Stripe vs Shopify Payments: Analytics comparison

Shopify merchants choosing between Stripe and Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe but integrated differently) often focus on transaction fees—Shopify Payments saves 0.5-2% per transaction by eliminating third-party gateway fees. But analytics capabilities differ significantly between these options, affecting your ability to understand payment performance, optimize checkout conversion, and troubleshoot failed transactions.

Both processors handle payments reliably. The question is: which provides better visibility into payment data for decision-making? Shopify Payments integrates seamlessly with Shopify’s reporting but offers limited analytical depth. Stripe provides extensive analytics and customization but requires more setup effort and costs extra fees. This comparison focuses specifically on analytics capabilities to help you choose based on data needs rather than just processing costs.

Analytics dashboard comparison

Shopify Payments dashboard: Analytics live within Shopify admin interface alongside inventory, orders, and customer data. Everything in one place—convenient for merchants who check Shopify daily anyway. Dashboard shows transaction volume, payment trends, and basic success metrics. Learning curve is minimal because interface matches Shopify’s familiar design patterns.

Stripe dashboard: Separate analytics platform requiring dedicated login. More complex interface with extensive filtering, custom date ranges, and granular segmentation options. Steeper learning curve (1-2 hours to feel comfortable navigating) but rewards investment with deeper insights. Multiple ways to slice data—by payment method, decline reason, customer behavior, time period, geographic location.

Practical difference: If you want quick payment checks during daily Shopify admin work, Shopify Payments is more convenient—no context switching between platforms. If you regularly spend 20-30 minutes analyzing payment patterns, fraud indicators, and optimization opportunities, Stripe’s depth justifies the separate login.

Payment success rate and decline tracking

Shopify Payments tracking: Shows overall authorization rate (percentage of payment attempts approved). Basic decline categorization groups failures into broad buckets: card declined, expired card, processing error. Sufficient for identifying that problems exist but limited for diagnosing root causes. Reports show trends over time but offer minimal filtering options for deep investigation.

Stripe tracking: Detailed decline code reporting with 50+ specific decline reasons (insufficient funds, incorrect CVV, suspected fraud, expired authorization, network error, etc.). Filter and segment decline data by card type, geographic region, transaction value, or customer type. Track decline rates by individual decline reason to prioritize which issues to address first. Historical trending shows whether specific decline types are increasing or decreasing.

Practical difference: For stores with 90%+ success rates where payment failures are rare exceptions, Shopify Payments’ basic tracking suffices. For stores experiencing payment issues (below 88% success rate) or doing systematic optimization, Stripe’s granular decline tracking identifies exactly which problems to fix rather than just confirming problems exist.

Payment method analytics

Shopify Payments breakdown: Shows transaction volume and revenue by payment method type: credit cards, debit cards, Shop Pay. Within credit cards, displays breakdown by network (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover). Basic success rate by payment type. Simple and readable but limited segmentation options.

Stripe breakdown: Comprehensive payment method analytics including digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Microsoft Pay), bank transfers, local payment methods by country, and card network details. Success rate, processing time, dispute rate, and revenue all segmented by payment method. Compare average order value across methods. Identify which methods specific customer segments prefer.

Practical difference: For stores primarily accepting cards through standard checkout, Shopify Payments provides enough payment method visibility. For stores offering diverse payment options (digital wallets, local payment methods, alternative options) or wanting to optimize which methods to prioritize based on performance data, Stripe’s detailed breakdown reveals optimization opportunities.

Revenue attribution and reporting

Shopify Payments attribution: Revenue appears automatically in Shopify’s sales reports because payments process through integrated system. No manual reconciliation needed between payment processor and store platform—everything syncs instantly. Financial reporting pulls directly from payment data. Simple and accurate for stores using only Shopify Payments.

