7 Best Payment Gateways for Tutoring Businesses: Reviewed and Compared

As tutoring businesses expand their frontiers and scale across the globe, choosing the right method to accept payments is all the more crucial. Payment gateways connect businesses with customers through seamless and secure payment flows. 

The right payment gateway unifies finances, cuts down costs and builds a more profitable business. On the other hand, the wrong payment gateway can lead to costly errors, lost revenues and payout delays. Here are 7 of the best payment gateways for tutoring businesses to choose from.  

7 Best Payment Gateways for Tutoring Businesses

Payment Gateway	Best For	Features	Cons	Payment methods
PayPal	Small to medium size businesses	Recurring payments, ease-of-integration, PCI compliance, security features, strong API	High transaction fees, restricted countries, recurring payment limits	Credit/ debit cards, PayPal balance, bank transfers, BNPL options
Stripe	Recurring payments and global businesses	strong API support, robust billing model, automated invoicing, dashboard & analytics	Complicated billing setup, ACH payment delays, frequent account freezes, expensive for large-volume transactions	Major credit/debit cards, Klarna, ACH debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfers, Click to Pay, AfterPay, and more
Square	Online and in-person payments	Multi-channel payment support, dedicated POS,PCI compliance, ease-of-use, analytics & reporting	Customer support concerns, higher scaling cost,	Credit/debit cards, digital wallet, Afterpay  NFC,
Braintree	Businesses with deep customizations	Recurring billing, developer-friendly, fraud protection tools, reporting	Expensive, difficult setup, restricted countries	Venmo, credit and debit cards, digital wallets (like Apple Pay, Google Pay), Buy Now, Pay Later options, bank transfers
Authorize.net	Strong security and fraud protection features	Fraud protection, reporting, recurring payments, robust security, API & e-commerce	Restricted to specific regions, limited currency support, expensive pricing plan	American Express, Visa, Discover, Mastercard, JCB, PayPal e-checks, and digital wallets
GoCardless	Recurring and cost-effective payments	Quick transfers, recurring payments, automated invoicing, GDPR compliant	Exclusively for direct debits, restricted to UK and Europe	Direct debit, Instant bank pay (doesn’t support credit or debit card payments)
Verifone	Hybrid tutoring businesses	High security, omnichannel presence, extensive integrations, dashboard & analytics	High transaction fees, technical issues, delays, limited integration	Debit/credit cards, PayPal, buy now pay later options, digital wallets, mobile and local payments

1. PayPal 

Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses

PayPal is one of the most popular payment gateways, feature-packed for tutors and businesses. It supports all kinds of payments, from one-time payments to recurring subscriptions and installment options. 

It is supported by more than 200 countries and 25 currencies, helping to scale your business across borders. Moreover, PayPal supports diverse payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, PayPal balance, Buy Now, Pay Later, bank transfers and more.

Convenience and faster payments distinguish PayPal from other payment gateways. Parents and students trust the brand for its credibility and diverse payment options. For high-priced packages, users can pay from their PayPal Balance and also use the PayPal Pay Later feature.

Features:

• Recurring Payments

Supports automated monthly payments and subscriptions for tutoring businesses.

• Ease-of-integration

PayPal easily integrates with tutoring business or LMS using PayPal checkout, PayPal subscriptions, PayPal Commerce, and Invoicing.

• Security Features

Strong encryption, 24/7 fraud monitoring, 2-factor authentication, and buyer-seller protection are PayPal’s key security features.

• PCI DSS Compliance

PayPal integration helps to maintain PCI DSS compliance based on your transaction volume and location.

• Strong API Support

PayPal offers multiple APIs for subscriptions, accepting payments, payouts, and creating and sending invoices.

Pros:

• Global reach across 200 countries and 25 currencies
• Supports multiple payment methods, such as credit/debit cards, PayPal balance, bank transfers, and BNPL options
• A trusted name in the payment space convinces users to click and purchase
• Simple and convenient for first-time users and beginners
• Security, fraud protection tools, chargeback and dispute resolution
• Pay Now, subscribe, payment links, and integrations with scheduling tools are different integration modes
• PayPal doesn’t charge you monthly fees or setup costs 
• Easy integration with different platforms and third-party services

Cons:

• Transaction fees are slightly higher than competitors.
• Doesn’t support specific countries and regions
• Recurring payment limits depend on your integration

Pricing:

• Card processing – 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction
• PayPal and Venmo –  3.49% + $0.49 per transaction
• Pay Later – 4.99% +$0.49 per transaction

2.99% +$0.49 fixed fee for domestic payments ; 4.4 % + an additional 1.5% for cross-border transactions

Check the full pricing details

Payment Methods: 

Credit and debit cards, PayPal balance, bank transfers in some regions, Buy Now, Pay Later options

2. Stripe

Best for: Recurring payments and global businesses

Stripe is one of the most reliable and trusted payment gateways for tutoring businesses, given its support for one-time payments, recurring subscriptions, marketplace split payments, and installments. It accepts diverse payment methods, including major credit and debit cards, digital wallets, Klarna, ACH debit, bank transfers, and more. 

It seamlessly integrates with all course platforms and tutoring platforms. If you’re accepting international students, Stripe is ideal as it accepts over 135 currencies. 

Also, the payment gateway is a great option for deep integrations and helps you with multiple things, from setting up automated payments, tax collection, managing refunds, and streamlining commissions. 

If your marketplace is commission-based, Stripe Connect helps to split marketplace payments. From Google Sheets to Slack and QuickBooks, Stripe integrations help to sync your student data, transactions, payouts, and more.

Features:

• Flexible Billing Models

Stripe supports diverse revenue models: one-time payments, subscription (recurring billing), tiered, marketplace models, and freemium models. 

• Ideal for Small Tutoring Businesses

A flat rate and ease of use make Stripe a great option for small tutoring businesses.

• Strong API support

Stripe API seamlessly integrates the gateway with other applications, plug-ins or third-party services.

• Automated Invoicing

Stripe has a robust invoicing feature, saving time and streamlining manual workflows.

• Business Intelligence & Dashboard

The dashboard offers a complete suite of tools for managing subscriptions, finances, performance, business and operations.

Pros:

• Customizable checkout design and easy design
• Different revenue and finance automations
• Flexible with billing models, including one-time payments, subscription packages, freemium models, and more
• Global reach across 46 countries and 135 currencies & local payments
• Robust security and fraud detection tools
• Stripe Connect, Stripe Checkout, Stripe Billing, and quick payment links are diverse Stripe integrations

Cons:

• Delays for ACH payments 
• Confusing pricing when additional fees are involved
• Billing setup is a bit manual and complicated
• Potential account freezes without warning
• Substantial fees for businesses with large transaction volumes

Pricing:

• Standard – 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic card transaction
• ACH direct debit – 0.8% with $5.00 cap
• BNPL – 5.99% + $0.30 per transaction

Check the full pricing details 

Payment Methods:

Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Klarna, ACH debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfers, Click to Pay, AfterPay, and more.

3. Square

Best for: Online and in-person payments

Square is a key player in the payment processing industry, but is it ideal for your business? From smooth checkouts to managing the entire business in one place and invoicing, Square helps in building a robust payment infrastructure.

Square’s recurring feature provides recurring billing (monthly, weekly, quarterly). Whether your business operates on a subscription model, pay-per-session, or pre-paid blocks, Square supports all. If learners want to pause or resume subscriptions, Square makes it seamless.

The best part is that Square accepts all kinds of payments: online, in-person, and on the go. 

Features:

• PayPal’s Dedicated POS

Dedicated POS features and tools are ideal for every kind of business, including education. It enables you to accept payments, manage sales and inventory, and more from a single place.

• Multi-Channel Payment Support

Accepts payments in-person, online, or remotely, providing robust payment support.

• PCI Compliance and Dispute Management

Square offers comprehensive security features for both merchants and customers. It offers enhanced security, round-the-clock server monitoring, and privacy practices. 

• Ease-of-Use

Square provides a user-friendly interface and simple setup to create an account and start accepting payments.

• Detailed Insights & Analytics

Real-time insights on user behaviour, sales, and payments to make well-informed decisions and optimize your business strategies.

Pros:

• Simplified payment and convenience with multiple payment options
• Diverse payment methods, such as major cards, mobile wallets, etc.
• Customized invoicing with customer name, payment amount, etc.
• Transparent and industry-competent pricing
• Mobile responsive interface

Cons:

• Poor customer support
• Cost structure is more feasible for startups; significant cost as you scale
• Supports limited countries and doesn’t support cross-border payments for transferring earnings to owners

Pricing:

• Standard/Free Plan – 2.6% + 15¢ per tap, dip or swipe; 3.3% + 30¢ for online;  1%, $1 min, $10 fee cap for ACH 
• Square Plus ($49/month)– 2.5% + 15¢ per tap, dip, or swipe; : 2.9% + 30¢ for online
• Square Premium ($149/month) – 2.4% + 15¢ per tap, dip, or swipe; 2.9% + 30¢ for online

Check the full pricing details

Payment Methods:

Credit/debit cards, gift cards, NFC, Afterpay, digital wallets

4. Braintree

With 25 billion transactions annually, Braintree is a full-stack payment gateway owned by PayPal. The payment gateway supports cross-border payments across 130+ currencies with multiple settlement options.

It supports payment methods, including Venmo(in the US), credit and debit cards, digital wallets (like Apple Pay, Google Pay), buy now, pay later options, and bank transfers.

Businesses can integrate Braintree using Braintree Direct, Braintree Marketplace, and Braintree Extend. Speaking about security, the gateway offers fraud management tools and security features like 3D Secure and detection tools.

Features:

• Recurring Billing

Businesses can set up their recurring billing plans based on monthly packages or session-based payments.

• Developer-friendly

Braintree is developer-friendly and seamlessly integrates using SDK and API tools.

• Data Security & Fraud Protection

Safeguards customer data with 3D Secure 2, tokenization, fraud protection tools, etc.

• Management & Reporting

Braintree’s comprehensive dashboard and analytics offer detailed transaction insights. There are tools to track transactions, get financial summaries, perform decline analysis, and provide advanced product and user insights.

• Scalability

Braintree can easily handle large transaction volumes, traffic surges, or seasonal spikes. This helps businesses to seamlessly adapt to growing business pains.

Pros:

• Braintree supports 44 countries and 130 local currencies
• Versatile payment methods, such as PayPal balance, credit/debit cards, digital wallets, etc.
• Trusted and straightforward payment service
• User-friendly and convenient for use, perfect for even beginners
• Credible since it is owned by PayPal (a trusted name in the payment space)
• No monthly fee for setup 
• PayPal payouts make it easier to manage marketplace payment splits

Cons:

• High transaction fees 
• Time-consuming setup and requires API coding knowledge 
• Limited support for specific countries and regions

Pricing:

• Credit cards – 2.89% +$0.29 per transaction 
• ACH transactions – 0.75% per transaction with max fee cap at $5 
• Venmo – 3.49% + $0.49 
• Non-profit pricing – 2.19% + $0.29 
• Enterprise pricing for high-volume transactions
• Chargeback fees – $15
• Currency conversion fee – 1%

Check the full pricing details

Payment Methods:

Venmo(in the US), credit and debit cards, digital wallets (like Apple Pay, Google Pay), BNPL options, and bank transfers.

5. Authorize.net

Best for: Businesses with deep customizations

Authorize.net is a subsidiary of Visa and a secure and reliable payment processing option for educational businesses. Fraud detection, automated invoicing, recurring billing and a simple checkout are the core gateway features.

While the gateway accepts payments from across the globe, the merchants must be from the United States, Canada, the UK, Europe and Australia. But it supports diverse payment options, including American Express, Visa, Discover, Mastercard, JCB, PayPal, e-checks, and digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay).

