Payments · Subscription / Membership Pricing
Authorize.Net Review
A no-contract payment gateway with an optional built-in merchant account, invoicing and recurring billing
Quick verdict
Authorize.Net is best for Trades that already have a website, software or merchant account and want a no-contract gateway to add online, invoice, phone and recurring payments. $25 monthly fee on every plan; on Gateway Only it sits on top of your processor's fees; cheaper plan needs an existing merchant account; mobile chip reading limited to certain processor platforms; paid extras (Account Updater, eCheck minimum).
Rates & pricing
Every plan: $25/mo gateway fee, $0 setup, no contract and no early-termination fee. All-in-One (merchant account included, subject to eligibility): 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Gateway Only (for businesses that already have a merchant account): $0.10 per transaction plus a $0.10 daily batch fee, on top of your processor's own fees. Gateway + eCheck adds eCheck payments at 0.75% per transaction, with a $10 monthly eCheck minimum, a $25 fee per eCheck chargeback and a $3 fee per returned eCheck (US businesses only). Account Updater costs $0.25 per update.
Pricing model: subscription · Monthly fee: $25
Affiliate disclosure: The link to Authorize.Net on this page goes to its own site and is not an affiliate link.
About Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net is a payment gateway: the layer that connects your website, invoices, virtual terminal or mobile app to the card networks and your merchant account, with fraud screening, recurring billing and stored customer payment details. It has operated since 1996, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Visa, and says more than 430,000 merchants use it.
There are two main ways to use it. The All-in-One plan includes a merchant account at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction plus the $25 monthly gateway fee. The Gateway Only plan keeps the merchant account you already have with a bank or payment provider and adds $0.10 per transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee on top of your processor's rates. Every plan has no setup fee, no contract and no early-termination fee, and eCheck payments can be added at 0.75% per transaction for US businesses.
For trade work, Authorize.Net offers a Virtual Terminal for phone payments, digital invoices sent by email, monthly recurring or installment billing for service agreements, and a free mobile app with Tap to Pay on NFC phones or a card reader. It says its shopping cart plugins connect to Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento and more than 170 other platforms, and its Advanced Fraud Detection Suite shows a $0 fee on the pricing page.
The trade-off: the $25 monthly fee applies even in a slow month, and on Gateway Only it sits on top of your processor's own fees. Chip-card reading in the mobile app works only on certain processor platforms (First Data Nashville and TSYS), and extras such as Account Updater ($0.25 per update) and eCheck minimums add cost. Confirm that your field-service or accounting software supports Authorize.Net before you sign up.
How it works
Sign up for the All-in-One plan (gateway plus a merchant account) or, if you already have a merchant account, the Gateway Only plan. Then take payments through the Virtual Terminal, emailed digital invoices, recurring billing, a website or shopping cart plugin, or the free Authorize.net mobile app with Tap to Pay or a card reader. Authorize.Net routes each transaction to the card networks, screens it for fraud and can store customer payment details for repeat billing. All-in-One deposits card funds into your business bank account; Gateway Only customers are paid by their existing processor.
Pros & cons
What works
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No contract, no early-termination fee
Authorize.Net's pricing page says every plan has no contract requirement and no early-termination fees, with $0 setup.
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Keep your merchant account or get one
Gateway Only works with the merchant account you already have; All-in-One bundles one at 2.9% + $0.30.
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Invoicing, virtual terminal and recurring billing
Send digital invoices by email, key in phone payments, and set up monthly recurring or installment billing for service agreements.
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Mobile app with Tap to Pay
The free Authorize.net mobile app takes contactless cards on an NFC phone or chip cards through a card reader.
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Wide cart and website support
Authorize.Net says it connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento and 170+ other platforms through plugins.
What doesn't
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Monthly fee in every month
The $25 gateway fee applies on every plan, even in a month with few payments.
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Gateway fee on top of processing
On Gateway Only, the $25/mo and per-transaction fees are in addition to your processor's own rates.
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Cheaper plan needs a merchant account
Gateway Only assumes you already have a merchant account; without one you take the All-in-One rate of 2.9% + $0.30.
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Chip reading limited by platform
Authorize.Net says EMV chip transactions in its mobile app work only on the First Data Nashville and TSYS platforms.
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Extras add cost
Account Updater is $0.25 per update, and eCheck carries a $10 monthly minimum, a $25 fee per eCheck chargeback and $3 per returned eCheck.
Features & integrations
Key features
Integrations
Frequently asked
Is Authorize.Net a gateway or a processor?
Mainly a gateway: the technology that routes and secures transactions between your checkout and the card networks. With the Gateway Only plan you keep your existing merchant account and pay $25/mo plus $0.10 per transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee for the gateway. With the All-in-One plan, Authorize.Net also provides the merchant account, at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction plus the $25 monthly fee.
Does Authorize.Net have a contract or cancellation fee?
No. Authorize.Net's pricing page says every plan has no contract requirement and no early-termination fees, and setup is $0.
How much does Authorize.Net cost?
Every plan has a $25 monthly gateway fee and $0 setup. All-in-One adds 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and includes a merchant account (subject to eligibility). Gateway Only adds $0.10 per transaction and a $0.10 daily batch fee, and you also pay your own processor. eCheck is 0.75% per transaction with a $10 monthly minimum, and Account Updater is $0.25 per update.
Can I take field payments with Authorize.Net?
Yes. The free Authorize.net mobile app supports Tap to Pay on NFC phones and chip cards through a card reader, though Authorize.Net says chip transactions in the app work only on the First Data Nashville and TSYS platforms. It also offers a Virtual Terminal for phone payments and emailed digital invoices for after-the-job billing.
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