Adfin | How Adfin beats other payment solutions on cost and value

Adfin's headline prices are attractive, but we often get asked how this compares in real-world examples. In this blog, we'll outline how Adfin compares to a mix of typical alternative providers (GoCardless, Stripe, and Chaser).

Using real-world assumptions for both small and large businesses, the results are clear: Adfin delivers significant savings—while including features others charge extra for.

‍The problem with piecemeal solutions

Many businesses today rely on a patchwork of providers:

A direct debit provider like GoCardless for Direct Debit transactions
A PSP like Stripe for card payments
A tool like Chaser for payment chasing and collections

This setup looks manageable on the surface, but costs add up quickly. Each provider charges their own percentage fees, transaction costs, and add-ons like branding or retries. Chaser alone can add £135 to £675 per month just for automated email chasing.

By contrast, Adfin bundles everything into one transparent, low-cost package—covering Direct Debit, Open Banking, card payments, branding, and fully-featured, unlimited chasing.

Case studies

Setup

To make this comparison realistic, we modelled two types of businesses:

Small business: 100 transactions per month, £50 average transaction value (£60k annual turnover)
Mid-size business: 1,000 transactions per month, £100 average transaction value (£1.2M annual turnover)

... across 2 scenarios:

The "cheapest possible" setup (using the minimum of features in the case of other providers)
The "typical" setup (using a more typical range of features)

We assumed the following payment split:

65% Direct Debit
10% Open Banking
25% card payments

These volumes reflect common mixes seen across UK SMEs.

Case study 1: The “cheapest possible” scenario

In this setup, businesses don’t require advanced features or branding. The question is simple: what’s the lowest possible monthly cost?

Small business (100 x £50 average transaction value)

Adfin: £70/month (chasing included as standard, with branding)
- Base fee of 1% + 20p (1% * 100 transactions * £50, plus 100 * £0.20)

GoCardless + Stripe (no chasing, no branding): £78.75/month
- Gocardless fee of 1% + 20p = £55.00
- Stripe fee of 1.5% + 20p = £23.75

Even in this barebones setup, Adfin comes out cheaper. And unlike competitors, Adfin includes automated chasing for free, as well a customised branding, which dramatically reduces late payments.

Mid-sized business (1,000 x £100 average transaction value)

Adfin: £1,200/month
- Base fee of 1% + 20p (1% * 1000 transactions * £10, plus 1000 * £0.20)

GoCardless + Stripe (no chasing, no branding): £1,325/month
- Gocardless fee of 1% + 20p = £950
- Stripe fee of 1.5% + 20p = £425

Again, Adfin is lower cost and includes chasing.

Case study 2: Typical usage, with branding and features

Typically, businesses need more than the most basic package offered by these providers. In this scenario, we have taken Gocardless's middle pricing tier to ensure a comparison to Adfin. In this scenario, the business is using custom chasing, name-on-statement, and custom payment pages.

Small business (100 x £50)

Adfin (1% + 20p)): £106/month (as above, but with the £36/month Adfin Custom add on)
GoCardless Advanced (1.25% + 20p) + Stripe (1.5% + 0.4% + 20p) + Chaser (£135 / month): GoCardless £65.13/month, plus £200 a month for custom branding; £28.75 for Stripe; £135 for the most basic Chaser package

That’s a 4x difference. Adfin delivers the same (or better) features for a fraction of the price.

Large business (1,000 x £100)

Adfin (1% + 20p): £1,236/month (as above, but with the £36/month Adfin Custom add on)

GoCardless Advanced (1.25% + 20p) + Stripe (1.5% + 0.4% + 20p) + Chaser (£675 / month): GoCardless £1,125.50 + £200 branding; £525 for Stripe; £675 for the Chaser package with sufficient users and support equivalent to Adfin.

Here too, Adfin saves over 50% per month—while still including chasing and branding.

We see this in the real world

We know the examples above are realistic, because our customers tell us how much they save with Adfin. If you haven't seen it already, check out the Helpbox case study: Helpbox saved 58% on their payment fees by moving to Adfin and have been a happy customer ever since.

Why Adfin wins

Lower fees across the board
We have modelled the above on standard transactions for all providers to keep things fair (both Adfin and Stripe charge more for non-standard cards for example, with roughly comparable fees). For the majority of transactions, Adfin charges just 1% + £0.20 per collection, whether it’s Direct Debit, Open Banking, or cards. Competitors charge higher percentages, especially for cards (Stripe starting at 1.5%).
Chasing included (worth £135-675/month)
Competitors like Chaser charge extra for automated payment reminders. Adfin bakes this in for free, and you get the benefits of an integrated product.
Branding without the premium
GoCardless Advanced and Stripe both add branding costs—Adfin includes them in its pricing.
One provider, one invoice
Managing three or more vendors not only costs more but also adds operational complexity. With Adfin, you have one provider, one support team, and one predictable cost.

The bottom line

For businesses that want to save money without cutting features, Adfin is the clear choice. Whether you’re a small business processing £60k per year or a large enterprise handling millions, the savings stack up month after month.

In short: Adfin doesn’t just save businesses money—it eliminates complexity, improves cashflow, and gives you peace of mind.

👉 Switch to Adfin—and start saving today.

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