Braintree Review, Pricing & Features

Braintree, owned by PayPal, is a payment processing platform offering one API for cards, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, processing $50B+ annually.

Category
Payments
Pricing
Usage-based (per transaction), from 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 18, 2026
Founded
2007
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Web AppiOSAndroidAPI

Overview

Braintree is a payment gateway founded in Chicago in 2007 by Bryan Johnson and acquired by PayPal in 2013 for roughly $800 million. It has operated as a PayPal service since, combining its own developer-focused platform with PayPal's broader payments infrastructure.

The platform's core pitch is a single API that lets merchants accept cards, PayPal, Venmo, and major digital wallets without integrating each payment method separately, making it popular with e-commerce businesses, marketplaces, and SaaS platforms.

Key Features

Braintree offers native SDKs for iOS and Android plus JavaScript SDKs for web, supporting both fully custom checkout flows and a pre-built Drop-in UI for faster implementation. A Vault stores tokenized payment methods for recurring billing and future purchases.

Fraud and risk management tools are built on PayPal's underlying fraud detection infrastructure, and the platform supports recurring billing and subscription management for SaaS and subscription-based businesses.

Pricing

Braintree's standard U.S. pricing is 2.9% of the transaction amount plus $0.30 per transaction, with a $15 chargeback fee per dispute. Established or high-volume merchants can negotiate custom flat-rate or interchange-plus pricing instead of the standard blended rate; Braintree processes over $50 billion annually across more than one billion transactions per quarter.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Single integration for cards, PayPal, Venmo, and major digital wallets
  • Backed by PayPal's scale, infrastructure, and fraud protection
  • Native mobile SDKs for iOS and Android
  • High-volume merchants can negotiate custom rates

Cons

  • Standard blended pricing isn't the cheapest option at high volume vs. negotiated interchange-plus
  • $15 chargeback fee per disputed transaction
  • Requires an approval/underwriting process before going live
  • Support responsiveness can vary depending on account size

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns Braintree?

Braintree is owned by PayPal, which acquired the company in 2013 for approximately $800 million.

What are Braintree's standard fees?

Standard U.S. pricing is 2.9% of the transaction amount plus $0.30 per transaction, with a $15 fee per chargeback; high-volume merchants can negotiate custom rates.

What payment methods does Braintree support?

Braintree supports credit and debit cards, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other digital wallets through a single API.

Does Braintree support mobile apps?

Yes, Braintree provides native SDKs for both iOS and Android, alongside JavaScript SDKs for web checkout.

How much payment volume does Braintree process?

Braintree processes over $50 billion in payments annually and more than one billion transactions per quarter.

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