Adfin | Adfin vs GoCardless: What’s the best payment platform for SMBs?

Looking for a GoCardless alternative?

If you’re an SMB or platform that relies on recurring payments, GoCardless is often a starting point. But is it the best long-term solution?

In this post, we compare Adfin vs GoCardless to help you decide which payment platform is right for your business. Now obviously, you’re reading this on the Adfin website so we’re biased. But we’ve tried below to be as factual as possible, so we present the facts and you can make up your own mind!

Quick Comparison: Adfin vs GoCardless

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Feature	Adfin	GoCardless
Payment methods	Direct Debit, Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Pay By Bank	Direct Debit, Pay By Bank
Client experience	Branded checkout + payment options	Direct Debit signup
Integration type	Full invoice-to-cash automation: invoice creation, chasing and reconciliation as well as payments	Payment collection only
Smart reminders	Email, SMS, WhatsApp	Email only
Support	Email, SMS, WhatsApp, in app support	Email support, inline support
Reconciliation	Gross settlement makes reconciliation simple	Net settled, so need to reconcile fees
Pricing	1.0% + 20p standard price, capped at £4. No fees for failed payments	1.0 to 1.4% + 20p, capped at £4 to £5.60 per transaction. For name on statement, you need at least the 1.25% tier £4 fee for failed payments
Settlement	Daily by default	Weekly by default
Custom payment pages and emails	Included	Extra £150/month and 1.25% tier only
Your name on the bank statement	Coming early summer 2025 for a small additional charge	Extra £50/month and 1.25% tier only

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Where GoCardless works well

GoCardless has carved out a niche as a specialist direct debit provider. If you only collect bank payments and want a simple mandate-based system, it does the job. It’s particularly common among:

Subscription businesses
Membership organisations
Utility providers

It integrates with major accounting tools, but many users still find themselves juggling other platforms for cards, wallets, or faster payouts.

Where Adfin works well

Adfin is a newer competitor that has rebuilt direct debit from scratch to meet the needs of modern businesses, integrating it tightly with cards and other key payment methods and chasing functionality to be a true one-stop-shop for payment collection.

With Adfin, you can:

Get paid every way – Direct Debit, card, bank transfer, Apple/Google Pay
Offer clients a better experience – a branded, all-in-one checkout
Track everything in one place – invoices, payments, reminders
Automate reconciliation – with Xero or QuickBooks
Stay on top of cash flow – with multi-channel reminders

All of this runs on a single, simple platform with transparent pricing and UK-based support.

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Why businesses are switching from GoCardless to Adfin

Here’s what we hear most from businesses who’ve made the move:

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“People think GoCardless and Adfin are interchangeable, but they’re not. The integrations are completely different. Adfin is built for accountants - you can tell it’s been designed with us in mind. There’s just so much more flexibility and depth to the integration with Xero. It’s a different level of tool altogether.”

Knights Lowe

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“It’s super simple and easy to use - great for non-techy people like me! My existing clients have signed new mandates with no issues and new clients have been easy to set up.”

Jan McDermott Chartered Accountants

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Has Adfin helped you with anything in particular? Yes! Lower debts, faster payments, and fewer awkward “Did you see my invoice?” chats. It’s made getting paid so much easier.

KH Accounts

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“The support is really good. It’s timely, provides a lot of information, and gives you options.”

Moore to Bookkeeping

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If your current setup involves GoCardless + Stripe + your accounting software + doing your own chasing, Adfin replaces all of that.

For Platforms and SaaS Tools: embed payments end-to-end

Adfin isn’t just for standalone businesses. Platforms like Socket and Engager.app use Adfin to offer payments natively inside their tools.

Great UX = happy customers

Consumers have high standards - and so do your customers. Adfin gives you access to the best possible payment experience, keeping your customers coming back for more.

Full flexibility

At Adfin, all communications can be fully customised, including via API. With our Console, you can easily track and monitor activities in real-time.

A true partnership

We are an ambitious team of payments and banking experts, accustomed to working with enterprise partners. We guarantee you a highly personal relationship.

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Final Verdict: choose the right tool for growth

Hopefully the facts above will help you make the best decision for your business. If Adfin is right for you, then we’re here to help: book a demo today and we can show you around.

Book a demo

Adfin vs GoCardless: What’s the best payment platform for SMBs?

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