Product details — Payments & Billing APIs
Braintree
This page is a decision brief, not a review. It explains when Braintree tends to fit, where it usually struggles, and how costs behave as your needs change. This page covers Braintree in isolation; side-by-side comparisons live on separate pages.
Quick signals
What this product actually is
Braintree is PayPal's end-to-end payment platform designed for growth, offering card processing, PayPal/Venmo integration, ACH payments, and fraud tools. Uniquely positioned to leverage PayPal's ecosystem while offering standalone payment processing.
Pricing behavior (not a price list)
These points describe when users typically pay more, what actions trigger upgrades, and the mechanics of how costs escalate.
Actions that trigger upgrades
- Established business status enables custom flat rate requests
- High transaction volume qualifies for IC+ pricing model
- Business complexity (recurring, marketplace) triggers custom rate discussions
- Risk profile improvements unlock better fraud/chargeback tool pricing
- Charity verification unlocks 2.19% + 29¢ discounted tier
When costs usually spike
- PayPal transaction fees governed by SEPARATE PayPal merchant agreement
- AmEx pass-through requires your own American Express merchant account
- Transaction fees NOT refunded for refunded transactions
- Custom pricing gatekept by 'established business' and volume thresholds
- Chargeback/fraud tools priced separately and vary by business risk profile
- Venmo geographic restriction limits US-only businesses
Plans and variants (structural only)
Grouped by type to show structure, not to rank or recommend specific SKUs.
Plans
- Standard Pricing - 2.89% + 29¢ per transaction - Self-serve for all merchants
- Charity Pricing - 2.19% + 29¢ per transaction - Requires 501(c)(3) verification
Plus
- Interchange Plus (IC+) - Interchange + fixed markup - For established businesses with volume
Enterprise
- Custom Enterprise - Volume-based negotiated rates - High-volume or complex business models
Costs & limitations
Common limits
- International cards add 1% surcharge (same pain as Stripe)
- Non-USD currency adds another 1% on top
- Chargebacks cost $15 each with no refund on transaction fees
- ACH returns and disputes add $5 per occurrence
- Chargeback Protection Tools add 0.4%-0.6% per transaction
- Venmo limited to US market only
What breaks first
- International expansion hits dual 1% + 1% surcharge wall
- Chargeback costs spiral for subscription or high-risk verticals
- PayPal fee structure confusion from split governance
- ACH pricing uncompetitive for high-frequency small transactions
- Venmo limitation blocks non-US growth strategies
Fit assessment
Good fit if…
- Businesses wanting native PayPal and Venmo acceptance
- Merchants with existing American Express merchant accounts (pass-through savings)
- Verified 501(c)(3) charities (2.19% discounted rate)
- Companies processing large ACH transactions (benefits from $5 cap)
- Businesses in PayPal ecosystem seeking integrated solutions
- Growth-stage companies ready for IC+ negotiations
Poor fit if…
- Need Venmo outside the United States (not supported)
- Heavy international payment volume (1% + 1% adds up)
- High chargeback rates in your industry ($15 each)
- Require lowest ACH fees for small transactions (0.75% expensive for small amounts)
- Want transparent pricing without 'established business' gatekeeping
- Need advanced fraud tools without per-transaction add-ons
Trade-offs
Every design choice has a cost. Here are the explicit trade-offs:
- PayPal/Venmo native integration → Separate fee structures increase complexity
- Slightly lower base rate (2.89%) → Same international surcharges as competitors
- Charity discount tier → Requires verification bureaucracy and pre-approval
- ACH $5 cap benefits large transactions → Expensive percentage for small ACH payments
- AmEx pass-through savings → Requires separate AmEx merchant account overhead
Sources & verification
Pricing and behavioral information comes from public documentation and structured research. When information is incomplete or volatile, we prefer to say so rather than guess.