Thinkific has native integrations with Thinkific Payments, Stripe and PayPal; what's the difference between these three payment processors?
TCommerce: Thinkific Payments
If you’re based in the USA, UK, or Canada, Thinkific Payments as part of our TCommerce suite of tools is the easiest way to accept payments for one-time purchases, subscriptions and payment plans on Thinkific.
TCommerce provides a seamless experience for you and your customers, and:
- Is managed directly within the Thinkific platform - no need to juggle multiple platforms, apps, or websites
- Leverages Performance checkout to optimize sale conversion
- Supports digital wallets such as Paypal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay
- Offers flexible payment solutions and multiple payment frequencies with subscription payments and payment plans
- Order Bumps, as an exclusive Thinkific Payments feature, allows you to offer and sell more
- Deposits payment payouts directly to your bank account
Thinkific Payments is powered by Stripe.
Stripe
Stripe is the recommended payment processor if you're based outside of the USA, UK, or Canada. As a popular and reputable payment processor, it's likely that you've already encountered Stripe in an online purchase and didn't even know it — you can find a list of some well-known companies who use Stripe for their payments at https://stripe.com/gallery.
- Requires most functionalities to be dealt with from Stripe's website
- Ability to set up subscription payments and payment plans
- After the first Stripe transaction, revenue will transfer directly to your bank account following a purchase. You can learn more about Stripe's payout schedule here.
Paypal
You can also accept payments with PayPal. PayPal is an internationally reputable payment processor that allows for easy one-time payments.
- Requires most functionalities to be dealt with from PayPal's website
- PayPal currently does not allow for recurring payment types (unless you've configured a custom workaround).
- PayPal funds are stored in your PayPal account and not paid out directly to your bank account.
- Order bumps are available with PayPal, under the TCommerce suite of tools
A note on the checkout process:
PayPal, if enabled along with Thinkific Payments or Stripe, will appear as an additional payment option on both the Two-Page and Performance checkout pages. If selected by the Student as their preferred payment method, the Student will be re-directed to the PayPal site where they will be required to log in to their PayPal account, before being able to make their payment.