Braintree vs Recurly Pricing (2026)

How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.

Braintree Recurly
Starts at Custom $249/mo
Number of plans 2 5
Free plan
Free trial
Pricing model usage-based usage-based

Standard

Custom
  • Cards and third-party digital wallet transactions: For standard merchants — 2.89% + 0.29 USD
  • Pass-through American Express transaction — 0.15 USD
  • Presented in any non-USD currency — Additional 1%
  • Customer card issued outside of the United States — Additional 1%
  • Chargeback — 15.00 USD
  • PayPal transactions — PayPal Merchant Fees
  • Venmo transactions — 3.49% + 0.49 USD
  • ACH direct debit: Per transaction fee when processed via standard ACH network processing schedule (max 5.00 USD) — 0.75%
  • ACH direct debit: Per transaction fee when processed via same day ACH network processing window — 1.5% + 0.10 USD
  • ACH direct debit: Returned by banking network — 5.00 USD
  • ACH direct debit: Disputed by your customer as unauthorized — 5.00 USD

Charity

Custom
  • Cards and third-party digital wallet transactions: For verified charitable 501(c)(3) organizations — 2.19% + 0.29 USD
  • Pass-through American Express transaction — 0.15 USD
  • Presented in any non-USD currency — Additional 1%
  • Customer card issued outside of the United States — Additional 1%
  • Chargeback — 15.00 USD
  • PayPal transactions — PayPal Merchant Fees
  • Venmo transactions — 3.49% + 0.49 USD
  • ACH direct debit: Per transaction fee when processed via standard ACH network processing schedule (max 5.00 USD) — 0.75%
  • ACH direct debit: Per transaction fee when processed via same day ACH network processing window — 1.5% + 0.10 USD
  • ACH direct debit: Returned by banking network — 5.00 USD
  • ACH direct debit: Disputed by your customer as unauthorized — 5.00 USD

Starter

$249/mo
  • Automated global subscription billing
  • Flexible plans and pricing
  • Static churn-prevention tools
  • 1 Dunning campaign
  • 10+ payment methods
  • 20+ payment gateways

All-Access

Popular
Custom
  • AI-Powered agents, analytics, insights
  • Intelligent churn-prevention tools
  • Multiple dunning campaigns
  • Advanced plans, pricing, promotions
  • Payments orchestration across multiple gateways
  • Custom reporting, additional analytics, and automated exports
  • Additional payment methods including ACH, gateways, and communications languages
  • Multicurrency
  • Single sign-on
  • And more!

All-Access for Shopify

Custom
  • Intelligent churn-prevention tools
  • Customized bundles
  • Subscribe and save
  • Prepaid and gift subscriptions
  • Hybrid subscription support
  • Cancel-save flows and surveys
  • Self-serve bulk updater
  • Analytics and integrations
  • Hosted subscriber portal with passwordless login
  • And more!

Engage

$1600/mo
  • AI powered propensity to churn model
  • 1-click billing integration
  • Personalized offers
  • Cancel save, upsell, cross sell capabilities
  • AB testing
  • Granular segmentation
  • Low code prompt builder
  • Advanced analytics
  • Robust integrations

RevRec

$850/mo
  • Automated contract modifications
  • SSP automation
  • Rules-driven allocations
  • Real-time revenue insights & forecasting
  • Automated monthly close
  • Unified workbench
  • Multi-GAAP compliance
  • Immutable audit trail
  • Multi-everything support

Braintree vs Recurly FAQ

Which one is cheaper?
One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
Can I use either one for free?
Neither has a free plan. But Recurly offers a free trial.
How do they charge?
Both use a usage-based model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
Which one is a better deal?
Depends on what you need. Braintree: Braintree targets mid-market to enterprise merchants who've outgrown Stripe's standard rates and want negotiated pricing without moving to a full acquiring bank relationship. They're not the cheapest, but the custom rate structure means high-volume businesses can potentially undercut what they'd pay on Stripe's published rates. Recurly: At sub-1% of billing volume, Recurly is pitching itself as cheaper than Stripe Billing's percentage-based fees at scale, targeting mid-market SaaS and subscription commerce companies that have outgrown basic payment tools but aren't ready for a full Zuora implementation. They're the pragmatic middle ground — not the cheapest, not the most enterprise.

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