Australia Payment Gateway Comparison: Stripe vs. Zeller, HitPay, Square, PayPal, and more

If you want to sell online, you'll need a reliable way to collect payments.
But how do you choose the best online payment gateway for your business?

In this quick and easy Australia payment gateway comparison, we summarise the pros and cons of popular payment gateway providers — Zeller, Tyro, Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, and Square Australia. Plus, a review of Square vs HitPay and other payment platforms. Read on!

Most popular payment gateways in Australia

1) Square

With a user-friendly interface and easy setup, Square is great for new businesses but may not be ideal if you want to scale online.

Pros:
✅ Offers free APIs and a basic online store builder
✅ Syncs with Square POS
✅ No setup fees

Cons:
❌ Doesn't integrate with certain e-commerce platforms, including Shopify
❌ Must pay monthly fees (from A$15 to A$85) for e-commerce features such as custom domains and gifting

2) Stripe

As one of the most popular payment gateways worldwide, Stripe Payments is great if you have technical expertise and intend to serve international customers.

Pros:
✅ Instant onboarding
✅ No setup or recurring fees

Cons:
❌ Requires a developer to set up most features and payment options
❌ No inbuilt integration with Google Forms
❌ Merchants must pay for business tools like discount customisation and invoicing

3) Zeller

Zeller provides out-of-the-box POS terminals that are popular with hospitality merchants.

Pros:
✅ Instant onboarding
✅ Receive payments by the next day

Cons:
❌ Poor support for e-commerce — no APIs, plugins, or business tools
❌ No integrations with accounting and e-commerce platforms (e.g. Shopify, Xero)

4) Tyro

Like Zeller, Tyro is mainly for merchants who sell in-store rather than online.

Pros:
✅ Instant onboarding
✅ Accepts a full range of payment methods

Cons:
❌ Poor support for e-commerce — no plugins or business tools
❌ No integrations with e-commerce platforms (e.g. Shopify, WooCommerce)
❌ Pricing is not transparent

5) Shopify Payments

Shopify's in-built payment gateway is the easiest option for Shopify merchants. However, Shopify Payments has limited payment methods in Australia.

Pros:
✅ Instant onboarding, seamless integration with Shopify
✅ E-commerce selling tools

Cons:
❌ Pricey subscription plans from US$29 to US$299 a month
❌ Limited payment methods in Australia. If you want to offer other payment options like Afterpay, you'll need to add these separately. Alternatively, you can integrate a payment gateway with a full set of payment methods in Australia

6) PayPal

As one of the most established payment providers in the world, PayPal is a good option for merchants who just want a no-frills, secure payment gateway.

Pros:
✅ Supports 25+ currencies and is available in over 200 countries
✅ Provides an option for instalment payments
✅ Provides PayPal Seller Protection

Cons:
❌ Doesn't offer any e-commerce business tools
❌ No credit card terminal
❌ Limited payment methods
❌ Slowest onboarding and settlement time

New in Australia — HitPay payment gateway

HitPay Australia is a one-stop, omnichannel payments platform built specially for small businesses and SMEs. HitPay has all the features you need to accept payments online and offline:

• No-code integrations on any platform — including Shopify, WooCommerce, email, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more
• Free business software including recurring billing management, invoice generator, and an online store. Unlike other platforms, HitPay doesn't charge any subscriptions for these premium features
• Integrated POS system to automatically sync online and offline sales
• Full range of payment methods include credit cards, WeChat Pay, and Afterpay
• Accounting integrations with Xero and Quickbooks
• No setup or annual fees. See our SME-friendly pricing here.

Australia Payment Gateway Comparison

Payment Gateway Features

Major e-commerce platforms include Shopify, WooCommerce, EasyStore, Prestashop, Magento, OpenCart, Shopcada, Ecwid, Wix, and Google Forms.

Business software includes Recurring billing, Online store with inventory and order management, Invoicing software, POS system, and Payment links
Read also: 7 must-have small business software

Pricing and Settlement Time

Payment Methods in Australia

Best omnichannel payment platform in Australia

If you want a one-stop, omnichannel payment platform, HitPay Australia may be the right fit for you. Set up an account for free and start selling in-person and online!

Click here to sign up for a free HitPay Australia account

About HitPay
HitPay is a one-stop commerce platform that aims to empower SMEs with no code, full-stack payment gateway solutions. Thousands of merchants have grown with HitPay's products, helping them receive in-person and online contactless payments with ease. Join our growing merchant community today!