PayPal vs Windward System Five

Venmo

Square Point of Sale

Fishbowl

Payoneer

STORIS

EBMS

Compare PayPal and Windward System Five based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

Stripe

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform that enables businesses to accept payments online and in person. It offers a suite of APIs for payment processing, subscription management, fraud prevention, and financial services integration Stripe provides both developer-focused tools with extensive documentation and no-code solutions for businesses without technical staff.

Square Point of Sale is a POS solution for Android and iOS devices which includes tools for managing payments, digital receipts, inventory, reports, and more.

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is an all-in-one online business software designed to help manage business finances. The platform is built to scale businesses, unlocking insights and providing the functionality of a larger team, all on one integrated platform.

PayPal provides an end-to-end suite of tools that can integrate with a business's existing systems and service providers. Its network of shoppers and businesses provides AI-driven data insights to help businesses reach new customers and drive results.

Access Controls/Permissions

Accounting

ACH Payment Processing

Activity Dashboard

Ad hoc Reporting

AI/Machine Learning

Alerts/Notifications

Anomaly Detection

Authentication

Barcode/Ticket Scanning

Billing & Invoicing

Billing Portal

Cash Management

Check Fraud Detection

Compliance Management

Contact Database

Credit Card Processing

Customizable Dashboard

Customizable Invoices

Data Import/Export

Data Management

Data Security

Data Visualization

Debit/Credit Card Processing

Deferred Billing

Digital Wallet Payments

eCommerce Management

Electronic Payments

Electronic Signature

Expense Tracking

Financial Analysis

Financial Management

Financial Reporting

For Banking

For eCommerce

For Food Trucks

For Retail

For Small Businesses

Fraud Detection

In-Person Payments

Internal Fraud Monitoring

Inventory Management

Invoice Creation

Invoice History

Invoice Management

Invoice Processing

Marketing Reports

Mobile Access

Mobile Payments

Monitoring

Multi-Currency

Multi-Location

Multi-Period Recurring Billing

Multiple Payment Options

Online Invoicing

Online Payments

Order Management

Payment Fraud Prevention

Payment Gateway Integration

Payment Links

Payment Options

Payment Processing

Payment Tracking

PCI Compliance

Performance Management

Point of Sale (POS)

Product Catalog

Projections

Promotions Management

Real-time Alerts

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Monitoring

Receipt Management

Recurring Invoicing

Recurring/Subscription Billing

Refund Management

Reminders

Reporting/Analytics

Returns Management

Risk Analysis

Risk Management

Role-Based Permissions

Sales Reports

Sales Tax Management

Scheduled/Automated Reports

Search/Filter

Self Service Portal

Shipping Labels

Shipping Management

Social Media Integration

Status Tracking

Transaction History

Transaction Monitoring

Reviews for PayPal come from a wide variety of industries, including education management (5% of reviewers), information technology and services (5%), and marketing and advertising (5%). The most frequent use case for PayPal cited by reviewers is payment processing (67% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Some reviewers find PayPal offers strong value for money due to zero subscription fees, wide acceptance, and robust security. Reviewers indicate that high transaction fees, withdrawal limits, and slow refunds can diminish perceived value, especially for businesses.

Value for money

The PayPal integrations most frequently cited by reviewers are: Shopify (an eCommerce product rated 4.6 out of 5 for its integration with PayPal), WooCommerce (an eCommerce product, 4.8), and Wix (a website builder product, 4.6).

Integrations

PayPal is a payment processing program with key features that include online payments, data security, payment processing, payment fraud prevention, debit/credit card processing, mobile payments, and more.

PayPal

Web-based

iPhone

iPad

Android

 Point of Sale

Card Processing

PayPal and Venmo

Pay Later

Student

The system works well for everyday transactions, invoicing, and international payments. While fees and customer support response times could be improved, PayPal remains a trusted solution thanks to its security, wide acceptance, and convenience.

Training and Development Manager

The feature I love the most about Paypal is the Paypal Buyer Protection, where you get reimbursed for unresolved disputes for undelivered items, defective items purchased or items which are fairly different to their descriptions.

Licensed Massage Therapist

I like it’s pay in 4 feature when I’m really in a pinch especially around the holidays, it allows ease of payment between friends and family and really has been a reliable source of being able to pay someone remotely in my 10 years using it

Co-CEO

Occasionally I will use it for business transactions, such as selling items online, where the invoicing feature is both easier to use than any other money transfer but also safer because it keeps a record of who is sending what for what. While the app gives me fits every time I have to transfer money out of PayPal to my bank, on the whole it's been an excellent addition to my financial management tools.

Commercial Director

The high cross-border transaction cost does not give good value to us as our B2B volume increases and the customer care is aggravatingly slow when we face some unforeseen bugs and problems when it comes to processing complicated refunds in case of damaged shipments.

Process Engineer

I first made a PayPal account when I started buying and selling on eBay many years ago. Since that time the number of both online vendors and private individuals who have made PayPal accounts continually rises so that more and more transactions can be processed using PayPal as opposed to other less common payment methods

Engineer

You can also maintain a balance in your PayPal account by topping it up, receiving payments from other users, and then transferring that balance wherever you want or reusing it for payments.

HR Coordinator

PayPal offers a variety of services, but mostly it secures online transactions. When paying at almost all retailers or providers you can opt to securely pay via PayPal instead of entering your credit or debit card details.

