7 Best dLocal Alternatives for Businesses (2026): Stripe vs Unlimit vs Adyen

Seven dLocal alternatives ranked for businesses selling across borders by local methods, non-resident onboarding, settlement and FX, licences, market reach, pricing and payouts, verified November 2026.

Key takeaways

• Stripe leads the ranking because it covers the methods customers use and onboards businesses without a local entity.
• dLocal prices each merchant by tailored quote, so cost stays unknown before a sales call, and that is the main reason businesses compare Stripe and other dLocal alternatives.
• Airwallex is the cheapest and Stripe the most expensive option in the cost scenario, so the choice of processor changes what a business keeps; dLocal and the providers without a computed card cost show no comparable figure.
• Onboarding without a local company divides the providers, so a business without an entity in a market starts its shortlist with providers such as Stripe that onboard foreign companies.
• Unlimit fits businesses that want one integration across markets; its limit is pricing, quoted per business rather than published.
• Each business condition, from sales channel and regions to sale size and product type, points to a different shortlist, and Stripe fits only some of them, so the right provider depends on the business’s own conditions.

Quick answer: the best dLocal alternatives for Businesses

The best dLocal alternatives for businesses in November 2026 are Stripe for merchants that want low fees and South Korean cards and wallets, Unlimit for merchants selling across borders that want ready e-commerce plugins, and Adyen for subscription and digital-goods businesses that want an established European provider, with four more providers ranked below them on the same rubric.

The 7 best dLocal alternatives compared

The seven dLocal alternatives below are ranked for businesses selling across borders by a weighted score out of 10, verified November 2026.

Why businesses look for a dLocal alternative

Three points in dLocal’s own published terms lead businesses that run cross-border payments through it to compare other providers: how cost is set, who is responsible for tax and invoicing, and how set-up grows with each new market.

Cost is set per merchant rather than listed. dLocal’s payouts terms set a custom price from a merchant’s countries, volumes, methods, risk profile and service requirements. That price is typically a fee per payout and an FX spread, with possible advance settlement fees or volume-based minimums on top. As a result, a business cannot estimate its cost before a sales conversation.

Tax and invoicing stay with the merchant. A business that uses dLocal’s local infrastructure remains the seller of record, responsible for taxes, invoicing and other commercial obligations. Entering a market without an entity therefore still leaves the local tax work in-house.

A merchant of record (MoR) takes on a different role. “As a business partner, the MoR acts like the legal entity that sells the product on behalf of the merchant or SaaS company,” Diana Vorniceanu wrote in The Paypers in 2026.

For platforms, set-up grows with each market. dLocal for Platforms lets a merchant hold a Platform account in each country, because each account has settings that vary by country. Every new market therefore adds one more account to configure.

dLocal’s main strength is breadth. It operates more than 1,000 methods of payment across more than 60 markets, which gives a business wide local coverage through one provider.

How this was scored

Each provider is scored out of 10 on 11 weighted criteria. Every criterion is scored against the best provider in the comparison, which scores 10. Unlimit goes through the same process, and its position is not edited.

Published by Unlimit. Unlimit is #2 on this list and is scored on the same rubric as every other entry.

Only providers that serve businesses online across borders were scored: seven are ranked, and dLocal, the original provider, is not ranked. A screened provider without a strength and criticism based on verified facts is left out. Pricing reflects published rates or, where none are published, the pricing model, and a merchant’s quote may differ. Unlimit publishes the list and is ranked in it, and the list is not professional advice.

Where Unlimit fits

A business entering new markets needs one connection for checkout and payouts, and Unlimit provides a REST API for accepting card payments and local payment methods. It runs global financial infrastructure for cross-border commerce, serving businesses, consumers and AI agents.

Unlimit supports more than 1,000 payment methods worldwide.

Businesses across the world can accept payments from local customers through one Unlimit API integration, without a legal entity, office or bank account in the region. If Unlimit does not hold a licence in the region itself, it processes payments through licensed partners and settles in the currency agreed with the merchant.

Pricing transparency is the criterion that limits Unlimit’s score, because its rates are quoted per business rather than published. Unlimit is right for merchants selling across borders that want cards, local methods and payouts from one API across several regions. It is not the best fit for a business that needs a published card rate to compare costs before any sales conversation.

The best dLocal alternatives in detail

Each card below, the leader and the publisher’s entry included, has one strength and one criticism drawn from the provider’s own published terms.

1. Stripe

• Best for: Merchants that want low fees and South Korean cards and wallets.
• What it is: Stripe is a payment processor that a business integrates to accept cards, wallets and local methods online. Its Connect product gives platforms connected accounts with the full Dashboard, the Express Dashboard or no Stripe-hosted Dashboard, each with its own way of managing connected account payouts. Stripe Atlas lets a founder incorporate a US company from anywhere in the world, open a US bank account and accept payments within two business days.
• Pricing model: Flat rate per transaction: standard online card payments cost 2.9 percent plus USD 0.30, and cards issued abroad add 1.5 percent, verified November 2026.
• Payment methods: Credit, debit and prepaid cards, digital wallets and buy now, pay later instalments appear on the US price list; local methods include iDEAL and Wero, BLIK, Scalapay instalments in 3 or 4 parts and a cash method for paying online purchases in-store.
• Markets and currencies: Local methods reach customers in Brazil (Pix), India (UPI), Belgium (Bancontact), Portugal (MB WAY) and the UK and the EEA (Revolut Pay). Local South Korean cards and wallets can be accepted without a local entity.
• Requirements: A Stripe account can be created and start accepting payments with no contracts or banking details required. Stripe-hosted onboarding for connected accounts takes document uploads and validates the data, with real-time verification when possible.
• Strength: Stripe directly supports more than 125 payment methods as well as any custom method a merchant adds, so one account can serve buyers who pay by card, wallet or bank method in many regions.
• Criticism: Klarna buy now, pay later is charged at 5.99 percent plus USD 0.30 per successful transaction, so an instalment sale costs a business more than twice the standard card rate.
• dLocal vs Stripe: dLocal is the closer fit for a business focused on emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia; Stripe suits a business that wants published rates and self-serve sign-up better.
• Score: number 1 of 7, 8.9 / 10, verified November 2026.

2. Unlimit

• Publisher’s entry
• Best for: Merchants selling across borders that want ready e-commerce plugins.
• What it is: Unlimit is a payment processor that offers global card acquiring, accepting debit and credit cards in multiple currencies and major card schemes. Its entity Unlimit EU Ltd has been authorised since 9 July 2018 under the supervision of the Central Bank of Cyprus, with 150 payment services across 30 countries recorded in the Payment Institutions Register.
• Pricing model: Quoted per business, verified November 2026.
• Payment methods: Global and local card schemes, digital wallets, cash, direct bank transfers and mobile payments, more than 1,000 in all; flagship local methods include SPEI and CoDi bank payments and OXXO cash.
• Markets and currencies: Major card brands and local methods are available in more than 200 locations and more than 50 currencies, grouped into the coverage regions Latin America, Africa, Europe and the UK, India and Asia-Pacific. Merchants receive direct settlement into their wallets or accounts.
• Requirements: During onboarding, Unlimit tells each merchant which documents each payment method needs. Identity information collected under its privacy notice includes passport, national ID card, nationality, utility bill, tax residence and tax ID.
• Strength: Card processing and local payment methods come through one API integration that spans Latin America, Africa, India and Asia-Pacific, so adding a region needs no second provider.
• Criticism: Unlimit does not publish its rates, so a business cannot compare its costs before a sales call.
• dLocal vs Unlimit: dLocal is the closer fit for a business that wants one contract for pay-ins and payouts across emerging markets; Unlimit suits a business whose integration must also cover Europe and the UK better.
• Score: number 2 of 7, 8.4 / 10, verified November 2026.

3. Adyen

• Best for: Subscription and digital-goods businesses that want an established European provider.
• What it is: Adyen N.V. is a public limited liability company incorporated in the Netherlands under registration number 34259528, registered in the UK as an overseas company that is a credit or financial institution. Its accept-payments offer combines payment processor, provider and acquirer in one platform. The company reported net revenue of EUR 1.303 billion for the first half of 2026, up 19 percent year on year.
• Pricing model: Interchange plus a markup: online card payments cost 0.6 percent and USD 0.13 per transaction on top of interchange and scheme fees, verified November 2026.
• Payment methods: Cards, including Accel credit and debit cards for the United States with USD as processing and settlement currency, and direct debit.
• Markets and currencies: Adyen pays out BRL, INR, MYR, MXN and AED only to a local bank account in a country or region where that currency is legal tender.
• Requirements: An individual in the US without an SSN who is onboarded on a platform must upload an ID document to verify identity. A restricted product or service category needs additional documentation before onboarding, and product restrictions depend on whether the business runs a Merchant or a Platform or Partner model. Adyen for Platforms has one model for marketplaces and one for platforms.
• Strength: ACH Direct Debit covers Puerto Rico and the United States, so a business can collect bank debits next to cards through the same acquirer.
• Criticism: For some payment methods the merchant must sign a direct agreement with the acquirer or scheme owner before using the method, so a business adds a contract per method on top of its Adyen account.
• dLocal vs Adyen: dLocal is the closer fit for emerging-market pay-ins and payouts under one contract; Adyen suits a business that wants one acquirer for cards and direct debit in markets such as the United States better.
• Score: number 3 of 7, 7.1 / 10, verified November 2026.

4. Checkout.com

• Best for: Marketplaces and platforms that pay out sellers through one API.
• What it is: Checkout.com is a payment processor. Its US contracting party is Checkout LLC, a Delaware limited liability company at 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, DE 19808. Its documentation covers payments for a Platform that processes payments on behalf of its sub-entities, alongside the Checkout Business Account.
• Pricing model: Quoted per business, verified November 2026.
• Payment methods: Checkout.com Flow gives access to its global network of payment methods with a single integration, though some methods may not be available for all merchant and customer locations.
• Markets and currencies: Local acquiring runs in more than 50 countries across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, and domestic coverage reaches more than 45 countries, with processing in more than 150 currencies.
• Requirements: When a merchant changes its settlement bank account, the account holder in the proof must match the entity’s legal name and the new account details. Checkout.com’s US services must not be used for personal, family or household purposes.
• Strength: Merchants use one Unified Payments API for all features and payment methods, so a business adds markets without a second integration.
• Criticism: In the United States the merchant must keep a depository bank account at the partner bank or at another institution agreed by Checkout.com and the bank, so a business has to hold that account before it can settle US sales.
• dLocal vs Checkout.com: dLocal is the closer fit for a business focused on emerging markets in Latin America and Africa; Checkout.com suits a business that needs local acquiring across Europe, North America and the Middle East better.
• Score: number 4 of 7, 7.1 / 10, verified November 2026.

5. Airwallex

• Best for: Enterprises that want low currency conversion costs.
• What it is: Airwallex sells online payment acceptance on monthly plans. Its US fee schedule offers Explore, Grow, Accelerate and Custom plans, with Explore at USD 0 a month.
• Pricing model: Flat rate per transaction: the US pricing page shows 2.80 percent plus USD 0.30 for domestic cards and one all-in rate of 4.30 percent plus USD 0.30 for international Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay cards. A gateway fee of USD 0.30 per attempted or actual transaction comes on top, fraud screening included, verified November 2026.
• Payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay under domestic cards, plus local payment methods.
• Markets and currencies: Settlement runs in USD and other currencies, with FX conversions at 0.5 percent above interbank rates for major currencies and 1.0 percent for all others.
• Requirements: The monthly plan fee is charged per business legal entity that signs up, and one legal entity may hold multiple accounts.
• Strength: WeChat Pay, GrabPay and more than 160 other local payment methods appear on the US price list, so a business can offer wallets that Asian shoppers use from one account.
• Criticism: A Foreign Currency Settlement Fee of 0.50 percent applies when a non-USD transaction settles in the same non-USD currency. A separate FX Conversion Fee of 1.00 percent is charged when the transaction currency is converted, so keeping or converting foreign sales both cost a business extra.
• dLocal vs Airwallex: dLocal is the closer fit for local methods across emerging markets in Latin America and Africa; Airwallex suits a business that wants published card and FX fees and a plan it can start at no monthly cost better.
• Score: number 5 of 7, 6.9 / 10, verified November 2026.

