# Payment Gateway Comparison for Kenya Businesses
For most Kenyan businesses, direct M-Pesa Daraja integration is the cheapest way to accept payments (roughly 1.0–1.5% per transaction), while Paystack is the strongest all-round choice if you also need card payments and a hosted checkout, at 2.9% local card / 1.5% M-Pesa. Aggregators like Pesapal and DPO cost more (2.5–3.5%+) but require far less development work.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Provider | Kenya transaction fee | Settlement | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| M-Pesa Daraja API (direct) | ~1.0–1.5% (your registered Paybill/Till tariff; no separate API fee) | Per your Safaricom tariff terms | Businesses with dev capacity to build their own integration and want the lowest per-transaction cost |
| Paystack | 2.9% local card, 1.5% M-Pesa, 3.8% international card/Apple Pay | 3 working days | Businesses wanting one hosted checkout for both cards and M-Pesa |
| Pesapal | 3–3.5% | Not independently confirmed in this research pass | Businesses wanting a long-established local aggregator |
| Flutterwave | 1.4% local, 3.8% international | Not independently confirmed in this research pass | Businesses with meaningful international customer volume |
| DPO (Direct Pay Online) | ~2.5–3.5% additional layer on top of underlying M-Pesa cost | Not independently confirmed in this research pass | Businesses already using DPO for multi-country African payments |
| IntaSend | Not reliably sourced — confirm directly at intasend.com before deciding | — | — |
Direct M-Pesa Daraja API: The Low-Cost, High-Effort Option
Integrating directly against Safaricom's Daraja API has no separate API usage fee — you pay whatever your business's registered Paybill or Till tariff already is, typically in the 1.0–1.5% range for standard Lipa na M-Pesa transactions. That makes it the cheapest option on this list by a meaningful margin.
The catch is entirely on the development side: you're building and maintaining the STK push flow, callback handling, and reconciliation yourself (or paying a developer to). There's no hosted checkout page, no built-in card support, and no dashboard beyond what Safaricom itself provides.
Best for: businesses that already have development resources, process high enough volume that the fee difference matters, and don't need international card payments.
Paystack: The All-Round Hosted Option
Paystack charges 2.9% on local card transactions, 1.5% on Mobile Money (M-Pesa) transactions processed through their platform, and 3.8% on international card or Apple Pay transactions — this is their own published pricing, not a third-party estimate. Settlement lands 3 working days after payment, with Paystack indicating this window is expected to shorten.
Because Paystack handles both card and M-Pesa through a single integration, it's a reasonable middle ground if you don't want to build your own M-Pesa flow but still need card acceptance for customers who prefer it.
Best for: businesses wanting one integration covering both cards and mobile money, without building the M-Pesa flow themselves.
Pesapal, Flutterwave, and DPO: The Established Aggregators
Pesapal charges 3–3.5% per transaction — the highest of the fee figures we found reliable sourcing for. Flutterwave's rate is lower for local transactions (1.4%) but jumps to 3.8% for international ones, making it a stronger fit if most of your customers are paying from within Kenya. DPO adds roughly 2.5–3.5% on top of the underlying M-Pesa cost when routing mobile money payments through their platform, which is worth factoring in if M-Pesa is your dominant payment method.
All three are pay-as-you-go with no long-term contract in the general market data we found, similar to most aggregators serving this market.
Best for: businesses that want a longer-established local or regional player and don't want to build a direct Safaricom integration.
What About IntaSend?
We're not going to give you a specific fee figure for IntaSend here. The sources we checked gave inconsistent numbers, and publishing a wrong fee percentage in an article specifically about "what agencies actually charge" would be worse than leaving it out. If IntaSend is on your shortlist, check their current pricing directly at intasend.com before deciding — we'll update this comparison once we've confirmed their figures directly.
Decision Framework
- Lowest cost, and you have development resources: direct M-Pesa Daraja integration.
- Need both card and M-Pesa in one hosted checkout, minimal dev work: Paystack.
- Meaningful international customer base: compare Flutterwave's 3.8% international rate against Paystack's 3.8% — functionally similar, so decide based on which platform's dashboard and support you prefer.
- Already running payments through DPO for other African markets: stay there for consistency rather than adding a second provider just for Kenya.
- Considering IntaSend: get their current pricing in writing before comparing — don't assume it matches any figure quoted above.
FAQ
Which payment gateway is cheapest in Kenya?
Direct M-Pesa Daraja integration, at roughly 1.0–1.5% per transaction — but it requires you to build and maintain the integration yourself, unlike a hosted aggregator.
Do I need a payment gateway if I already accept M-Pesa via Paybill?
Not necessarily for M-Pesa alone — a gateway becomes useful when you also want card payments, a hosted checkout page, or a dashboard that reconciles multiple payment methods in one place.
Is Paystack available for Kenyan businesses?
Yes — Paystack operates in Kenya with published local card, international card, and M-Pesa fee rates.
Should I pick based on fees alone?
No — settlement speed, dashboard quality, developer documentation, and how much you already trust the provider's support all matter. The cheapest fee on paper isn't useful if integration takes three times as long.
Talk to Us
If you're weighing which payment gateway fits your specific transaction volume and customer mix, that scoping conversation is exactly what we help with — see our e-commerce development services.
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