Payment Depot vs. PayPal: Which is the Best Payment Processor for Your Business?
By: Alexandra Sheehan
Choosing the right payment processor is an important but often intimidating task for many small business owners. When selecting your business tools, you likely start with a massive list of options and eventually narrow it down to a few. Eventually, you might come down to a Payment Depot vs PayPal comparison.
Both offer reliable payment processing solutions for in person and online transactions. And while they help merchants accomplish the same task, each has its own suite of benefits for SMBs. In your evaluation, it’s important to consider features and capabilities, pricing, customer support, reviews, and hardware for each.
If you’re deciding between PayPal vs Payment Depot, this overview will help you decide which is best for your needs.
Features and capabilities
Payment Depot features and capabilities
Payment Depot credit card processing works for mobile, terminal, eCommerce, and POS transactions. It can also handle contactless pay, a feature PayPal lacks. Payment Depot offers 24/7 customer support via phone and email.
PayPal features and capabilities
Like Payment Depot, PayPal can handle a variety of transactions, both in person and online. Unlike Payment Depot, PayPal has its own mobile app — though you can use the SwipeSimple app which is compatible with Payment Depot and both iOS and Android devices. PayPal also has additional features like invoicing, sales tax, and
Pricing
Payment Depot pricing
Payment Depot uses a subscription based model, where merchants pay a flat monthly fee in exchange for “membership.” This membership gives small businesses access to wholesale rates for credit card processing, no markup or hidden costs. On average, members save 40% each month on credit card processing fees. Plus, Payment Depot has no cancellation fees.
PayPal pricing
PayPal fees use a flat rate pricing model for credit card processing. They charge different fees for different types of transactions, making the processing costs more variable and unpredictable. For U.S. merchants, expect to pay 2.9% + 30¢ for online transactions and 2.7% for in store transactions. PayPal also charges a $30 monthly fee. PayPal rates vary for merchants elsewhere, as well as “micropayments” and for nonprofit organizations.
Customer service
Payment Depot customer service
Payment Depot offers 24/7 customer support via email and phone. They’re also reachable on social media, though that’s not the preferred support channel. Merchants can also opt to use their online ticketing system.
PayPal customer service
PayPal offers more avenues to get support, though their team isn’t known for fast response times on any channel. Options include live chat, phone, email, and a community forum. Any existing disputes are kept in your Resolution Center. PayPal also has a robust support center with plenty of content to help you diagnose and troubleshoot issues on your own before escalating it to a support tech.
Customer reviews
Payment Depot reviews and ratings
Better Business Bureau: A+
Capterra: 4.7/5
Merchant Maverick: 5/5
Value Penguin: 4.5/5
Trustpilot: Excellent
Almost any Payment Depot review you read will be generally positive — and you’ll be hard pressed to find Payment Depot complaints. Overall, users love the responsive, friendly, and helpful technical support team and simple pricing.
One Capterra review states: “The cost savings initially attracted me to Payment Depot, however, they have been so easy to work with and had superb customer service. They have even helped guide me in switching over to a new POS system. I couldn’t recommend them more!
PayPal reviews and ratings
Better Business Bureau: A
Capterra: 4.7/5
Merchant Maverick: 4/5
Value Penguin: 4.5/5
Trustpilot: Bad
Read any PayPal review and you’ll get a mixed bag: Some merchants love it while others are frustrated by it. While merchants like that it’s easy to use and has advanced security features, there are some drawbacks—mostly around inaccessible funds.
Hardware
Payment Depot hardware
Payment Depot offers a range of hardware options for permanent and mobile businesses alike, including but not limited to:
- POS: Vital Select, Clover Station POS
- Smart terminals: Swipe Simple terminal, Clover Flex, Vital Plus, Poynt Smart Terminal, Clover Mini LTE
- Standard terminals: PAX A80, First Data FD130, Verifone VX520, Dejavoo Z11 TriComm
PayPal hardware
PayPal also offers a range of hardware options, including a mobile card reader, a chip and swipe reader, and a chip and tap plus charging stand. PayPal has other hardware as well, including charging stands, POS stands, receipt printers, and cash drawers. It also works with several third party POS providers.
Get started with Payment Depot
The bottom line? Payment Depot and PayPal both offer comparable features and capabilities, accommodating various payment types and hardware setups. It really comes down to pricing: Payment Depot has a predictable monthly subscription model compared to PayPal’s unpredictable flat rate pricing.
Payment Depot saves merchants an average of $400 a month. Get in touch with one of Payment Depot’s award winning customer service reps to start saving on credit card processing.