategies, customer payment method updates, and rework of payment flows. This dependency can be a constraint for companies that want maximum processor portability.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go Free testing environment: Sandbox available (free; for testing only — not a time-limited live-trial) Example costs (United States, as published by PayPal Braintree):
- Cards and third-party digital wallet transactions (standard merchants): 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction
- Venmo transactions (US only): 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction
- ACH direct debit transactions: 0.75% per transaction (maximum per-transaction fee capped at $5.00)
- Chargeback (dispute) fee: $15.00 per occurrence
- Pass-through American Express transaction fee: $0.15 per transaction (when Braintree passes through AmEx)
- Presented in non-USD currency: additional 1% (currency conversion/FX)
- Customer card issued outside the United States: additional 1%
Charity rates (verified 501(c)(3) organizations):
- Cards and third-party digital wallet transactions: 2.19% + $0.29 per transaction
Value-added services (examples):
- Chargeback Protection: Starting at 0.4% per transaction (other option “Effortless Chargeback Protection” starting at 0.6% per transaction)
- Fraud Protection Lite: $0.05 per inquiry
Discount options / notes:
- Custom flat rates, interchange-plus pricing, and discounted rates are available for established businesses and based on business model and processing volume (contact PayPal/Braintree sales for negotiated pricing).
- Transaction fees are not returned for refunded transactions (per PayPal Braintree fees page).
- Where applicable, PayPal transactions are subject to PayPal Merchant Fees (refer to PayPal account terms).
Last updated on vendor fees page: July 16, 2025 (as published on PayPal's Braintree Fees & Pricing page).
Seller details
PayPal Holdings, Inc.
San Jose, California, USA
1998
Public
https://www.paypal.com/
https://x.com/PayPal
https://www.linkedin.com/company/paypal/
