Adfin and GoCardless Standard publish the same headline price for a direct debit: 1% + 20p, with the percentage capped at £4. For that price GoCardless collects direct debits, while Adfin also takes cards, chases unpaid invoices, retries failed payments for free and pays you in full every weekday, so the fair comparison is Adfin against GoCardless plus everything you'd add around it.
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The short version
- Adfin charges 1% + 20p per successful payment with the percentage capped at £4, so an £800 retainer or a £2,000 project invoice costs £4.20 to collect.
- An extra 0.3% applies to direct debits above £2,000, so budget for it in months when annual renewals go out.
- GoCardless charges its fee on every submitted payment, so a bounced £800 collection that you resubmit costs you twice.
- GoCardless doesn't take cards or chase unpaid invoices, so many MSPs end up paying for a separate card processor and chasing tool on top.
- To compare, price last month's collections at 20p plus 1% capped at £4, then add what you spend on failures, branding, cards and chasing around GoCardless.
What a direct debit costs on Adfin
Adfin charges 1% + 20p per successful payment, with the percentage capped at £4 for direct debit and bank payments. Direct debits over £2,000 carry an extra 0.3% on amounts above £2,000, and GoCardless adds 0.3% to its high-value collections too, so budget for it in months when annual renewals go out.
For four typical MSP invoices up to £2,000:
| Invoice | Adfin fee |
|---|---|
| £150 monthly add-on | £1.70 |
| £800 managed services retainer | £4.20 |
| £1,500 larger retainer | £4.20 |
| £2,000 project invoice | £4.20 |
There's no monthly platform fee, no minimum term and no charge for failed payments.
What the GoCardless price leaves out
Failed payments. GoCardless charges its transaction fee on every payment you submit, whether or not it succeeds, so a bounced £800 collection that you resubmit costs you twice. Adfin only charges when a payment succeeds, retries failed direct debits for free, and can fall back to the client's card if the direct debit still doesn't go through.
Chasing. GoCardless collects payments; it doesn't chase the clients who haven't set up a mandate or who pay by bank transfer, send statements, or add late payment fees. Many MSPs end up paying for a separate chasing tool on top. Adfin's credit control is included: it chases over email, SMS and WhatsApp from your own email domain, on the schedule you set, and its AI agents can add statutory late fees, offer instalment plans and send statements when a client goes quiet, all within rules you approve.
Cards. GoCardless doesn't take card payments, so the client who wants to pay a project invoice by card means adding Stripe or another processor, with its own fees, dashboard and payouts to reconcile. Adfin takes cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank, bank transfer and direct debit in one place, and matches every payment back to the invoice in Xero or QuickBooks. For business clients, Adfin can add the card fee to the payment so the client covers it.
Your name on the statement. Putting your business name on clients' bank statements is £50 a month on GoCardless and £36 a month on Adfin.
When the money reaches your account
GoCardless deducts its fees before paying you, and pays out a lump sum about five business days after a collection is created. Choosing your own payout schedule is only available to a small number of its merchants.
Adfin pays out every weekday, in full, and invoices its fee separately. Direct debits land three working days after collection, card and bank transfer payments two, and pay by bank the same day. Because each payment arrives at the amount you invoiced, it matches the invoice without anyone working out which fees were taken from which lump sum.
How to work out your own monthly cost
Take last month's collections and price them on Adfin: 20p plus 1% of each payment, with the 1% capped at £4, plus 0.3% of anything above £2,000. Then add up what you currently pay around GoCardless: the fees on failed submissions, the branding add-on, your card processor and any chasing tool. Compare that total with your Adfin figure.
If you do move, you don't need to ask clients to sign again. With 10 or more mandates, Adfin moves them across through the Bacs bulk change process and collections carry on as before.
Common questions
Is Adfin more expensive than GoCardless? Not on the published headline price, which is 1% + 20p with a £4 cap on the percentage on both. Adfin includes credit control, card payments and free retries in that price.
Does Adfin charge for failed direct debits? No. Adfin charges only on successful payments and retries failed direct debits for free. GoCardless charges its fee on every submitted payment, including ones that fail.
Does GoCardless chase unpaid invoices? No. GoCardless collects direct debits but doesn't chase clients by email, SMS or WhatsApp, send statements or apply late fees. Adfin includes all of these.
Can I take card payments with GoCardless? No. GoCardless collects by direct debit and bank payment only. Adfin takes cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay alongside direct debit.
How quickly does Adfin pay out? Every weekday, in full, with fees invoiced separately. Direct debits arrive three working days after collection and pay by bank payments the same day.
Can I move my GoCardless mandates to Adfin without clients re-signing? Yes, if you have 10 or more. They move through the Bacs bulk change process and clients don't need to sign anything; with fewer than 10, clients sign a new Adfin mandate.
Sources
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
- Adfin - Next-generation direct debit (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.adfin.com/direct-debit-payments
- GoCardless - Pricing (accurate as of September 2026) https://gocardless.com/pricing/
- GoCardless Support Centre - Pricing & Fees (accurate as of September 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/21721571804188-Pricing-Fees
- GoCardless Support Centre - Receiving a payout (accurate as of September 2026) https://support.gocardless.com/hc/en-gb/articles/17485089478940-Receiving-a-payout
