If you’re running a business, chances are you need to find a way to bill your customers. And if you’re looking for a billing solution, you’ve probably come across Recurly vs Stripe billing.
But which one is right for your business? In this blog post, we’ll compare Recurly vs Stripe billing so that you can choose the best software for your business.
Recurly vs Stripe Billing: Key Differences
There are a few key differences between Recurly and Stripe.
First, Recurly focuses exclusively on recurring billing, while Stripe also offers one-time payments and other features.
Second, Recurly offers a wider range of features than Stripe, including subscription management, dunning management, and invoicing.
Third, Recurly integrates with a wider range of accounting, CRM, and e-commerce platforms than Stripe.
Finally, Recurly offers enterprise-grade features such as account management and customer segmentation that are not available on Stripe.
Recurly vs Stripe: Similarities
If you’re looking for a subscription model that will increase revenue and keep customers, you should consider using Stripe or Recurly. Both platforms offer different benefits that could be advantageous for your business. It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each before making a decision.
Decide which option works best for your business. Then, plan your workflow and your billing cycles according to that. Test your models repeatedly to see which one works the best.
Understanding your customer’s journey and using customer feedback and customer intelligence can help increase retention and customer satisfaction.
Gain deeper insight into your key company stats like monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and customer lifetime value (CLTV).
Similarities
Stripe and Recurly make it easy to set up subscription billing and manage payments.
Their features include:
- Integration with Customer Management Systems such as Salesforce
- Pull customers’ credit card information.
- Send customized invoices.
- Check for fraud.
- Process secure transactions through EU Payment Services Directive 2 compliance.
- Consolidate all subscription transactions on a dashboard.
- Provide 24/7 support for customers, businesses, and app developers.
Differences
Stripe:
- Requires upgrading to a paid subscription to bill clients.
- Quicker setup.
- Less number of currencies.
- Integrates seamlessly with over 500 different business applications.
- Resolve disputes with payment.
- Charges clients based on the types of services and payments they receive so they only pay for the work they actually get.
- Payment form builder provides developers with handy tools to create customized payment forms.
Recurly:
- Lets the client define a default subscription pricing model that can be updated on the fly with customs fees and refunds.
- Manages customer status across the entire subscription life cycle (trial, active, renewal, cancellation, and deletion).
- Set period for gift subscriptions.
- Charges a monthly standard fee plus 9% of revenue.
- Creates an online payment page where customers can update their billing information to resolve payment issues.
- Calculates sales taxes automatically for transactions in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and South Africa.
- Provides data portability.
- Meets regulations on consumer data and user privacy.
Stripe vs. Recurly: Features
Both Recurly and Stripe offer the basic functions of invoices, billing, and subscriptions, but each has its strengths and weaknesses.
Invoice-driven services like Stripe emphasize fast payment processing.
Recurly, on the other hand, focuses on customers’ experience with managing multiple ongoing subscriptions.
Recurly’s flexible billing system lets you handle a variety of subscriptions, including trial, active, and cancellation.
Both platforms offer over 20 different types of payment solutions, so customers can find one that works for them. Both are also compliant with the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), which ensures the safety of customer information.
If your business has customers all over the world, then you need a platform that can support over 141 different currencies. Luckily, the easy-to-use platform, Stripe, does just that.
However, if your business wants to provide incentives for its customers, then Recurly’s incentive program and delinquency management features might be a better fit.
Recurly’s integration with popular accounting platforms like Quickbooks and Netsuite, as well as CRMs like Salesforce, makes it an ideal solution for businesses that rely on these other solutions.
With integrations to over 500 different online platforms, as well as its own standalone application, it’s clear why businesses love using Stripe.
Stripe vs. Recurly: Security and Privacy
You can rest assured that both Recurly and Stripe have top-notch security. You control their dashboard permissions by configuring them based on the user’s role.
Both Recurly and Stripe utilize machine learning algorithms to prevent fraudulent transactions. This safeguards both workers and customers from potential theft. Both platforms are also compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which is the highest security standard in the industry.
When you sign up for an account with Stripe, it collects and uses your contact information for marketing and ad purposes. It also works to resolve any payment issues that may come up and invites ethical hackers to find any vulnerabilities in its system.