Customer Relations Manager

PayPal has simplified the process of handling payments and refund to our service customers without having to go through an elaborate merchant configuration and rigorous training.

Legal Secretary

When yku use PayPal for business payments, ie receiving payments from customers, they take a large percentage of the payment compared to other payments services.

Account Executive

Most of the banks in my country do not work in other regions and in other countries and PayPal has helped me to be able to transact with anyone globally and has helped me manage my money a lot better.

Vice President

PayPal allows us to track and provide receipts to donors and easily account for transactions into our main account.

Owner

The instant transfers, the low fees and the ability to move money around to different account is amazing but being able to invoice customers directly from the software is invaluable.

Sr. Executive

Paypal while don't charge you fees fro your transfers and all , looks like they try to earn through their currency conversion rate, If you are based in UK and have received dollars, and ongoing rate on goole for example is 100usd = 76 GBP .

I STARTED USING IT ON MY ONLINE STORE AND I REALIZED PEOPLE WERE DOING CHARGE BACKS EVEN WHEN THEY RECIEVED THERE PRODUCT AND THEY WERE GETTING THE MONEY BACK AND KEEPING THE PRODUCT.

Owner.

I can receive and make payments easily and in a secure way without having to put my credit card information every time, also customer support has always been very diligent the couple of times I've had issues with clients or providers.

Advertising

A major complaint is account freezing or limitation, which can happen suddenly, often with little explanation, and hold funds for extended periods, severely disrupting business cash flow.

Owner and Creator

All categories that I can think of are up to standards (i.e. searching for client, buying shipping label, exchange of money, etc).

Senior IT System Administrtor

I also love the Paypal pay in 4, I use it for Christmas gifts this year and having it on display on the GUI helps expense management greatly.

Freelancer

Transaction are fast and reliable and it's one of the online payments platform that is mostly used around the globe and suitable for getting money through Freelancing sites.

Veterinary Nurse and Client Care Representative

I only recently realised they now offer a fundraiser option! And they provide their own pay in four repayment plans; which I am far more likely to utilise than any of the other pay in 4 plans that are on offer out there as it's already on a platform I love and am familiar with.

Business Analyst

Risk: Paypal provides advanced fraud detection and 24/7 transaction monitoring, helping to protect the businessses froma ny financial losses.

I do not like the fact that there is occasional account hold and a lack of customization on invoice layouts, as sometimes I have to seek assistance to clarify or justify on why there is an abrupt limitation to the client.

Tier III Technician

I love the added safety of PayPal, as someone that makes quite a bit of online purchases on all sorts of sites, I always use PayPal, since the seller will never see my card or bank details.

Freelance

This is the big one. If you invoice $1,000, seeing $30-$40 vanish immediately hurts. If the client pays in a different currency, the exchange rates PayPal offers are usually quite poor compared to market rates.

Legal Assistant

That it's an available method of payment on virtually all online retailers out there. When I buy using PayPal, I feel my credit/debit cards and bank info remain protected.

Sole Proprietor

The ability to connect PayPal to storefronts, or freelance opportunities, and even simple donation buttons makes it a versatile part of a small business toolkit.

Business Owner

Paypal took the full balance from my account (almost $1,000.00) to give to a company involved in a scam, with no evidence of proof and blocked me from resolution automatically with no recourse to appeal.

PayPal is a convenient, widely accepted, and secure platform for online payments, offering strong buyer protection and easy global transfers.

Personal Trainer

The fees are also higher compared to competitors like Stripe, and the inability to fully turn off shipping options adds unnecessary limitations for service-based businesses.

It's not the most accessible payment platform to be fair, log-ins and account verification especially takes time, and you cannot easily switch personal details such as contact number to a number with a different country / area code once the account is set up.

Vintage Curator

The only property I least like about Paypal is when I sell on reselling apps such as Depop, it takes significantly long to receive the money after a sale.

Dance Instructor

I do not like that if I have less than $75 in my Paypal account, I cannot pay at the Pump for gas, that I have to go inside and do pre payment.  

Director

PayPal is reliable and a secure way to send money, but the features and functionality have been outshined by Venmo and stripe and other easier more intuitive online payment apps

Founder and CEO

Also, I had an issue wherein an account of mine with an app was hacked once, and the got access to my money because that app was optionally connected to PayPal. When I brought this issue with them, there was no drama and no upset.

Customer Service Lead

The verification of accounts may occur suddenly, and we may be at a standstill with our financial resources, and it will lead to significant problems with cash flow in the operations.

Associate Software Developer

It is incredibly reliable for receiving payments from international freelance clients and managing daily transactions for online e-commerce setups.

Senior analyst and consultant

For recurring payments works great, more could be done in terms of app enhancement and smooth checkouts, since sometimes integration is weak or not working properly. As customers experienced couple of failed payments at the intersection between PayPal and external websites.

Treasurer

PayPal interfaces with my bank checking account so that I can easily deposit payments directly into my checking account.

Business Administrator

The platform makes it easy to track your tasks by setting reminders as needed and is a good tool to use to stay organized for budgeting purposes.

The invoicing system is simply the best, as we can request the deposit of international guests within minutes through email connection.

Quality

It makes online payments simple, and its buyer protection features provide strong reassurance for both personal and business transactions.

PayPal vs Windward System Five Comparison (2026)

PayPal

Windward System Five

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives