Comparison
Hosted checkout vs embedded checkout
Hosted checkout redirects the customer to a payment page operated by the gateway. Embedded checkout keeps the customer on the merchant's page and collects payment details through secure components.
The trade-off is control of the experience against compliance scope and engineering effort.
Hosted checkout and Embedded checkout side by side
Hosted checkout
The customer is redirected to a payment page hosted and secured by the gateway, then returned to the merchant.
Strengths
- Smallest card-data compliance scope
- Fastest integration
- Payment methods and 3-D Secure handled for you
- Security maintenance sits with the provider
Trade-offs
- Redirect can reduce conversion
- Branding limited to theming
- Less control over the flow
Embedded checkout
Secure fields or components render inside the merchant's own page, so the customer never leaves the site or app.
Strengths
- Seamless, fully branded experience
- Typically better conversion
- Control over layout, validation and flow
- Native-feeling in mobile applications
Trade-offs
- More engineering effort
- Slightly wider compliance scope depending on implementation
- Merchant maintains the front-end code
Criterion-by-criterion
| Criterion | Hosted checkout | Embedded checkout |
|---|---|---|
| Customer stays on your site | No | Yes |
| Integration effort | Low | Moderate |
| Branding control | Theming only | Full |
| Compliance scope | Smallest | Slightly wider |
| Conversion | Redirect friction | Usually higher |
| Maintenance | Provider | Shared |
Which one to choose
Choose Hosted checkout when
- You want the smallest compliance footprint
- Engineering capacity is limited
- Checkout volume does not justify optimization work
Choose Embedded checkout when
- Conversion rate materially affects revenue
- Brand consistency through checkout is required
- You have front-end engineering capacity
Frequently asked questions
- Does embedded checkout put card data on our servers?
- Not with properly implemented secure fields. The sensitive inputs are rendered by the provider inside isolated frames or SDK components, so credentials are tokenized without passing through merchant systems, even though the page looks like yours.
- Which converts better?
- Embedded checkout usually converts better because it removes redirect friction, but the difference varies by market, device and how well each option is implemented. Both are supported so it can be tested.
- Can we use both?
- Yes. A common pattern is embedded checkout on web and app, with hosted payment links used for invoices, phone orders and recovery flows.