Paga vs Solid Card
Both Paga and Solid Card clear the checkouts our readers ask about most. Here is where the two part ways on fees and verification.
Both issue on Visa; both ask for ID + proof; only Solid Card takes crypto top-ups.
Solid Card is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee, no top-up fee. Paga still clears the same checkouts in our tests, so match the table to the services you actually pay for.
The two, compared
| Field | Paga | Solid Card |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa | Visa |
| Card type | Fintech Wallet | Crypto Card |
| KYC | ID + proof | ID + proof |
| Card issuance fee | $3.76 + VAT (USD card) | Free |
| Monthly fee | $1.08 (USD card, incl. tax) | Free |
| Top-up fee | 1.2% | — |
| FX fee | — | — |
| Crypto funding | — | Yes (USDC) |
| AI tool support | — | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney |
| Risk level | Medium | Low |
| Our rating | 8.0 | 8.5 |
| User reviews | 317 | 847 |
| Best for | Streaming · App Store / Play | All-rounder · Ad spend |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
Two cards, one decision
- Tight on fees? Solid Card is the cheaper card to hold day to day.
- Solid Card covers a wider spread of use cases; Paga is more of a single-purpose tool.
- Solid Card can sit on a crypto balance; Paga cannot, so the call depends on how you fund it.
- Solid Card edged Paga on our composite rating across fees, risk and merchant tests.
- If risk rating weights your choice, Solid Card is the calmer of the two.
What sets them apart
Solid Card is the cheaper card to hold: free to create and no top-up fee, against about $3.76 and a 1.2% top-up at Paga. Paga earns its keep only if you need the rows where it leads in the table.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. Paga scores 8.0/10 against Solid Card's 8.5/10 in our tests, but the two split on fees, KYC and crypto funding. Read the table above, then match it to the checkouts you actually run.
Solid Card works out cheaper: no virtual card issuance fee, free account maintenance, no top-up fee. Paga adds about $3.76 per virtual card, $1.08 a month, a 1.2% top-up fee.
Paga asks for ID + proof at signup; Solid Card asks for ID + proof. If a light sign-up is the priority, the one with the lower KYC label is the faster route.
Both show up in 1 of the same test scenarios, including Apple Music. They overlap on a good share of checkouts, so the choice between them matters most on those pages. Where one is accepted and the other is not usually comes down to the billing country and 3-D Secure handling.
Where both show up
Paga and Solid Card both landed in our top picks for 1 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
📺 Streaming & Entertainment 1
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇳🇬 Nigeria · 🇺🇸 US — the country guides group every range we track from there.
What our charge log shows
Every count here is a real charge attempt we placed on that range, renewals included, with the gateway response recorded. Weeks tracked is how long the range has been in the programme: