The Top Payment Solutions of 2026

Compare the top payment solutions of 2026. We evaluated Krepling Pay, Shop Pay, Bolt, Square, and Adyen across 8 weighted factors to find the best ecommerce checkout solution for your business.

Finding the right payment solution can make or break your ecommerce business. With checkout abandonment rates averaging 70%, your payment infrastructure isn’t just a technical detail—it’s a revenue driver.

But with dozens of payment solutions flooding the market, how do you choose? Some promise one-click convenience. Others tout enterprise-grade security. A few claim platform flexibility. Yet most force you to compromise: sacrifice brand control for speed, or trade simplicity for customization.

This analysis cuts through the noise. We evaluated Krepling Pay, Shop Pay, Bolt, Square, and Adyen across 8 weighted factors using data collected from October 2025 through January 2026.

Whether you’re a $2M DTC brand optimizing for conversion or a $50M operation managing complex checkout flows, this comparison will show you which solution aligns with your growth stage, technical capabilities, and brand strategy.

Methodology: How We Evaluated These Solutions

To ensure fairness and relevance, we used 8 weighted comparison factors totaling 100%:

Obvious Factors (55%)

  1. Processing Fees (20%) – Transaction costs and pricing transparency
  2. Setup Time (15%) – Speed from contract signature to live checkout
  3. Platform Compatibility (15%) – Range of ecommerce platforms supported
  4. Year Founded (5%) – Market maturity and track record

Creative Factors (45%)

  1. Checkout Speed & Optimization (25%) – Impact on conversion and customer experience
  2. White-Label Capability (10%) – Brand consistency in the checkout experience
  3. Guest vs Express Checkout Balance (5%) – Optimization for both checkout types
  4. Specialty/Best For (5%) – Ideal use case and customer profile

The Candidates: Who Made the List

1. Krepling Pay

Founded: 2024
Best For: DTC brands ($500K-$50M/year) on non-Shopify platforms seeking a pre-built, white-labeled checkout
Key Differentiator: Platform-agnostic, 6-field checkout optimized for both guest and express transactions

2. Shop Pay

Founded: 2017
Best For: Shopify merchants seeking accelerated checkout with minimal setup
Key Differentiator: 1.72x higher checkout-to-order rate vs. regular checkouts, but Shopify-exclusive

3. Bolt

Founded: 2014
Best For: Enterprise retailers prioritizing one-click checkout and fraud protection
Key Differentiator: 47% higher completion rates vs. guest checkout, with 42.3% shopper recognition rate in 2025

4. Square

Founded: 2009
Best For: Unified online/offline businesses needing omnichannel payment processing
Key Differentiator: Seamless integration between in-person and online transactions with Square ecosystem

5. Adyen

Founded: 2006
Best For: Global enterprises requiring unified commerce across multiple channels and regions
Key Differentiator: Single platform for payments, data, and financial management with 200+ payment methods

Factor-by-Factor Breakdown

1. Processing Fees (20%)

Transaction costs directly impact your bottom line, especially at scale.

Solution Online Fees Pricing Model Hidden Fees?
Krepling Pay 2.1% + .30 (enterprise, volume-based) Flat-fee, negotiable No
Shop Pay 2.5% + $0.30 (with Shopify Payments, Basic plan) Tiered by Shopify plan No (but requires Shopify Payments)
Bolt 2.1% + $0.30 (flat-fee model launched 2025) Flat-fee No (previously had software fees)
Square 3.3% + $0.30 (Free plan, effective Jan 2026) Tiered (Free, Plus $49/mo, Premium $149/mo) No
Adyen ~2.9% + $0.30 (varies by region/card type) Custom enterprise pricing Variable (requires aggregation analysis)

Winner: Krepling Pay – Lowest enterprise rates with transparent flat-fee pricing. No SaaS fees or hidden costs.

Runner-Up: Bolt – Competitive 2.1% + $0.30 flat-fee structure eliminates most software charges.

2. Setup Time (15%)

Time-to-market matters. Every day of delayed implementation is lost revenue.

Solution Setup Time Dev Work Required White Glove Service
Krepling Pay 1 day to 2 weeks (perfect world) Minimal (pre-built) Yes (free)
Shop Pay Instant (automatic with Shopify Payments) None (native to Shopify) No
Bolt 2-4 hours (basic), longer for complex setups Moderate (SDK integration) Yes (enterprise tiers)
Square 1-2 hours (online store setup) Low to moderate Limited (custom pricing tier)
Adyen 2-4 weeks (enterprise implementation) High (developer-focused) Yes (enterprise accounts)

Winner: Shop Pay – Automatic activation for Shopify merchants with zero setup friction.

Runner-Up: Krepling Pay – As fast as 1 day with pre-built checkout and white glove implementation.

3. Platform Compatibility (15%)

Lock-in vs. flexibility. Can you switch platforms without rebuilding your checkout?

Solution Platform Compatibility Platform Agnostic?
Krepling Pay Any ecommerce stack (Magento, WooCommerce, custom, headless) Yes
Shop Pay Shopify only (requires Shopify Payments) No (Shopify-exclusive)
Bolt Most major platforms (integrations required) Mostly (platform flexibility)
Square Square ecosystem + API integrations Partial (best within Square)
Adyen 200+ integrations (BigCommerce, Adobe, Salesforce, custom) Yes (developer-focused)

Winner: Krepling Pay – Truly platform-agnostic. Works with any stack—monolithic, microservices, or headless.

Runner-Up: Adyen – Extensive integrations but requires more development resources.

4. Checkout Speed & Optimization (25%)

This is the highest-weighted factor because checkout performance directly correlates with revenue.

