Chargent vs.

Blackthorn
Payments

Which Salesforce Payment App Is Right For You?

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THE GIST

Do you need payments for events?
Or do you need payments everywhere?

Chargent and Blackthorn Payments are both established Salesforce-native payment applications, and both can handle many of the payment workflows businesses commonly need inside Salesforce. Blackthorn is an especially natural fit for organizations already using Blackthorn Events, where payments can function as part of a broader Blackthorn ecosystem. Blackthorn also offers recurring payments, payment links, Experience Cloud payments, mobile payments, and broad gateway coverage, albeit the majority of those gateways are offered through a third party service.

If payments extend well beyond events, however, Chargent is built specifically around broader requirements. Payments are Chargent’s focus. The platform combines more than 30 direct payment gateway integrations with recurring billing, saved payment methods, payment links, automated collections, compliant surcharging, smart payment routing, multi-gateway tokenization, Experience Cloud payments, and APIs for more advanced requirements. Nearly every Chargent feature is ready to configure rather than build, typically requiring only minutes to get up and running.

A Detailed Look

Chargent vs. Blackthorn: Key Differentiators

Chargent Blackthorn
Best Fit Organizations that need payments to be a core capability across their Salesforce implementation and require deeper payment workflows. Compelling for organizations already using Blackthorn Events
Primary Company Focus Payments in Salesforce Events
Gateway Support 30+ direct payment gateway integrations Most functionality centered around Stripe and Authorize.net, as their other 120+ supported gateways are not directly integrated; provided via a third party (Spreedly) integration.
Ease of Setup Prebuilt integrations and packaged workflows, with nearly all capabilities configured through clicks rather than custom development. All interfaces and workflows run entirely in-org. Configurable components, however some functionality requires Blackthorn’s own developer assistance to configure.
Experience Cloud Larger suite of Experience Cloud components, including an out-of-the-box payment LWC that also works in Flow. Payment Method Manager provides Amazon-style saved payments methods in Salesforce portals. Chargent Custom Checkout enables pixel-perfect payment experiences that adhere to your branding, rules, and payment workflows. Enables self-service Experience Cloud payments through their LWC Virtual Terminal and ChargeFlow components.
Advanced Payment Features Smart Payment Routing, Multi-Gateway Tokenization, Automated Collections, Compliant Surcharging, Card Updater, Custom Checkout Automated payment flows, reconciliation, card updater
Extensibility Flow, REST, and Apex APIS for advanced requirements REST and Apex APIs for customization
AppExchange Reviews 530 reviews, 4.9 average rating, 500 five-star reviews 181 reviews, 4.9 average rating, 178 five-star reviews
Starting Price $667/month, billed annually $400/month, billed annually

Blackthorn

  • Strong integration with Stripe, Authorize.net, and billing

  • Part of Events management software suite for Salesforce

  • Field service option for mobile payments

  • 120+ gateways integrations are not direct; offered through third-party platform with per-transaction fees

  • Many features not available on gateways other than Stripe and Authorize.net

  • Additional fees for support are required

Chargent

  • Deeper payment workflows across all Salesforce objects, clouds, and tech.

  • 30+ direct payment gateway integrations, including CyberSource, Authorize.net, Stripe, Forte, PayTrace, Braintree, and PayPal

  • Larger suite of out-of-the-box Experience Cloud components, including Amazon-style payment method manager.

  • Advanced payment features including Multi-Gateway Tokenization, Smart Payment Routing, Automated Collections, and set-and-forget Compliant Surcharging,

  • Comprehensive extensibility through Flow, REST, and APEX APIs

  • Deeper review history with 500 5-star reviews on the AppExchange

Discovery Questions That Reveal Fit

Which payment gateways do you need, and is a direct gateway integration important to your architecture?

Will you need multiple processors or gateways in the future?

Do you need capabilities such as payment routing, multi-gateway tokenization, automated collections or compliant surcharging?

How quickly do you need to add self-service payments to Experience Cloud?

Do you want most payment workflows to be configurable by Salesforce administrators, or are you comfortable building and maintaining more of the solution yourself?

How important is having a platform focused specifically on Salesforce payments as your requirements expand?

SUMMARY

The Bottom Line

Blackthorn Payments is a strong Salesforce-native product, particularly for organizations already invested in Blackthorn Events. If that is the center of your use case, keeping payments within the same vendor ecosystem can make sense. While the review sentiment is strong for Blackthorn, Chargent has much deeper review evidence (529 vs. Blackthorn’s 181) and a substantially longer track record since launching in 2009.

For organizations that expect payments to play a larger role across Salesforce, Chargent offers a more payments-focused platform. Its combination of 30+ direct gateway integrations, advanced payment orchestration, extensive packaged functionality and click-first implementation options gives businesses room to start simply and grow into more sophisticated payment operations without replacing the underlying platform.