12 Best Stripe Alternatives & Competitors (2026)

LegalZoom offers online legal document creation and business formation services for startups and small businesses. It provides templates for incorporation, contracts, and basic compliance at lower price points than traditional attorneys. Compared to Clerky, it covers a wider range of general legal needs but uses less specialized startup-focused workflows for vesting schedules or investor-ready fundraising docs, making it better for simple setups than complex financing prep.

Rocket Lawyer delivers subscription-based legal forms, attorney consultations, and business formation tools. Users can create NDAs, agreements, and incorporation documents with some customization. Versus Clerky it emphasizes broad accessibility and ongoing legal support subscriptions rather than deep startup-specific features like integrated 83(b) elections or Delaware C-Corp maintenance tailored for YC-style fundraising.

PayPal supports one-off and recurring payments via cards, bank accounts and PayPal balance with a large existing user base. Compared with GoCardless it offers easier global checkout but higher transaction costs for bank transfers and less emphasis on automated Direct Debit recovery features.

Adyen provides enterprise-grade global acquiring with local bank payment methods across many countries. It is stronger than GoCardless for large international merchants needing unified reporting and card processing, yet usually requires more setup and has higher minimum volumes.

ZenBusiness provides affordable LLC and corporation formation plus compliance services with add-ons for EINs and operating agreements. It appeals to cost-conscious founders. Against Clerky it lacks the same depth in fundraising instruments like SAFEs or founder stock vesting setups optimized to prevent future diligence problems during investment rounds.

Mollie is a European payments provider popular with SMEs for its simple pricing and support of iDEAL, Bacs and Direct Debit. It serves as a lighter GoCardless alternative for businesses that also want card payments and quick onboarding without complex enterprise features.

Northwest Registered Agent specializes in privacy-focused business formation and registered agent services with strong customer support. It handles state filings and basic entity setup. Relative to Clerky it prioritizes anonymity and ongoing compliance over specialized startup legal products such as equity compensation plans or board consents for fundraising.

Chargebee is a subscription billing platform that integrates with multiple payment gateways including GoCardless itself. As an alternative it adds advanced dunning, revenue recognition and plan management on top of payment collection, suiting SaaS companies outgrowing basic GoCardless invoicing.

IncFile offers low-cost incorporation packages including LLCs and corporations with free registered agent periods. It focuses on quick filings for new businesses. When compared to Clerky it provides fewer tools for post-formation legal quality like IP assignments or investor document customization needed for high-growth startup paths.

Braintree, a PayPal service, focuses on developer-friendly card and PayPal payments with some ACH support. It lacks GoCardless's depth in automated Direct Debit retries and UK Bacs mandate management, making it better for marketplaces prioritising global card checkout.