So, what makes Authorize.net ideal for a tutoring business? It supports recurring billing, integrations, fraud protection tools, and payouts, making it excellent for growing tutoring businesses. 

Features:

• Fraud protection tool

Fraud protection with a comprehensive tool suite to set transaction thresholds, country limitations, and payment velocity.

• Comprehensive reporting

Reporting covers different aspects of transactions, returns and settlement, etc.

• Recurring Payments

Accepts monthly payments and installment options, providing flexibility for platform transactions.

• Robust Security Features

Data tokenization, 2-Factor Authentication, fraud detection, and PCI compliance features enhance transaction security.

• API & E-commerce Integrations

Provides extensive API integration for managing payments, customer profiles, transaction reporting, and more. Further, businesses can integrate with specific e-commerce platforms.

Pros:

• Ease-of-use and user-friendly interface
• Diverse payment methods, including credit/debit cards, and e-checks
• Robust security features to secure the platform from attacks and intrusions
• Supports versatile payment methods, including credit cards, digital wallets, e-checks, etc.
• Extensive API integration & reporting capabilities
• Secure data storage and repeat billing

Cons:

• Restricted to specific regions, such as the US, the UK, Canada, Europe, and Australia
• High end pricing plan 
• Limited currency support options

Pricing:

The gateway offers transparent and flat-rate pricing with monthly fees. It offers two pricing plans: all-in-one and payment gateway only.

• All-one-plan – 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction; $25 monthly fees 
• Gateway-only plan – $0.10 + $0.10 daily batch fee per transaction; $25 monthly fees (merchant account required)

Check the full details for all-in-one and gateway plans

• ACH Payments – 0.75% per transaction

*Monthly Gateway Fees – $25

Check the full pricing details

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, Mastercard, JCB, PayPal, e-checks, and digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay).

6. GoCardless

Best for: Recurring and cost-effective payments

GoCardless is a new entrant and is primarily well-known for bank-to-bank payments for recurring payments. It is opted by over 100,000 small and big businesses.

So, why is GoCardless suitable for small tutoring businesses? Low-cost methods like ACH debits are cost-effective for recurring payments. These payments include tuition fees, membership costs,  and monthly payments. 

Since the payment is directly pulled from customer accounts, businesses can receive the funds in 2 days. This reduces late payments and cash flow issues. GoCardless has a presence in over 30 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and European countries.  

Features:

• Quick Transfers

ACH debit pulls payments directly from customer accounts, reducing transfer time and improving cash flow.  

• Recurring Payments

Recurring payments, billing, and installments make GoCardless suitable for tutoring businesses.

• Automated Invoicing

Collect payments automatically on the due date, streamlining the flow. Admin can connect with financial software for payment collection and reconciliation. 

• Admin dashboard

Intuitive dashboard helps admin to track payment status, manage customers, reconciliation reports and more.

• GDPR compliant

Follows GDPR compliance standards to protect sensitive and confidential data. 

Pros:

• Supports 30+ countries globally, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Europe
• Trusted by global businesses and processes over 35 billion transactions annually
• No card fees and fully automated, cutting down handling costs
• Secure and compliant due to direct ACH pull payments
• Intelligent payment retries for failed payments
• Software integrations with ChargeBee, Salesforce, Recurly, and more
• Key player in direct bank debits with a solid network

Cons:

• Exclusively for direct debit; doesn’t support credit card payments
• Direct debits are not suitable for high-value or quick transactions
• Fierce competition with key industry players like Stripe and PayPal
• Primarily operates in the European and UK markets

Pricing:

• Standard Plan – 0.5 +$0.05 with $5 max cap
• Advanced Plan – 0.75% + $0.05 with $6.25 max cap
• Pro Plan – 0.9% + $0.05 with $7 max cap 

International transactions: Standard plan – 1.5% + $0.05 , Advanced – 1.75% + $0.05, Pro – 1.9% + $0.05 

Check the full pricing details

Payment Methods:

Direct debit, Instant bank pay (doesn’t support credit or debit card payments)

7. Verifone (Previously 2Checkout)

Best for: Hybrid tutoring businesses

With over four decades of experience, Verifone is a prominent name in the payment processing industry. From small to large businesses, its comprehensive suite of services streamlines platform transactions.

