8am™ LawPay vs. Stripe

LawPay is built specifically for legal professionals. It supports IOLTA compliance, integrates with many leading legal tech platforms, and offers tools like automated fee separation and payment workflows tailored for the legal profession.

Stripe is a general-use payment infrastructure platform designed for internet commerce. It offers flexible APIs and global reach, but it lacks built-in legal trust account capabilities and legal-specific compliance safeguards.

Attorneys choose LawPay for its legal-specific workflows, responsive customer service, and next-business-day funding—tools designed to simplify operations and improve cash flow. Unlike general-purpose processors like Stripe, LawPay gives legal professionals more control over payments with surcharge options, chargeback assistance, and expert support tailored to law firms.

LawPay tools include:

• Legal-specific workflows, including IOLTA-compliant trust accounting (automatic separation of earned vs. unearned fees)

• Support for payment methods including credit and debit cards, eCheck, and scheduled payments

• Built-in time tracking, invoicing, and reporting tools

• Seamless integration with law practice management systems

• Next-business-day funding with no extra charge

Stripe tools include:

• Payment processing for online and in-person transactions

• Support for many global currencies and multiple payment methods

• Customizable APIs for developers

• Tools for subscription billing, invoicing, and fraud prevention

• Broad integration ecosystem

LawPay offers a user experience built specifically for law firms, with intuitive payment links and seamless integration with legal practice management systems. Many Capterra users say it’s “very user-friendly” and “easy to set up.”

According to Stripe payment processing software reviews, the platform provides a flexible, developer-centric experience suited for many business types. However, users report that unexpected account holds or verification issues can interrupt payment flows. 

LawPay includes features tailored for legal professionals—such as scheduled payments, surcharge support (where permitted), and automatic fee separation—making it easier to stay compliant and get paid faster. Many firms also switch for the added reliability, with no surprise fund holds and responsive, U.S.-based customer support from a team that understands legal billing.

LawPay is a great choice for solo attorneys. It’s easy to set up, doesn’t require developer customization, and includes billing and payment tools designed to help firms run more efficiently. It also gives solo and small firms access to features like next-business-day funding, surcharge support, and U.S.-based customer service—making it easier to run your practice without needing extra staff or complex tech setups. 

LawPay also scales to support small, medium, and large law firms with advanced features, integrations, and dedicated support as their needs evolve.

Stripe uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model with no setup fee or monthly fee for its standard plan. For online card payments in the U.S., Stripe’s standard rate is 2.9% of the transaction amount plus $0.30 per successful charge. Additional fees apply for international cards (+1.5%) and currency conversion (+1%) on top of the standard rate. 

LawPay offers a no-contract $19 monthly price for unlimited users. There are no hidden fees to use all of its tools, including online payments, trust account protection, PCI compliance, billing and invoicing, custom reporting, integrations, and more. Visit our pricing page to learn more about processing fees.

Switching from Stripe to LawPay is a simple process, and the LawPay team is available to help every step of the way. You can easily export your Stripe data, and LawPay support specialists can assist with setup, syncing, and getting your firm up and running quickly.