Mollie vs Primer
Side-by-side comparison — pricing, features, ratings, use cases. Find which Payment Gateways fits you best.
🔍 Independently researched ·
📊 Data-driven
66/100
Free tier
European ecommerce and SaaS businesses that primarily sell to Dutch, Belgian, or German customers and want a simple, low
★ Best
💰 Pricing
🆓 Free tier available
No monthly fee, but transaction fees are higher than the Standard plan (e.g., 2.9% + €0.30 for credit cards vs 1.5% + €0.25).
Fee notes:
- Credit card (Visa/Mastercard) - Standard plan: 1.5% + €0.25 per transaction
- Credit card (Visa/Mastercard) - Pay-as-you-go: 2.9% + €0.30 per transaction
- iDEAL and Bancontact: flat €0.29 per transaction (both plans)
- SOFORT: 1.5% + €0.30 per transaction (both plans)
- Non-EU/International card surcharge: +1% additional fee (e.g., 2.5% + €0.25 on Standard)
⚠ Watch for:
- Non-EU card surcharge: roughly +1% on top of standard rates
- Chargeback fee of €20 is charged even if you win the dispute
- Currency conversion markup (2%) applies when transaction currency differs from your account currency
- Refunded transactions do not get the original processing fee back
🔧 Features
✓ Free Tier✓ European Focus✓ Transparent Pricing✓ Local Methods✓ Api Simple
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- One of Mollie's biggest strengths is its pricing model. There are no monthly fees or setup costs, which is a huge relief for small businesses and startups. You only pay when a transaction is successful, and the rates are clearly listed on their website. This transparency makes it easy to estimate costs and avoid surprises, especially when compared to competitors that have complex tiered pricing or hidden fees.
- Mollie offers native support for all major Benelux payment methods, including iDEAL, Bancontact, and SOFORT. This is a critical feature for merchants targeting Dutch and Belgian consumers, as these local methods often account for the majority of online payments. By integrating Mollie, you can ensure a seamless checkout experience for these customers, reducing cart abandonment and increasing conversion rates. Mollie's local acquiring also means you benefit from better success rates and lower fees for these methods.
- The developer experience at Mollie is excellent. The API is well-documented, with clear examples and a test mode that lets you simulate transactions without real money. There are official plugins and SDKs for all major e-commerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and PrestaShop. This means you can have Mollie integrated into your online store in a matter of hours, even if you're not a seasoned developer. The API also supports recurring payments via SEPA Direct Debit, which is a plus for subscription-based businesses.
- Mollie provides a sleek and customizable payment page that you can brand with your own logo and colors. This helps maintain a consistent brand experience throughout the checkout process. The payment page is also responsive and works well on mobile devices, which is essential in today's mobile-first shopping landscape. You can also choose to embed the payment fields directly into your own checkout flow for a more integrated experience, if you prefer.
- Because Mollie holds a full banking license (via its partnership with AIB and other European banks) and is regulated by the Dutch Central Bank, you get a level of security and reliability that's crucial for handling customer payments. All transaction data is encrypted and the platform is PCI-DSS compliant, so you can trust that your customers' financial information is handled securely. This also means you don't have to worry about the complexities of PCI compliance yourself.
⚠ Watch out for
- Mollie's biggest weakness is its geographic focus on Europe, particularly the Benelux. While it supports international credit cards, the acquiring network and localized payment methods are heavily Euro-centric. If you sell to customers in the US, Asia, or other non-European regions, you'll likely find that Mollie doesn't offer the same level of support or payment method coverage as global competitors like Stripe or Adyen. This could lead to higher transaction costs or a subpar checkout experience for international buyers.
- For larger enterprises, Mollie may lack some advanced features. The platform offers basic fraud prevention tools, but they are not as sophisticated as what you'd get from dedicated enterprise solutions like Adyen or Braintree. Custom risk rules, detailed analytics, and complex marketplace payout structures are either missing or limited. If your business needs these kinds of capabilities, you'll quickly outgrow Mollie.
- Credit card transaction fees at Mollie can be slightly higher than some competitors. For example, while iDEAL transactions have a flat low fee, credit card fees are based on a percentage (around 1.8% to 2.2%) plus a fixed fee of €0.25 or so. This is okay for small volumes, but if you process a high volume of credit card transactions, these costs can add up, making Mollie less cost-effective than processors like Stripe, which may offer comparable rates but with volume discounts.