Stripe attribution: Revenue tracked in Stripe dashboard separately from Shopify sales data. Requires cross-referencing Stripe reports with Shopify order data for complete picture. Stripe shows gross revenue, fees, and net payouts. Shopify shows orders and sales. Reconciliation usually straightforward but requires checking two platforms. For stores using Stripe for both Shopify and other sales channels (website, mobile app, point-of-sale), Stripe provides unified payment view across all channels.

Practical difference: Single-channel Shopify stores benefit from Shopify Payments’ automatic integration—everything in one platform. Multi-channel merchants (Shopify plus custom website or app) benefit from Stripe’s unified payment tracking across all sales sources rather than fragmented data per channel.

Fraud detection and analytics

Shopify Payments fraud tools: Built-in fraud analysis evaluates every transaction, assigning risk indicators (low, medium, high). Fraud Protect feature available on Plus plans provides chargeback protection. Fraud analytics show how many orders were flagged, blocked, or resulted in chargebacks. Basic but effective fraud tracking integrated with order management.

Stripe fraud tools: Stripe Radar (included on standard accounts) uses machine learning to evaluate fraud risk. Detailed fraud analytics show risk scores, evaluation rules that triggered, and outcomes. Customizable fraud rules let you adjust blocking aggressiveness. Advanced analytics reveal fraud patterns by product type, geographic region, purchase behavior. Stripe Radar for Fraud Teams (additional cost) provides even deeper fraud intelligence for high-risk businesses.

Practical difference: Both systems handle basic fraud prevention effectively. Stripe provides more customization and analytical depth for stores dealing with sophisticated fraud (digital products, high-value items, international sales). Shopify Payments’ fraud analytics integrate better with order fulfillment workflow—fraud data appears alongside order details rather than in separate dashboard.

Custom reporting and data export

Shopify Payments reporting: Uses Shopify’s standard reporting capabilities. Pre-built payment reports cover common use cases (transaction volume, payment method breakdown, geographic distribution). Export transaction data to CSV for external analysis. Shopify’s report builder allows some customization but focuses more on sales/orders than deep payment analytics. API access available for custom integration but less payment-specific than Stripe’s.

Stripe reporting: Extensive custom report builder creates reports combining any payment dimensions: method, outcome, decline reason, time period, customer type, transaction characteristics. Scheduled reports deliver specific metrics automatically via email. Comprehensive API provides programmatic access to all payment data for integration with business intelligence tools or custom dashboards. Sigma (Stripe’s advanced analytics product, additional cost) enables SQL queries against complete payment database.

Practical difference: For standard e-commerce reporting needs (daily sales, payment trends, basic performance), Shopify Payments’ built-in reports handle 90% of requirements. For custom analytics needs, BI tool integration, or analyst-driven deep dives into payment data, Stripe’s flexibility and API depth justify the additional complexity.

Pricing versus analytics value

Shopify Payments cost structure: Online transaction fees range from 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic plan) to 2.4% + 30¢ (Advanced plan), with no additional gateway fees. All analytics included with no extra charges. Fraud Protect available on Plus plans ($2,000+/month). Clean pricing—what you see is what you pay.

Stripe cost structure: Transaction fees of 2.9% + 30¢ plus Shopify charges 0.5-2% additional for using third-party gateway (depending on plan). Basic analytics included free. Advanced features like Stripe Sigma ($1,000+/month) and Radar for Fraud Teams (volume-based pricing) cost extra. More expensive than Shopify Payments when accounting for Shopify’s gateway fees, but advanced analytics capabilities may justify cost for data-intensive operations.

Analytics ROI consideration: Shopify Payments saves 0.5-2% per transaction. On $100k monthly volume, that’s $500-2,000 monthly savings. Stripe’s analytics advantages need to drive more than that in additional revenue (through better optimization, fraud prevention, or multi-channel efficiency) to justify the higher fees. For some stores, analytics depth enables optimizations worth far more than fee savings. For others, simpler analytics at lower cost makes more sense.

Integration and ease of use

Shopify Payments integration: Activates with few clicks directly in Shopify admin. No separate account creation, no API key management, no webhook configuration. Payment data flows automatically into Shopify’s reporting without setup. Payouts appear in Shopify finance section. Dispute management integrated with order system. Lowest possible friction for Shopify merchants.

Stripe integration: Requires Stripe account creation, API key configuration in Shopify, webhook setup for proper order synchronization. Setup takes 30-60 minutes including testing. After initial setup, works reliably but requires monitoring two platforms (Shopify for orders, Stripe for payments). Updates to either Shopify or Stripe occasionally require reconnection or troubleshooting. Higher initial effort and ongoing maintenance compared to native Shopify Payments.

Practical difference: Non-technical merchants strongly prefer Shopify Payments for zero-friction setup and operation. Technical merchants or those with developers available handle Stripe setup easily and appreciate the additional control and flexibility. Time investment for setup and maintenance is real consideration—Stripe requires 2-4 hours additional work annually for maintenance versus Shopify Payments’ zero-maintenance approach.

Which payment processor should you choose?

Choose Shopify Payments if:

• You sell exclusively through Shopify (no other channels)

• You want lowest transaction fees and simplest setup

• You prefer all business data in one platform

• Basic payment analytics meet your needs

• You’re non-technical and value simplicity over customization

• Payment success rate is already above 92%

• You’re not dealing with sophisticated fraud challenges

Choose Stripe if:

• You sell through multiple channels (Shopify plus custom website/app)

• You need detailed payment analytics for optimization

• You’re experiencing payment issues requiring diagnostic depth

• You want extensive customization and API access

• You have technical resources for setup and maintenance

• Advanced fraud prevention customization is important

• You plan to build custom checkout experiences or subscription systems

• Analytics depth justifies higher effective fees for your business

Can you switch later?

Yes, though switching requires effort. Moving from Shopify Payments to Stripe (or vice versa) involves reconfiguring payment processing, testing thoroughly, potentially updating saved customer payment methods, and adjusting financial reporting processes. Plan for 4-8 hours work including testing and troubleshooting.

Historical payment data doesn’t migrate automatically—past transactions remain in the original processor’s system. You’ll need to export historical data if required for long-term analysis or reconciliation.

Many merchants start with Shopify Payments for simplicity, then migrate to Stripe when growth demands more sophisticated analytics or multi-channel capabilities. Starting with simpler option and upgrading when needs justify complexity is reasonable strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use both Shopify Payments and Stripe simultaneously?

No. Shopify allows only one primary payment gateway. You must choose either Shopify Payments or Stripe (or another third-party gateway) for credit card processing. However, you can offer alternative payment methods (PayPal, Amazon Pay) alongside your primary gateway.

Does Stripe integration break any Shopify features?

No major features break, but some Shopify-specific functionality works better with Shopify Payments. Shopify Balance (banking services for merchants) requires Shopify Payments. Fraud analysis in Shopify admin is more detailed when using Shopify Payments. Shop Pay accelerated checkout works with either but optimizes for Shopify Payments. Check Shopify documentation for current feature dependencies.

Which processor has better reporting for multi-currency sales?

Stripe typically handles multi-currency sales more smoothly, with detailed analytics by currency and automatic conversion tracking. Shopify Payments supports multiple currencies but reporting is somewhat simpler. For stores doing significant international sales in multiple currencies, Stripe’s currency analytics often prove more useful for financial reconciliation and optimization.

How do analytics compare if using Stripe through Shopify versus Stripe directly?

Using Stripe as Shopify’s payment gateway provides full Stripe analytics in Stripe dashboard plus basic payment data in Shopify admin. Using Stripe outside Shopify (for custom website) provides identical Stripe analytics but no Shopify integration. Multi-channel merchants using Stripe across all channels get unified payment analytics regardless of sales source—that’s Stripe’s key advantage for complex operations.

Peasy automatically sends your key analytics to your team every morning—eliminate daily dashboard checking. Starting at $49/month. Try free for 14 days.