6. PayPal

• Best for: Merchants that want low fees and local wallets in emerging markets.
• What it is: PayPal, Inc. is the PayPal entity named as licensed for money transmission and virtual currency activity in the United States. Its Payments Pro card transactions run through the Payflow Gateway, with PayPal acting as the merchant bank. PayPal, Inc. will pay a USD 2 million penalty to New York State for violations of the DFS Cybersecurity Regulation.
• Pricing model: Percentage-based: local alternative payment methods such as Doku Wallet, FIUU Cash, LinkAja, Opay, PesaLink, Viet QR and Bre-B cost 3.49 percent plus a fixed fee for receiving domestic transactions, verified November 2026.
• Payment methods: Cards through Payments Pro, PayPal checkout and local wallets, cash and bank rails. American Express cards are processed directly through Direct Payment once the merchant accepts the American Express Card Acceptance agreement.
• Markets and currencies: PayPal, Inc. holds its licences in US states and territories, set out by jurisdiction.
• Requirements: For Direct Payment, American Express restricts direct card acceptance for merchants in certain business categories.
• Strength: PayPal, Inc. is licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services and has NMLS number 910457 on its licences page, so a business can check the licence with the regulator.
• Criticism: The Payflow ACH payment service is open only to current ACH merchants and accepts no new ACH accounts, so a new business cannot collect ACH bank payments through Payflow.
• dLocal vs PayPal: dLocal is the closer fit for a business that needs one contract across emerging markets; PayPal suits a business that wants a provider whose US money-transmitter licences are set out state by state better.
• Score: number 6 of 7, 6.1 / 10, verified November 2026.

7. Global Payments

• Best for: Subscription and digital-goods businesses that want popular wallets through one API.
• What it is: Global Payments offers a payment gateway that merchants integrate through a no-code plugin, low-code SDKs and libraries, or a high-code direct integration. SDKs for Java, PHP, .NET, JavaScript, Android and iOS are in its developer documentation.
• Pricing model: Quoted per business, verified November 2026.
• Payment methods: Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal for merchants on its API, a Click to Pay guide, pay by bank account and QR code methods, all covered in the developer guides.
• Markets and currencies: A bank-of-choice payment solution in the method documentation serves customers in Czechia and in Slovakia.
• Requirements: Not published.
• Strength: Global Payments documents instalment plans that a merchant can offer and a method that lets customers repay a purchase over time, so a business can split larger purchases into payments without a separate lender integration.
• Criticism: Rates are not published, so a merchant cannot compare its cost with other gateways before a sales conversation.
• dLocal vs Global Payments: dLocal is the closer fit for a business selling into emerging markets with local cash and mobile money; Global Payments suits a team that wants SDKs and no-code plugins for a card and wallet checkout better.
• Score: number 7 of 7, 4.6 / 10, verified November 2026.

What dLocal and its alternatives cost at USD 10,000, 100,000 and 1 million a month

Card checkout cost is computed for dLocal and each alternative at three monthly sales volumes: USD 10,000, USD 100,000 and USD 1 million.

This is an estimate, not a quote: a US business sells at an average ticket of USD 100, every card is issued abroad and every sale is charged in USD. The example method is online card checkout because 4 of 8 providers in the table publish a rate for it and it is the online checkout that dLocal and its alternatives share. Real costs depend on the business, the card mix and negotiated terms.

At USD 10,000 a month, Airwallex is the cheapest in this scenario at USD 460 and Stripe is the most expensive at USD 470. Adyen prices on interchange plus a markup, so the figure shown excludes interchange and scheme fees and is not compared. dLocal, Unlimit, Checkout.com, Global Payments publish no rate for this scenario, so no cost is shown for them.

Small tickets change the picture. The fixed fee per sale, USD 0.30 for Stripe and Airwallex, USD 0.29 for PayPal and USD 0.13 for Adyen, takes a larger share of each sale as the average ticket falls below the USD 100 of the scenario.

