Both tools add payment plans to your own Stripe account without code. They overlap a lot, and one of them will fit your business better. Here is the honest comparison, including where Paythen wins.
Short answer
Paythen is the broader self-serve tool: many plan types, WooCommerce and Shopify plugins, 2% per transaction. Planpacer is the focused option for dated bookings: deposit, instalments and final balance collected automatically before arrival, concierge setup from EUR 199, then 1% per successful transaction. Both run entirely on your own Stripe account and neither holds your money. Pick Paythen for e-commerce checkouts and exotic plan types; pick Planpacer for deposits on real bookings at half the per-transaction fee.
Facts as published by each product. Paythen's pricing and features are from paythen.co; check their site for changes.
| Planpacer | Paythen | |
|---|---|---|
| Per-transaction fee | 1% per successful transaction | 2% per successful transaction |
| Upfront cost | Concierge launch from EUR 199 | None, 7-day trial |
| Monthly subscription | None | None |
| Runs on your Stripe account | Yes, via Stripe Connect | Yes |
| Deposit + dated final balance | Core focus, tied to booking dates | Supported via date-based plans |
| Plan variety | Deposit, instalment and final-balance schedules | Standard, date-based, layaway, pay-your-way, subscriptions |
| E-commerce plugins | No, link-based checkout | WooCommerce, Shopify, Eventbrite, Zapier |
| Failed-payment retries | Automatic | Automatic follow-ups |
| Setup | Done with you, concierge onboarding | Self-serve |
| Built for | Retreats, workshops, venues, stays, courses, private healthcare | Broad: e-commerce, events, education, services |
If that list is what you need, use Paythen. It is a good product.
Rule of thumb: selling products in an online store with flexible plan shapes, choose Paythen. Taking deposits for dated bookings and collecting the balance before people arrive, choose Planpacer and keep the extra 1%.
Both run payment plans on your own Stripe account. Paythen is broad and self-serve with many plan types and store plugins at 2% per transaction. Planpacer focuses on deposit, instalment and final-balance schedules for dated bookings at 1%, with setup done with you.
Per transaction, yes: 1% against Paythen's advertised 2%, both on top of standard Stripe fees. Planpacer has a one-off concierge launch from EUR 199, so Paythen can be cheaper at very low volume; Planpacer wins as volume grows.
No. Both connect to your own Stripe account, so processing and payouts happen in Stripe. Neither holds funds, lends to customers, or takes credit risk. Neither is buy-now-pay-later.
When you need WooCommerce or Shopify checkout plugins, layaway or pay-your-way plan types, or subscriptions alongside plans. Its breadth is the point.
When you take deposits for dated bookings, want the balance collected automatically before the date, and would rather have setup done with you at half the per-transaction fee.
Yes. Because both run on your own Stripe account, your customers, payment history and payouts stay in Stripe either way. Plans already running finish where they started; new plans start wherever you go next.
Tell us the deposit, instalments and final-balance date you need. We will set it up with you as a Stripe-backed payment plan.
Ask about setup