Airwallex vs Stripe
Choose Airwallex if you want online payments alongside multi-currency business accounts, international transfers, and employee spend management; choose Stripe if your priority is a payments platform with established in-person tools and a broad set of commerce products. Both offer online checkout, payment links, subscriptions, APIs, and platform payment capabilities. The practical choice is whether your business needs its day-to-day international finances in the same system as payment acceptance, or wants to build around Stripe’s payments and commerce tools.
Last updated October 27, 2026.
At a glance
| Dimension | Airwallex | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Business accounts | Collect and hold funds in 20+ currencies | Financial Accounts for platforms |
| International transfers | Local transfers to 120+ countries; SWIFT to 200+ | Global Payouts product |
| Company spend | Corporate cards, expenses, reimbursements, and bill pay | Issuing product for physical and virtual cards |
| In-person payments | US POS payments listed as coming soon | Terminal card readers and Tap to Pay |
| Domestic online cards | 2.8% + $0.30 per transaction | 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction |
| International online cards | 4.3% + $0.30 per transaction | Domestic rate + 1.5%; another 1% if conversion is required |
| Account pricing | Explore: $0 per user/month for up to 10 Spend users; Grow: $12 per user/month plus platform fee | Standard payments: no setup or monthly fee |
| Subscription billing | 0.5% per successful transaction | Billing pay-as-you-go: 0.7% of Billing volume |
| Payment methods | Cards and 160+ local payment methods | Access to 125+ payment methods |
| Checkout options | Payment links, plugins, checkout components, APIs, and SDKs | Payment Links, Checkout, Elements, and APIs |
| Named integrations | Shopify, WooCommerce, Xero, and QuickBooks | Shopify and WooCommerce |
| Support | Help center and email; dedicated account manager on Accelerate | 24/7 phone, email, and chat; paid support plans |
Scroll the table sideways to compare each row.
Which should you choose?
Choose Airwallex if
- Businesses collecting and holding funds in multiple currencies
- Teams making international transfers and paying global suppliers
- Companies managing employee cards, expenses, and bills alongside payments
- Merchants seeking like-for-like settlement in supported currencies
Choose Stripe if
- Businesses accepting both online and in-person payments
- Teams starting with pay-as-you-go online card processing
- Developers building custom payment and commerce workflows
- Companies seeking separate billing, tax, and platform payment products
The verdict
Pick Airwallex when holding currencies, paying internationally, and managing company cards and expenses are central to the workflow you want alongside payments. Pick Stripe when in-person acceptance through Terminal, payments integrations, or its separate billing and commerce products are the deciding factors. Compare the full cost of the features you will use: both publish transaction fees, while their account, billing, and support offerings are structured differently.
Airwallex vs Stripe: common questions
- Is Airwallex vs Stripe a useful comparison?
- Yes. Airwallex and Stripe both offer online payments, checkout options, billing, and APIs. Airwallex also packages multi-currency business accounts, transfers, and company spend tools for businesses managing international finances.
- Which costs less for domestic online card payments in the US?
- Airwallex publishes 2.8% + $0.30 per domestic online card transaction; Stripe publishes 2.9% + $0.30 per successful domestic card transaction on Standard pricing. Other product fees and transaction types can change the total cost.
- Do Airwallex and Stripe charge monthly fees?
- Airwallex lists Explore at $0 per user per month for up to 10 Spend users and Grow at $12 per user per month plus a platform fee. Stripe lists no setup or monthly fee for Standard payments, but products such as Billing have separate pricing.
- Can I hold customer payments in multiple currencies?
- Airwallex publishes business accounts that collect and hold funds in 20+ currencies and like-for-like settlement in 20+ currencies. Stripe offers international payments and currency conversion; its Financial Accounts product is listed for platforms.
- Which supports in-person payments in the US?
- Stripe offers Terminal card readers and Tap to Pay for in-person payments. Airwallex’s US site lists POS payments as coming soon, so US buyers needing in-person acceptance now should check availability before choosing Airwallex.
- Can both handle subscriptions?
- Yes. Airwallex offers subscription management and usage-based billing, priced at 0.5% per successful transaction on its US pricing page. Stripe Billing supports subscriptions and lists pay-as-you-go pricing at 0.7% of Billing volume; payment processing fees are separate.
- Which is a better fit for international supplier payments?
- Airwallex is the more direct fit if supplier transfers are part of everyday financial operations: it publishes local transfers to 120+ countries and SWIFT transfers to 200+ countries. Stripe lists Global Payouts as a separate product for paying third parties.
- What support does each offer?
- Airwallex lists help-center and email support across its plans, with a dedicated account manager and onboarding support on Accelerate. Stripe says all customers receive 24/7 phone, email, and chat support and offers additional paid support plans.