The best Authorize.net alternatives for WHMCS

Why WHMCS businesses leave Authorize.net

The reasons are a fixed monthly fee, a merchant account to get approved and features WHMCS's modules lack. WHMCS shops rarely complain about Authorize.net in public; its pricing page and WHMCS's docs make the case.

1. 01

   $25 a month on every plan

   Every Authorize.net plan costs $25 a month, whatever your volume: $0.50 a payment at 50 payments of $20. Cost is why an operator asked the WHMCS forum in 2015 how to move to Stripe or PayPal.

   Source: Authorize.net's pricing page, October 2026, and a 2015 thread on the WHMCS community forum

   With Whop: No monthly fee. Whop charges per payment, at a base rate of 2.7% + $0.30 per domestic card.

2. 02

   Cards need an approved merchant account

   Gateway only needs your own merchant account; All-in-one includes one, subject to eligibility. An underwriter checks your industry and credit, personal credit included, which can take one to five business days or more.

   Source: Authorize.net's pricing FAQ, October 2026

   With Whop: No separate merchant account. Whop verifies your business before you withdraw, and you can sell first, up to a limit Whop sets.

3. 03

   Card numbers can sit in your WHMCS database

   The plain Authorize.net module stores cards, encrypted, in your WHMCS database, which puts your server in PCI scope. Accept.js and CIM keep them at Authorize.net, but Accept.js "is not compatible with the Modern or Boxes order form templates."

   Source: WHMCS's payment gateway docs and its Accept.js page, August 2026

   With Whop: Card numbers go into Whop's secure fields and never reach your server. Your own PCI obligations remain.

4. 04

   No 3D Secure or wallets in WHMCS's modules

   WHMCS lists 3D Secure, the bank's identity check on a card payment, as unsupported on every Authorize.net module. None of their pages mentions Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal, though Authorize.net takes all three at the gateway.

   Source: Authorize.net's payment methods page and WHMCS's module pages, October 2026

   With Whop: Whop Payments has two 3D Secure settings, and Apple Pay and Google Pay as an opt-in, saved as cards for renewals.

5. 05

   Five regions, and eCheck is US-only

   Your business must be based in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe or Australia. eCheck, Authorize.net's bank payment, is for US businesses only.

   Source: Authorize.net's ecommerce FAQ and pricing page, October 2026

   With Whop: A Whop business can be based in 216 countries and territories, everywhere but a short sanctions list. See every Whop country.

Authorize.net alternatives for WHMCS, ranked

Whop ranks first for most WHMCS businesses leaving Authorize.net; Stripe is the closest bundled option. Whop is also my pick for the best WHMCS payment gateway overall. Here is that ranking without Authorize.net.

Sources: published US base rates, October 2026, from Whop's fee schedule and each provider's pricing page.

• Whop. No monthly fee, no separate merchant account and a lower base rate than All-in-one, with renewals that WHMCS collects, in a free module.
• Stripe. No monthly fee, bundled and tokenized, with Stripe ACH for automatic bank debit, in Stripe's 44 signup countries; my Stripe alternatives for WHMCS page compares it with Whop.
• PayPal Payments. Bundled, with a button clients recognize. Best as a second button, since a PayPal Checkout payment costs more than a card on Whop.
• GoCardless. Automatic bank debit for eCheck users, in 8 invoice currencies. It doesn't take cards, and refunds happen outside WHMCS.
• 2Checkout. A hosted checkout with no merchant account of your own, once 2Checkout approves you. It costs more, and renewals run as 2Checkout subscriptions, not saved cards.

Not ranked: WHMCS 9.0 bundles no Braintree or Paddle module, and WHMCS's only Mollie module takes one-time iDEAL payments.

The Authorize.net modules WHMCS ships

WHMCS ships four Authorize.net modules, plus Planet Authorize for gateways that emulate it. None is deprecated, and none lists 3D Secure.

What changed, and what didn't

• Nothing in recent releases. The 9.0 and 8.13 release notes don't mention Authorize.net, and both versions' module pages match, updated in August 2026.
• AIM's deprecation is Authorize.net's. Authorize.net lists its old AIM API as deprecated; WHMCS never says which API the plain module calls.
• Accept.js converts stored cards. On a client's first capture, WHMCS sends their locally stored card to Accept.js, keeps a token and deletes the local copy. That works for Accept.js only.
• Echeck's type contradicts its page. WHMCS lists it as Third-Party, a type with Attempt Capture (WHMCS charging a stored method itself) switched off, yet describes stored bank details billed automatically. WHMCS doesn't say which applies.

Whop vs Authorize.net for WHMCS

Whop wins on fixed costs, setup and where your business can be; Authorize.net wins for US eCheck users and for a merchant account at good rates. Here is every criterion side by side.

Sources: Authorize.net's pricing page, Whop's fee schedule and WHMCS's module docs, checked October 2026.

What a month costs at $20 a payment

At 200 payments of $20 a month, Whop's base card fees come to $168, against $201 on Authorize.net's All-in-one plan: $25 a month plus 2.9% + $0.30 per card payment, subject to eligibility.

Domestic base rates, October 2026; no international cards, conversion, refunds or disputes.

Whop's lead depends on two fees. Whop also lists $0.03 for 3D Secure and $0.07 for fraud screening per payment. If both applied to every payment, All-in-one would cost less above about 417 payments of $20 a month. Gateway only is left out: its fees sit on top of your merchant account's unpublished rates.

Renewals work the same way on both: WHMCS's own cron charges the saved card.

How to switch from Authorize.net without losing renewals

Run Whop beside Authorize.net and move each client at their next invoice. Nothing is imported, and Authorize.net stays active, just hidden, for the payments it already collected.

Never deactivate Authorize.net to switch. WHMCS reassigns a deactivated gateway's services, invoices, transactions and pay methods to the gateway you pick (WHMCS's gateway docs). Old Authorize.net payments would then be labeled Whop, and Whop can't refund them.

1. 01

   Find what charges each client today

   Note each client's module: the plain one (card in WHMCS), CIM or Accept.js (card at Authorize.net), or Echeck. Check Recurring Billing in Authorize.net for ARB subscriptions, its own billing schedules.

2. 02

   Install Whop beside Authorize.net

   Install the free module, test a payment in a Whop Sandbox business, then connect Live. In Payment Gateways, turn Show on Order Form on for Whop Payments and off for Authorize.net. Authorize.net stays active, just hidden from the order form.

3. 03

   Move each client at their next invoice

   Cards don't move: CIM profiles leave Authorize.net only after an export review (Authorize.net's export article), and the Whop module has no import path. The client pays their next invoice with Whop Payments and saves the card. Then set the client, service and upcoming invoices to Whop Payments. Leave Echeck clients on Echeck for now.

4. 04

   Cancel ARB subscriptions at Authorize.net

   WHMCS's modules don't create them, but cancel any you find for a moved client, or they charge twice. Hiding the gateway doesn't stop them.

5. 05

   Watch one full renewal cycle

   Confirm the next renewal is paid once, by Whop, before you move the next group of clients.

6. 06

   Keep old payments with Authorize.net

   Refund old card payments from their invoice with Refund through Gateway; Echeck payments can't be refunded from WHMCS. Once every client has moved, Delete Encrypted Credit Card Data permanently removes cards the plain module stored. The $25 a month runs until you close the account.

The switch guide in the module's docs (opens in a new tab) covers the same steps for any gateway.

Authorize.net alternative questions