A focused comparison of card acceptance rates and currency-conversion costs — not a full platform comparison. US pricing, verified September 2026.
Disclosure: We may earn a commission if you sign up through links on this page.
Airwallex and Stripe charge similar rates for accepting a standard US domestic card: Airwallex is 2.8% + $0.30, Stripe is 2.9% + $0.30. The gap widens on international cards and currency conversion — Airwallex charges 4.30% + $0.30 for international cards plus a separate 0.5%–1% FX conversion fee if you convert currency, while Stripe's international card rate (3.9%–4.4% + $0.30, depending on region and card type) can include an additional currency-conversion markup on top when a sale needs converting to your settlement currency. Which one costs less for you depends heavily on how much of your volume is international and whether you hold multi-currency balances or convert everything back to one currency.
This page compares only the payment-acceptance and FX dimension. Airwallex is a broader multi-currency business account with cards, treasury, and spend management; Stripe is a deeper payments and developer infrastructure platform with Connect for marketplaces. Neither replaces the other outside of payment acceptance — see our full Stripe pricing page for Stripe's non-payment products.
Sources: Airwallex US pricing, Stripe pricing. Verified September 24, 2026. Both companies publish region-specific pricing — this page uses US rates for both sides of the comparison to keep the numbers apples-to-apples.
For a standard domestic US card transaction, the two platforms are close: Airwallex charges 2.8% + $0.30, Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30. At most volumes this 0.1 percentage point difference is not decisive on its own.
| Card type | Airwallex (US) | Stripe (US) |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic card | 2.8% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| International card | 4.30% + $0.30 | ~3.9%–4.4% + $0.30 (varies) |
| Local payment methods | $0.30 + payment method fee | varies by method, published per-method |
Both platforms charge a higher rate for international cards than domestic ones. Airwallex's published US rate for international cards is a flat 4.30% + $0.30. Stripe's international card rate is presented as a range (roughly 3.9%–4.4% + $0.30) that depends on the card's country of issuance and can vary by account — check your live Stripe dashboard for the exact rate that applies to your account before comparing directly.
This is where the two platforms differ most in mechanism, not just rate. Airwallex publishes a specific currency-conversion fee: 0.5% above the interbank rate for major currencies (AUD, USD, HKD, CNY, EUR, GBP, SGD, and others), and 1% for other currencies — charged when you actively convert held balances. If you hold a balance in the currency you were paid in and never convert it, this fee does not apply.
Stripe's currency conversion happens differently: if a customer pays in a currency you don't hold or settle in, Stripe converts it for you, and that conversion carries its own markup on top of the card-acceptance rate (Stripe's own published guidance cites a currency-conversion markup, commonly discussed around 2%, though the exact rate is set per Stripe account and currency pair — confirm your account's live rate before modeling this).
The practical difference: Airwallex's model rewards holding multi-currency balances and only converting when you choose to; Stripe's model converts automatically at the point of sale unless you've set up multi-currency settlement. Businesses with steady multi-currency revenue may reduce conversion costs by matching currencies rather than converting every transaction — this is the specific mechanism worth testing against your own transaction mix, not a universal cost advantage for either platform.
| Airwallex | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Currencies held/settled | 20+ currencies natively held | 135+ currencies for pricing/settlement, per Stripe's global payments documentation |
| Multi-currency account balances | Yes — core product feature | Multi-currency settlement available, not a full multi-currency account product |
Airwallex Billing charges a flat 0.50% per successful transaction for subscription and usage-based billing, regardless of volume tier, per its published US pricing. Stripe Billing's pricing is volume-tiered: Stripe references a monthly-contract starting point (around $500/month on an annual commitment) or a pay-as-you-go option at 0.7% of billing volume for lower/unpredictable volume. These are structured differently enough (flat rate vs. tiered/contract) that a single side-by-side number would be misleading — model your own expected billing volume against both published rate cards before deciding.
Assumptions: all scenarios use US rates for both platforms, published standard/pay-as-you-go pricing (not negotiated enterprise rates), and $30 average transaction size for card volume unless noted. Card-network interchange and network fees are already included in each platform's published blended rate. FX scenario uses Airwallex's published 0.5% major-currency conversion fee and a 2% reference figure for Stripe's conversion markup — Stripe does not publish one universal FX percentage, so this figure should be confirmed against your live account rate, not treated as fixed.