- The dashboard and reporting tools are functional, but they are not as detailed as some rivals. Mollie provides basic transaction reports and settlement summaries, but you won't find deep analytics or granular data exports that larger businesses might need for accounting or forecasting. If you rely heavily on data to drive decisions, you might find this lacking.
- Onboarding and approval process can be a hurdle for some. Mollie requires a manual approval process, and while it's usually quick, it can take a few days. They also require a valid business registration and may ask for additional documents. For very small or informal businesses, this could be a deterrent, especially compared to processors that offer instant signup without a review.
🎯 Best for
European ecommerce and SaaS businesses that primarily sell to Dutch, Belgian, or German customers and want a simple, low-cost payment gateway with true local payment methods.
🚫 Who should skip
High-volume enterprises, US/Asia-focused stores, or businesses needing complex risk management and marketplace payout infrastructure should consider more comprehensive platforms.
📚 Learning curve
Minimal for standard checkout integrations via plugins; moderate if you want custom API flows, but the documentation is clear and test mode helps.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Mollie is the ideal payment gateway for small to mid-sized businesses operating in the Benelux or broader European market, offering an excellent balance of local payment support, transparent pricing, and developer experience. If you're a global enterprise needing advanced features, you should look e
27/100
—
Growth-stage online businesses that use multiple payment providers and want to optimise payments without heavy engineeri
💰 Pricing
Pricing not publicly available
Fee notes:
- Primer does not publicly disclose transaction fees, monthly fees, or per-processor markups.
- Pricing is custom and based on transaction volume and selected features.
- Primer likely charges a platform fee with pass-through processor costs, but no specific public amounts exist.
⚠ Watch for:
- Setup fees and minimum annual guarantees are often negotiated in enterprise contracts.
- Processor interchange and scheme fees are passed through and can vary by card type and region.
- Custom workflow automation beyond included limits may incur additional charges.
🔧 Features
✓ No Code✓ Orchestration✓ Unified Api✓ Processor Agnostic✓ Automation
📋 Assessment
💪 Strengths
- Unified API and Integration Ease: Primer provides a single API to connect to 50+ payment processors and gateways (like Stripe, Adyen, PayPal, Worldpay). This means you can add, remove, or switch processors without rewriting your frontend or backend code. For businesses that operate in multiple regions, this is a massive time-saver and reduces technical debt. Instead of maintaining separate integrations for each provider, you have one clean interface.
- Visual Workflow Automation: The no-code automation builder is the standout feature. You can visually design payment flows using drag-and-drop logic, such as 'retry with a different processor if a transaction fails', 'route based on currency', or 'apply a custom rule for high-value transactions'. This is not just a gimmick; it empowers non-technical staff to implement complex routing strategies that would normally require developer time, significantly accelerating time-to-market for new optimizations.
- Processor-Agnostic Optimization: Because you can connect multiple processors and route transactions dynamically, you can optimize for cost, uptime, and success rates. For instance, you might choose a cheaper processor for most transactions but a more expensive one for high-risk countries to ensure approvals. This granular control can yield meaningful savings on payment processing fees and boost revenue by increasing approval rates.
- Centralized Customer Vault and Recurring Billing Support: Primer includes a robust customer vault that stores payment methods securely, making it easy to handle one-click checkouts and tokenization across processors. It also supports recurring billing scenarios, which is essential for subscription businesses. This centralization streamlines operations and enhances the customer experience by providing consistent payment experiences across different channels.
- Global Payouts and Local Payment Methods: Primer supports payouts and disbursements to customers in multiple countries and currencies, and it integrates with various local payment methods (like iDEAL, Sofort, and Giropay). This allows businesses to localize their payment options, which is crucial for international expansion and improving conversion rates in different markets.
⚠ Watch out for
- Expensive for Small Businesses: The free tier is sandbox-only, and live transactions require a paid plan. Industry reports indicate pricing starts around $250/month plus a ~0.1% transaction fee. For a small business processing, say, $50,000 a month, that's about $300 in fixed costs, which might be a significant chunk of already thin margins. This makes it prohibitive for many startups and SMBs that could benefit from better routing.
- Initial Setup Complexity: Despite the no-code interface, setting up Primer is not a five-minute task. You need to have accounts with each processor you want to connect, obtain API keys, configure webhooks, and test multiple scenarios. The complexity of integrating with multiple providers can take weeks, especially if you have a non-standard stack or need custom logic. This might overwhelm newcomers or delay launch timelines.
