Paystack vs Flutterwave vs Daraja vs Pesapal in Kenya

“Which payment gateway should we use?” is one of the first questions we hear. In Kenya the answer usually starts with M-Pesa, but how you connect to it, and what else you need, depends on your customers, your countries and your team.

Here is how we think about it.

The short answer

• Mostly Kenyan customers paying by M-Pesa? Integrate Daraja directly, or use KopoKopo if you want a simpler merchant dashboard.
• Need cards and M-Pesa in one checkout, with less engineering? Look at Paystack or Pesapal.
• Selling in several African countries? Flutterwave or Paystack, depending on which countries matter most.
• International customers paying in USD or EUR? Add Stripe (where available to your entity) or PayPal.

Many businesses end up with two: Daraja for M-Pesa, plus a gateway for cards.

Option by option

M-Pesa Daraja (direct)

Daraja is Safaricom’s own API for M-Pesa: STK Push, C2B, B2C, transaction status, reversals and more.

Good for: businesses where most customers pay by M-Pesa, payouts with B2C, and anyone who wants the most control.

Watch out for:

• M-Pesa only. You’ll need something else for cards.
• You need a registered Paybill or Till, and a go-live process with Safaricom.
• Your developer handles callbacks, retries and reconciliation. Done badly, this is where “paid but not recorded” problems come from.

Costs: you pay Safaricom’s standard M-Pesa transaction tariffs for your Paybill or Till. There is no extra gateway percentage on top.

KopoKopo

A Kenyan merchant platform built around M-Pesa tills. It offers a dashboard, STK Push via its API (K2 Connect), and settlement tools.

Good for: SMEs who want M-Pesa collections with a friendly dashboard and less infrastructure to run.

Watch out for: it is focused on M-Pesa in Kenya. Check current fees and settlement terms on their site.

Paystack

Owned by Stripe, Paystack operates in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and other markets. In Kenya it supports cards and M-Pesa, and its developer experience is excellent.

Good for: startups that want one clean API for cards and mobile money, good documentation and dashboards, and an easy path into Nigeria or Ghana.

Watch out for: a percentage fee per transaction, and payment methods vary by country. Check the current Kenya pricing page.

Flutterwave

A pan-African gateway that covers many countries, currencies and payment methods, including cards, mobile money and bank transfers, plus payouts.

Good for: businesses selling across many African countries, or needing multi-currency collections and payouts in one place.

Watch out for: fees vary by method and corridor. Test the specific flows you need, such as M-Pesa in Kenya and MoMo in Ghana, before committing.

Pesapal

A long-established Kenyan gateway supporting cards, M-Pesa, Airtel Money and bank payments, with plugins for common e-commerce platforms.

Good for: Kenyan and East African merchants who want cards and mobile money with local support and ready-made plugins.

Watch out for: compare fees and settlement times with the alternatives for your volume.

How to decide

Answer these four questions:

1. Where are your customers? Kenya-only points to Daraja or KopoKopo, plus a card gateway if needed. Multi-country points to Flutterwave or Paystack.
2. How do they prefer to pay? In Kenya, M-Pesa is non-negotiable for most consumer businesses. B2B buyers often want cards or bank transfer and an invoice.
3. Do you need to pay people out? Daraja B2C is the standard for M-Pesa payouts. Flutterwave and Paystack offer transfers and payouts in their markets.
4. Who maintains it? A direct Daraja integration is cheaper per transaction but needs solid engineering. A gateway costs more per transaction and less in engineering time.

Our usual recommendation

For a typical Kenyan SME or startup:

• M-Pesa through Daraja (or KopoKopo) for the bulk of payments, with proper callback handling and daily reconciliation.
• A card gateway (Paystack or Pesapal) for customers who prefer cards, and for diaspora buyers.
• PayPal or Stripe only if you genuinely sell to customers outside Africa.

Fees, supported countries and payment methods change often, so always confirm the current details on each provider’s pricing page before you sign up.

Not sure which fits your business? Tell us how your customers pay and we’ll recommend a setup, even if it means a simpler option than you expected.