Recurly’s Fraud Prevention Program helps you identify fraudulent transactions and protects you from potential losses. You can take your customer data with you wherever you go.
If you request exporting your customer’s credit card information to another certified payment service provider, Recurly will comply with that request. Also, Recurly’s policy is to respect your right to be forgotten as per the General Data Protection Regulation.
Stripe vs. Recurly: Pricing
Both Recurly and Stripe have very different approaches to pricing. So, make sure you understand which model works best for your business.
In addition to their basic plan, which charges 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction, you’ll also want to set aside money for Stripe’s additional “billing” service.
When you integrate your CRM with subscription and payment services from Stripe, you will be charged 5% on subscriptions and 8% for more advanced features.
Unlike Stripe, Recurly charges a fixed monthly fee of $149. For core services, the fee is 0.9% of your revenue.
Your Recurly subscription includes basic business management tools, coupons, discounts, and 24/7 chat support.
If you have 20 or more employees and/or handle up to $10 million in transactions, you will need to upgrade your account to Recurly’s Professional or Elite plan.
Stripe vs. Recurly: Support
Before choosing between Recurly’s and Stripe’s customer support, consider how each excels in different areas. Recurly is easy to set up, while Stripe is more intuitive.
You will mostly use Stripe’s support for payment or third-party integration. You will appreciate the help from Recurly when you have complex questions about your pricing structure, subscriptions, or recurring payments.
Both Recurly and Stripe have excellent customer support, 24/7. Whether you’re a tech wizard or a total novice, their support team is always happy to help.
Both have extensive libraries of documents, a knowledge base, and email and phone support for their customers. They also have an active online community where you can network with other customers or learn from other entrepreneurs.
If you need to speak with someone, your method of communication will determine how soon a customer service specialist can get back to you.
Stripe goes above and beyond to help you unblock stuck purchases, even if you use a third-party platform such as Shopify or Squarespace.
But, sending an email can take 24 hours before you get a response while using the live chat feature or phoning will get you a response in about three minutes.
Both Stripe and Recurly offer excellent technical support for developers. You’ll find plenty of documentation and tools to help you create the functionality you need for your business.
Both Recurly and Stripe provide libraries of code and APIs that you can integrate into your Web site. These allow you to personalize the subscription process or handle any technical glitches before customers even notice them.
Your developers can easily access Recurly’s core APIs, even at the Sandbox stage.
To connect to Stripe’s test environment, you need the Professional plan or above.
Stripe vs. Recurly: Reviews
Overall, customers have mixed reviews about Recurly’s and Stripe’s products. But, their customer service is top-notch.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a trusted source for researching companies. You can use it to find out more about companies such as Recurly and Stripe.
Stripe has an A+rating from BBB. In the past three years, there have been over 400 complaints about Stripe, and 199 of those have been resolved.
The majority of complaints against Stripe are due to suspended or closed accounts from customers with a “High Risk” profile, as well as issues with fund distribution.
You will find no BBB accreditation for Recurly yet. However, Recurly has received mixed reviews for its customer service, according to Software Advice.com, a BBBA+ accredited business.
Recurly.com receives 4.5 out of 5 stars in customer satisfaction. Users love Recurly’s fast response time, but some customers have had issues with getting passed around to multiple representatives before getting an answer.
Alternatives to Try
If you don’t think that Recurly or Stripe is the right fit for you, here are some other payment solutions to look into:
- Square: If you’re a multichannel business, like one that sells on multiple channels, then you may want to consider using Square. It’s designed to handle more complex businesses and multiple payment methods.
- Authorize.net: This is an excellent choice, and it comes with excellent tools for preventing fraud and accepting a variety of payment methods.
- PayPal: One of the most popular payment processing services with millions of customers around the world. It provides a fast, simple experience for shoppers.
Conclusion
After reading this blog post, you should now have a better understanding of the differences between Recurly vs Stripe billing. While both services are great for businesses, it’s important to choose the one that best fits your needs. If you’re looking for a simple solution, then Stripe might be the right choice. However, if you need more features and customization options, then Recurly could be a better fit. Whichever service you choose, make sure to do your research so that you can get the most out of it for your business.