Verifone has a solid global presence in over 165 countries, facilitating transactions in all major countries. It supports both in-person and digital payments. For digital payments, Verifone provides hosted checkout pages, API integrations, and virtual terminals.

The leading payment player supports small businesses by minimizing abandonment, driving conversions and processing payments securely.

Features:

• Omnichannel Presence

Multi-channel presence across 165+ countries, connecting 600,000 merchants. Thus, allowing seamless transition between in-store and online platforms.

• Advanced Security

Enhanced security with tokenization to protect payment data. This ensures secure data transmission and wins customer trust and loyalty.

• Analytics Dashboard & Reporting

Real-time performance tracking and insights to make well-informed decisions. Verifone offers drill-down reports for business growth.

• Integrations 

Build a fully customizable checkout and payment experience with extensive API integrations.

Pros:

• Supports payments across 165+ countries globally
• Over 40 years of payment leadership authority
• Robust security features from tokenization to security checks
• Easy, intuitive and customizable user interface
• Diverse payment methods and omnichannel presence
• Simplifies payments and helps to easily scale the business
• Mobile compatibility and excellent customer support

Cons:

• Device problems and technical issues
• Huge transaction fees
• Slow transaction and potential delays
• Limited integration flexibility

Pricing:

• 2SELL – 3.5% + $0.35 per sale
• 2SUBSCRIBE – 4.5%  + $0.45 per sale
• 2MONETIZE – Custom pricing
• 4Enterprise – Custom pricing for specific business needs

*No monthly fees for 2SELL and 2SUBSCRIBE tiers 

Check the full pricing details

Payment Methods: 

Major debit/credit cards, digital wallets, PayPal, Buy Now, Pay Later options, and mobile and regional payments.

What are the Best Practices and Pitfalls for Payment Gateways in the Tutoring Business?

Here’s a detailed comparison of crucial features and red flags for picking the right payment gateway:

Essential Features	Red Flags
Flat-rate pricing for small business; transparent and competitive pricing	High processing fees; hidden fees
Dedicated, helpful and personalized support	Poor customer support
24-48 hour payout based on risk ; high authorization rates	Slow payouts & frequent transaction failures
Multiple payment methods like debit/credit cards, digital wallets,  mobile payments, installment options	Limited payment options
Real-time fraud prevention and detection; robust chargeback prevention tools	Weak fraud protection & chargeback prevention
PCI DSS compliance, tokenization, SSL Encryption	Lack of regulatory details
Recurring payment support	Vague refund policies
Automated Invoicing	Manual reminders and invoicing
Integrations with LMS, ERP, accounting software, subscription tools	Limited integration or API support

By evaluating payment providers for these aspects and common pitfalls, you can choose the right payment gateway.  

Conclusion

Choosing the right payment gateway is crucial for long-term success and security of your tutoring business. Consider recurring payment, pricing, quality support, multiple payment methods, and security when choosing the right payment gateway. Additionally, countries supported, credibility, sales volume, and your technical expertise are a few other factors to evaluate. 

On the other hand, avoid common pitfalls to enhance performance, customer satisfaction, and retention. Lastly, choose a payment gateway that aligns with your business goals and revenue model. 

FAQ-Related to Best Payment Gateways for Tutoring Businesses

1. Which is the best payment gateway for a tutoring business?

These are the top payment gateways for tutoring businesses:

• Stripe
• PayPal
• Authorize.net
• Braintree
• Square
• GoCardless
• Verifone (2Checkout)

2. What payment methods should I offer to students?

Common payment methods are credit/debit cards(Visa, Mastercard, American Express), digital wallets (ApplePay, GooglePay, PayPal), bank transfers, mobile payments, and buy-now, pay-later options.

3. Can I accept international payments from students abroad?

Yes, you can accept international payments from overseas students with international bank transfers, PayPal, Wise, wire transfers, etc.