Scoring Methodology
Every comparison on this site follows the same 13-criterion framework. Each criterion is scored 1–10 for both platforms, producing consistent, comparable evaluations across all 170+ comparisons.
How Scores Work
- 1–3 Significant gaps or limitations for ISV use cases. The platform either doesn't offer this capability or its implementation creates friction for embedded payment workflows.
- 4–6 Functional but not differentiated. The capability exists and works, but isn't a reason to choose this platform. May require workarounds for ISV-specific needs.
- 7–8 Strong offering with clear ISV advantages. This is a genuine strength that could influence a platform decision for ISVs prioritizing this criterion.
- 9–10 Best-in-class. This platform sets the standard for ISV payment integration in this area. Reserved for demonstrably superior capabilities.
The 13 Evaluation Criteria
These criteria were selected to cover the full decision surface that ISV product and engineering teams face when choosing a payment platform. Each criterion is evaluated independently — a platform can score 9 in one area and 3 in another.
Integration Architecture
How the platform is structurally designed for ISV embedding — single-platform vs. gateway-only, SDK quality, sandbox environments, and whether the architecture supports multi-tenant deployments natively.
API & Developer Experience
Quality of REST/GraphQL APIs, documentation depth, code samples, SDKs, webhooks, and developer community. Evaluated from an ISV integration team's perspective, not a single-merchant setup.
White-Label Capabilities
How completely an ISV can remove the payment platform's branding from the merchant and end-customer experience — hosted pages, receipts, emails, and dashboards.
Processor Flexibility
Whether the platform locks you into a single acquirer or allows routing across multiple processors. Important for ISVs needing geographic or cost-based routing.
Pricing & Fee Structure
Transparency of pricing, interchange-plus availability, volume discount tiers, and total cost at ISV-relevant transaction volumes (not merchant-level pricing).
Omnichannel & In-Person Payments
Quality of POS/terminal hardware, unified online-offline data, and whether in-person payments are native or bolt-on partnerships.
Fraud & Security
Built-in fraud detection, ML risk scoring, 3DS2 support, tokenization, PCI scope reduction, and whether these tools are configurable at the ISV level.
Revenue Sharing
Whether the platform offers ISV revenue-share models on processing volume, the economics of those arrangements, and minimum volume requirements to qualify.
Merchant Onboarding
Speed and friction of sub-merchant activation — KYC/AML automation, API-driven onboarding, and whether SMBs can self-serve or require manual review.
Global Reach
Number of countries with local acquiring, supported currencies, local payment methods (iDEAL, Boleto, etc.), and cross-border fee structures.
Recurring Billing
Native subscription management, dunning logic, proration, plan management APIs, and whether recurring billing is a first-class feature or afterthought.
Customer Support
Dedicated ISV/partner support channels, account management quality, SLA responsiveness, and whether support scales with your integration complexity.
PayFac Options
Native payment facilitation capabilities, managed vs. registered PayFac paths, compliance burden, and whether the platform supports the ISV's desired level of payment ownership.
Editorial Independence
Scores are based on publicly available documentation, API references, pricing pages, and ISV partner program materials. No platform has paid for placement, higher scores, or editorial influence. When information is ambiguous or unavailable, we note it in the comparison notes column.