Paycek vs Privacy.com
Both Paycek and Privacy.com clear the checkouts our readers ask about most. Here is where the two part ways on fees and verification.
Paycek issues on Visa + Mastercard and Privacy.com on Visa · Mastercard; verification is No KYC at Paycek versus ID only at Privacy.com; only Paycek takes crypto top-ups.
Paycek is the more cost-effective option for everyday spending and travel thanks to its free virtual cards, no monthly fee. Privacy.com is the better fit for power users who need bank-transfer funding and ad spend and AI subscriptions.
The two, compared
| Field | Paycek | Privacy.com |
|---|---|---|
| Card network | Visa + Mastercard | Visa, Mastercard |
| Card type | Crypto Card | Fintech Wallet |
| KYC | No KYC | ID only |
| Card issuance fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly fee | Free | Free (Personal free; Plus $5 / Pro $10 / Premium $25 per mo) |
| Top-up fee | 1.5% | — |
| FX fee | 1.5% | 3% foreign (min $0.50); $0 on Pro/Premium |
| Crypto funding | Yes (20+ currencies) | No |
| AI tool support | — | ChatGPT / Claude / Midjourney |
| Risk level | High | Low |
| Our rating | 8.8 | 9.2 |
| User reviews | 138 | 74 |
| Best for | App Store / Play · No KYC | All-rounder · Ad spend |
A green left edge marks the side that holds the advantage on that row, where the data gives one.
Side by side
- Multi-task users get more from Privacy.com — it clears more of the checkouts we run through our test suite.
- Paycek has the lighter onboarding; Privacy.com will want more documents from you.
- Only Paycek takes crypto top-ups in our data — worth knowing before you decide.
- Privacy.com edged Paycek on our composite rating across fees, risk and merchant tests.
- If risk rating weights your choice, Privacy.com is the calmer of the two.
Where they split
Run the numbers against your own usage. Paycek runs free to create plus a 1.5% top-up per top-up; Privacy.com runs free plus no top-up fee. For one or two subscriptions the first column wins; for bank-transfer funding and ad-platform billing, the second does.
Questions people ask
That depends on what you spend on. Paycek scores 8.8/10 against Privacy.com's 9.2/10 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.
Paycek works out cheaper: no virtual card issuance fee, free account maintenance. Privacy.com adds a 3% FX fee.
Paycek asks for No KYC at signup; Privacy.com asks for ID only. If a light sign-up is the priority, the one with the lower KYC label is the faster route.
Both show up in 12 of the same test scenarios, including Taobao & Xianyu, Microsoft Azure, DigitalOcean. 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
Paycek and Privacy.com both landed in our top picks for 12 checkouts. Grouped by category so you can jump straight to the one you actually pay for:
🌐 Cloud & VPS 5
🎮 Gaming 3
🛍️ Cross-border Shopping 1
Their BIN ranges
Cards issued in 🇪🇺 Europe (EEA) · 🇺🇸 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: