Chapter 07 / By the numbers
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Stripe processes a huge share of online payments, which means a huge number of merchants pay one provider's price on every transaction. The published figures below show the scale of that concentration and the fees and holds that send merchants looking for an alternative such as Avendo.
Very big. Red Stag Fulfillment's 2026 breakdown puts Stripe at up to 29% of global online payment processing and about 45% of the U.S. market in U.S.-focused datasets. Concentration on that scale is exactly why routing across several processors, the approach Avendo takes, appeals to merchants who want competition on their rate.
Stripe's share of the global online payment processing market, per the most recent industry studies (range 20.8% to 29%, 2025).
Stripe’s approximate share of the U.S. market in U.S.-focused datasets.
Global payments processed by Stripe in 2024.
Share of Stripe's business concentrated in North America.
Stripe's standard US rate per successful domestic card payment, plus 1.5% for cards issued outside the US.
Source: Stripe pricing
What Stripe Billing adds on billing volume on the pay-as-you-go plan.
Source: Stripe Alternatives for Subscription Apps: Switch or Add?
Hold time some high-risk businesses can face on a manual Stripe Connect account; 14 calendar days is cited for high-risk businesses generally.
The window of actual processing volume, including every add-on fee, to use when running an all-in effective rate.
The lowest flat in-person rate found in a 2026 ranking of 15 processors.
Fixed fee on online and keyed sales under $50K a month for one ranked processor, showing how fixed fees vary.
Three patterns stand out. First, fixed per-transaction fees vary widely between processors, from 9¢ to 30¢ in the figures above, and they weigh most on small tickets. Second, add-ons such as international card fees and billing tools can lift a headline rate well above its starting point. Third, a single provider controls both your price and your payouts.
Avendo's model responds to all three. Each payment is routed to the connected processor offering the best available rate at that moment, merchants are never billed by Avendo, and your checkout is not tied to one provider.
Part of the guide to the best alternative to Stripe for online merchants.
Stripe is one of the largest. Our audit cites U.S.-focused datasets showing Stripe with approximately 45% of the domestic market, and reports that 70.2% of Stripe's business is concentrated in North America. Being widely used does not make it the cheapest option on every transaction, which is why comparing effective rates matters.
By market share, Stripe is a leader in online processing, with up to 29% of the global online payment processing market per our audit. For a merchant, the more useful question is which option keeps the most of each sale, and that is where Avendo's per-transaction competition comes in.
Held funds disrupt cash flow. Our audit reports that high-risk businesses on Stripe can face hold times of 14 calendar days, and in some cases up to 90 days for those using a manual Connect account. Spreading payments across more than one processor reduces dependence on any single provider's decisions about your account.
Often, yes. Stripe adds 1.5% for cards issued outside the US on top of its 2.9% + 30¢ domestic rate. We suggest checking which countries generate more than 5% of your revenue before choosing a provider. With routing, each payment can go to whichever connected processor offers the best available rate for that transaction.
No single gateway has the lowest fees on every transaction, because cost varies with card type, issuer country and ticket size. That is the gap Avendo targets: instead of betting on one provider's price list, it routes each transaction to whichever connected processor offers the best available rate at that moment. For in-person sales, our audit found a lowest flat rate of 2.29% + 9¢.
Share your monthly card volume and average ticket with Avendo. Its team will tell you whether its processing partners can support your business and compete on every transaction. There is no merchant fee from Avendo and no obligation to switch.