Volume works differently. Monthly cost rises in step with sales, from USD 470 to USD 47,000 for Stripe, from USD 460 to USD 46,000 for Airwallex and from USD 468 to USD 46,800 for PayPal, because all three charge the same rate at every volume in the table.

When a sale is converted between currencies, Airwallex and Stripe add 1 percent and PayPal adds 4 percent on top of the card cost. No monthly or yearly difference from dLocal can be calculated, because dLocal quotes each merchant.

Local acquiring and payment methods by region

Each dLocal alternative appears below with the regions it operates in, the licence or acquiring partner behind it, its method groups and its pricing model.

Go deeper

Best for merchants selling across borders

Unlimit (#2, 8.4 / 10, publisher’s entry) is the pick for merchants that sell across borders from one company: it accepts payments in over 150 currencies across more than 200 locations through a network of local licences and payment methods, all on one integration.

For a business that wants one provider to settle every market, also consider Adyen (#3, 7.1 / 10), which accepts, processes and settles payments in more than 130 countries.

Best for marketplaces and platforms

Checkout.com (#4, 7.1 / 10) is the pick for marketplaces and platforms that pay out sellers in several markets: it runs domestic processing in 57 countries, so cards are acquired in the buyer’s country without a separate integration per market.

If sellers and buyers are spread across many countries, PayPal (#6, 6.1 / 10) is also worth a look: its accounts work in approximately 200 markets.

Best for enterprises

Airwallex (#5, 6.9 / 10) is the pick for enterprises that collect payments in many countries: it accepts payments from more than 180 countries and can set up local processing in over 35 markets to avoid cross-border fees.

Also consider Global Payments (#7, 4.6 / 10) if the enterprise already processes with Worldpay, which Global Payments acquired in January 2026.

dLocal vs Unlimit: how they compare

• Payment methods: dLocal accepts domestic cards, cash vouchers such as Boleto and Oxxo, mobile money, wallets such as Alipay and real-time payments. Unlimit offers card processing and local methods through one API.
• Markets and currencies: dLocal offers settlement in USD and other major currencies, or local currency where required. Unlimit works in more than 200 locations and more than 50 currencies.
• Payouts: dLocal sends local-currency payouts to any supported market through one integration. Unlimit offers multi-currency payouts to marketplace sellers and partners.
• Licences: Dlocal Opco Ireland Limited acts as merchant of record under dLocal’s dMore service. Unlimit EU Ltd is authorised and supervised by the Central Bank of Cyprus.
• Requirements: dLocal’s identity and due diligence checks of sub-merchants may include document and biometric checks where the law requires it. During onboarding, Unlimit tells each merchant which documents each payment method needs, and no legal entity, office or bank account in the region is needed.
• Pricing model: Both providers quote prices per business: dLocal per merchant profile and Unlimit per business.

How to choose a dLocal alternative

Choosing an international payment gateway to replace dLocal starts from the business’s own conditions, because each condition narrows the shortlist in a different way.

Check how well each shortlisted provider supports the local methods of every target market: Simon Skinner of Glenbrook Partners said of global payment service providers in a 2026 Payments on Fire episode that “their coverage in the region generally is probably not as strong as elsewhere, and their support for the local alternative payment methods is not as strong.”

• Do you sell by payment link and hosted page as well as online checkout? Unlimit and Global Payments fit both routes.
• Must you reach many regions and currencies without a local entity? Unlimit, Stripe and Checkout.com fit that need.
• Do you need a published card rate to model monthly cost and sale size? Stripe, Airwallex and Adyen fit, because their card rates are public.
• Do you sell subscriptions or digital goods? Adyen and Global Payments fit that model.
• Do you run a marketplace or platform paying out sellers? Checkout.com fits, and Unlimit and Stripe also send seller payouts.
• Do you need settlement in a currency other than USD? Airwallex and Unlimit fit.

FAQs

Changelog

• November 2026, first publication: 8 providers screened, 7 ranked.
• November 2026, rubric weights locked before research.
• November 2026, rubric revised: weights for cross-border merchants, and each criterion scored against the best provider in the comparison.

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