Chargeback/dispute fees, monthly account or platform fees beyond the base tier, additional Spend user fees (Airwallex), Stripe Connect/marketplace fees, and any negotiated enterprise discount are excluded from these scenarios because they depend on business structure, volume tier, or custom negotiation that cannot be fairly normalized across both platforms with public information alone.
Slightly cheaper on domestic US card acceptance (2.8% vs 2.9%), and its published 0.5% major-currency FX conversion fee is transparent and typically lower than Stripe's cited currency-conversion markup — particularly valuable if your business regularly converts foreign-currency receipts into your settlement currency. Businesses that hold multi-currency balances and time their own conversions can avoid the FX fee on transactions altogether, which Stripe's card-based conversion model doesn't offer in the same way.
Stripe's international card rate can be lower than Airwallex's at the low end of its published range (3.9% vs Airwallex's flat 4.30%), and Stripe supports more currencies for settlement (135+ vs Airwallex's 20+ natively held). If your business needs deep developer infrastructure — Connect for marketplaces/platforms, extensive API tooling, or a large third-party integration ecosystem — that need sits entirely outside what this pricing comparison covers, and Stripe is materially stronger there.
This comparison is intentionally limited to payment acceptance and FX. Outside that scope, the two products are not substitutes for each other:
| Capability | Airwallex | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-currency business account | Core product | Not offered as an account product |
| Corporate cards / spend management | Included (Spend product line) | Not offered directly |
| Bill pay / accounts payable | Included | Not a core product |
| Marketplace / platform payments (Connect) | Limited platform tooling | Deep — Connect is a dedicated product line |
| Developer API breadth | Growing, narrower scope | Extensive — long-standing developer-first platform |
Do not read this comparison as evidence that either platform can fully replace the other's non-payment capabilities.
For domestic US card acceptance alone, the rate difference between Airwallex and Stripe is small enough that it should not be the deciding factor. Where the platforms genuinely diverge is currency conversion mechanics: Airwallex's published 0.5%–1% FX fee applies only when you convert, while Stripe's conversion markup applies automatically at the point of a foreign-currency sale unless you've configured multi-currency settlement — meaning a business with steady multi-currency revenue may have more room to manage FX costs on Airwallex, while a business that occasionally takes international cards without holding foreign balances may find Stripe's model simpler to reason about. Neither conclusion holds universally; model your own transaction mix against both published rate cards.
This page compares payment acceptance and FX costs only. If you're evaluating Airwallex as a broader business account, see our partner site's full Airwallex review for account features, cards, and business-banking fit beyond payments.
Check Airwallex's current pricing and availabilityIt depends on the payment type. For accepting international cards, Airwallex's US rate is 4.30% + $0.30 versus Stripe's 3.9%–4.4% + $0.30. Where Airwallex's model differs most is currency conversion itself: Airwallex charges 0.5% above interbank rates on major currencies when you convert held funds, while Stripe applies its own FX markup whenever it settles a foreign-currency sale into your home currency. If your business holds multi-currency balances and converts through Airwallex's FX rather than card-network conversion, the effective cost can be lower — but this depends on your specific payment mix.
They are close. Airwallex's US domestic card rate is 2.8% + $0.30. Stripe's US standard rate is 2.9% + $0.30. The 0.1 percentage point difference is minor at most volumes.
Both support recurring billing. Airwallex Billing charges 0.50% per successful transaction. Stripe Billing pricing is usage-tiered and quote-based, with a published starting reference around $500/month on annual contract or 0.7% pay-as-you-go for billing volume. Compare your specific expected billing volume against both before committing.
Not on payment pricing alone. Airwallex is a broader multi-currency business account with treasury, corporate cards, and spend management built in — Stripe does not offer an equivalent business account. Stripe has deeper developer infrastructure, Connect for platforms/marketplaces, and a larger ecosystem of integrations — Airwallex does not compete on that depth. This page only compares the overlapping payment-acceptance and FX costs.
Airwallex and Stripe both adjust rates and terms periodically. Track pricing changes automatically instead of re-checking manually.
Monitor pricing changes — free See an example alert