Solution Guest Checkout Express Checkout Conversion Impact
Krepling Pay 6 fields, 1 page Yes (no account required, no redirects) +31% checkout conversion, +44% speed
Shop Pay Standard Shopify checkout Yes (wallet-based) 1.72x higher conversion vs. regular checkout
Bolt Guest available One-click (47% higher completion) 42.3% shopper recognition (2025)
Square Standard online checkout Yes (Apple Pay, Google Pay support) No specific data available
Adyen Customizable checkout Yes (multiple wallet options) Enterprise-grade but varies by implementation

Winner: Shop Pay – Proven 1.72x conversion lift with up to 70% conversion rates for top merchants.

Runner-Up: Krepling Pay – 31% conversion increase with unique optimization for BOTH guest (60% of orders) and express checkout.

Key Insight: Most solutions prioritize express checkout, but 60-70% of customers prefer guest checkout. Krepling is the only solution explicitly optimized for both.

5. White-Label Capability (10%)

Can you maintain brand consistency through the checkout experience?

Solution White-Label Customization Level Redirects?
Krepling Pay Fully white-labeled Complete (matches your website) No
Shop Pay Branded as “Shop Pay” Limited (Shopify ecosystem branding) No (within Shopify)
Bolt Bolt-branded (customizable styling) Moderate (modal styling) No (modal overlay)
Square Square-branded Low (Square branding prominent) No
Adyen Customizable High (developer configuration) No (embedded)

Winner: Krepling Pay – Only solution offering complete white-label capability with zero redirects and full brand control.

Runner-Up: Adyen – Highly customizable but requires development resources.

6. Guest vs Express Checkout Balance (5%)

Industry data shows 60-70% of orders come from guest checkout. Yet most solutions prioritize express checkout only.

Solution Guest Optimized? Express Optimized? Balanced Approach?
Krepling Pay Yes (6-field, 1-page) Yes (no account needed) Yes
Shop Pay Standard guest checkout Yes (accelerated) No (express-focused)
Bolt Guest available Yes (one-click focus) No (express-focused)
Square Standard guest checkout Yes (wallet support) Moderate
Adyen Customizable Yes (multiple options) Depends on implementation

Winner: Krepling Pay – Only solution explicitly engineered to optimize both checkout types without forcing account creation.

7. Year Founded (5%)

Market maturity and battle-tested infrastructure matter for mission-critical payment processing.

Solution Year Founded Market Maturity
Adyen 2006 19 years (established enterprise leader)
Square 2009 17 years (market leader)
Bolt 2014 12 years (proven scale)
Shop Pay 2017 9 years (Shopify-backed)
Krepling Pay 2024 2 years (emerging disruptor)

Winner: Adyen – Nearly two decades of enterprise payment processing expertise.

Note: While Krepling Pay is the newest, it benefits from modern checkout design principles and addresses gaps left by legacy solutions.

8. Specialty/Best For (5%)

Krepling Pay: DTC brands ($500K-$50M) on non-Shopify platforms needing pre-built, white-labeled checkout with zero dev lift.

Shop Pay: Shopify merchants wanting instant accelerated checkout with proven conversion lift.

Bolt: Enterprise retailers prioritizing one-click checkout with built-in fraud prevention.

Square: Unified commerce businesses needing seamless online + offline payment processing.

Adyen: Global enterprises requiring unified payments across multiple channels, regions, and currencies.

Final Verdict: Which Solution Wins?

Overall Weighted Scores

Solution Total Score Best For
Krepling Pay 85/100 DTC brands wanting white-label, platform-agnostic checkout with lowest fees
Shop Pay 82/100 Shopify merchants prioritizing conversion and speed
Bolt 76/100 Enterprise retailers focusing on one-click express checkout
Adyen 73/100 Global enterprises needing unified commerce infrastructure
Square 68/100 Omnichannel businesses with in-person + online sales

Decision Framework

Choose Krepling Pay if:

Choose Shop Pay if:

  • You’re already on Shopify with Shopify Payments
  • You want instant setup with zero friction
  • You’re comfortable with Shopify ecosystem lock-in

Choose Bolt if:

  • You’re an enterprise retailer with high transaction volumes
  • Express checkout recognition is your top priority
  • You need built-in fraud prevention at scale

Choose Square if:

  • You need unified online + offline payment processing
  • You want an all-in-one business toolkit
  • In-person transactions are a significant revenue driver

Choose Adyen if:

  • You’re a global enterprise with complex multi-region needs
  • You have development resources for custom integrations
  • You need 200+ payment methods across multiple channels

 

The Bottom Line

The “best” payment solution depends on your platform, growth stage, and priorities. But three insights stand out:

  1. Platform lock-in is expensive. Shopify merchants love Shop Pay—until they want to migrate. Krepling Pay’s platform-agnostic architecture future-proofs your checkout.
  2. Guest checkout matters. With 60-70% of orders coming from guest transactions, solutions optimized only for express checkout leave money on the table.
  3. Fees compound fast. At $10M annual revenue, the difference between 3.3% and 0.25% fees is $305,000/year in processing costs.

For DTC brands on non-Shopify platforms seeking the fastest path to an optimized, white-labeled checkout without development overhead, Krepling Pay offers the most compelling combination of speed, savings, and brand control.

Ready to Optimize Your Checkout?

Don’t let checkout friction be the reason customers don’t convert. Krepling Pay delivers a pre-built, white-labeled checkout experience engineered to boost conversion by 31% while reducing processing costs.

Get started today: Sign up for Krepling Pay and transform your checkout in days, not months.

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Compare the top payment solutions of 2026. We evaluated Krepling Pay, Shop Pay, Bolt, Square, and Adyen across 8 weighted factors to find the best ecommerce checkout solution for your business.

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