- Extra Layer for Debugging: When a payment fails or has an issue, you now have to investigate through Primer's logs in addition to your processor's logs. This can be frustrating, particularly when the problem lies within a specific processor's API or the interaction between Primer and that processor. Primer does provide logging and analytics, but it's an additional tool to master, and issues can be harder to isolate.
- Limited Customization for Very Specific Needs: While the visual builder is flexible, there is a learning curve, and for extremely complex routing logic (e.g., machine learning-based fraud scoring), you might find the constraints limiting. You can write custom code via components, but that reduces the no-code benefit and requires developers to learn Primer's component model.
🎯 Best for
Growth-stage online businesses that use multiple payment providers and want to optimise payments without heavy engineering.
🚫 Who should skip
Small businesses with simple, single-processor payment needs — they'll find the added complexity and potential costs unnecessary.
📚 Learning curve
Moderate — the visual builder is accessible, but understanding payment orchestration and configuring reliable workflows under production rules takes some practice.
🧑⚖️ Verdict
Primer is a robust payment orchestration platform for businesses that want to optimize their payment stack and reduce integration complexity. It's ideal for mid-to-large companies with multiple processors, global operations, or subscription models. Smaller businesses with limited volume may find the
📊 Use Case Suitability
Higher score = better fit. Scores from editorial review.
Use CaseMolliePrimer
Dutch ecommerce stores accepting iDEAL98—
iDEAL is the dominant payment method in the Netherlands and Mollie's integration
Belgian online businesses with Bancontact96—
Mollie is based in the Benelux and provides native Bancontact support, which is
EU subscription services using SEPA Direct Debit85—
Mollie handles SEPA Direct Debit payments with simple API endpoints and supports
Pan-European marketplaces or multi-country stores88—
Mollie supports multiple European payment methods under one contract and offers
Small shops using WooCommerce or Shopify for local EU sales90—
Official plugins plus fast payout and local payment methods make it easy for sma
Optimizing payment conversion through smart retries—90
Primer's workflow engine can automatically retry failed payments with alternativ
Switching or adding payment processors—95
The unified API and dashboard make it easy to test new processors and swap routi
Global payouts and local payment methods—85
Primer can route transactions to processors with the best local coverage, helpin
🧭 Which One Should You Pick?
Choose Mollie if...
- You are: European ecommerce and SaaS businesses that primarily sell to Dutch, Belgian, or German customers and want a simple, low
- 👍 No monthly subscription or setup fees — you only pay per successful transaction, which is ideal for
- 👍 Strong native support for Benelux methods like iDEAL, Bancontact, and SOFORT, with local acquiring a
- 👍 Developer-friendly API with clear documentation, test mode, and official plugins for all major ecomm
- 💰 Free tier available
- ⚠ Trade-off: Not a global gateway — Mollie's checkout experience and acquiring are optimized
Choose Primer if...
- You are: Growth-stage online businesses that use multiple payment providers and want to optimise payments without heavy engineeri
- 👍 Unified API to connect to multiple payment gateways, making it easy to add or replace providers.
- 👍 No-code automation builder lets you visually design routing, fallback, and retry workflows without d
- 👍 Processor-agnostic approach allows you to optimize for cost, uptime, and success rates across differ
- ⚠ Trade-off: Free tier is limited to sandbox use; live transactions require a paid plan, whic
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mollie really free?
Mollie has no monthly subscription or setup fee, so it's free to install. You pay a per-transaction fee only when you successfully process a payment, with fees varying by payment method and country.
What payment methods does Mollie support?
Mollie supports all major European payment methods including iDEAL, Bancontact, SOFORT, giropay, Klarna, Apple Pay, PayPal, credit cards, and SEPA Direct Debit. This makes it one of the most complete local-payment options in the Benelux region.
Can I use Mollie outside Europe?
Mollie focuses on European businesses and local payment methods. If your business and customers are primarily outside Europe, you'll be better served by a more globally distributed gateway like Stripe or Adyen.
What are Mollie's transaction fees?
Fees vary by payment method and country. For example, iDEAL and Bancontact are typically a flat per-transaction fee, while card payments usually charge a percentage plus a fixed fee. You'll see exact pricing in your Mollie dashboard before going live.
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