5 Best Midigator Alternatives to Consider

I've been in the trenches of online retail, so I know the headache of chargebacks firsthand. I looked into Kount, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

I thought, why not pit Kount against some other players in the field? Maybe we'll uncover a dark horse that'll blow your mind.

To save you time, Chargeback is the best alternative. They charge much less for preventing disputes.

Making them an optimal choice for businesses of all sizes.

Or keep reading for a more thorough explanation.

Alternatives to Midigator (Formerly Kount)

Here’s what I’ll compare to Kount:

1. Chargeback: Best overall
2. Chargebacks911: Best for enterprise use
3. Chargeflow: Best for smaller businesses
4. Signifyd: Best for account protection
5. SEON: Budget-friendly

Here's the game plan. For each contender, I'm gonna spill the tea on:

• What’s good and not
• Who it's perfect for (and who should steer clear)
• My unfiltered thoughts
• Any features that make it pop

If you have no idea where to start, use this guide.

It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff.

1. Chargeback: Best Overall

• Services:
  • Alerts
• Best for: SaaS & media products (low fulfillment cost products)

Pros

• Affordable alerts
• Great for companies of all sizes
• Integrates with all major payment processors

Cons

• Doesn’t offer anything more than chargeback alerts

Chargeback is a fantastic choice for SaaS companies, anyone who sells digital products, or folks who have high gross margins.

Why am I so specific?

Because these industries usually have much higher gross margins or low fulfillment costs. You’ll need to pay per alert.

And these costs can add up for anyone selling a lot of small-margin, low-cost items.

If you don’t know what alerts are, they let you know when there’s a potential issue with a transaction. Giving you time to refund a customer before it escalates.

Our alerts and other providers have reduced chargeback rates by up to 91%.

Thus (in my opinion), there’s no reason to pay for many fancy features. If you’re a huge company, that’s necessary.

But if you’re smaller, you’re better off focusing your budget on:

• Fraud protection;
• Dispute alerts; and
• Chargeback insurance

If your chargeback rate is too high or you need insights on reducing disputes, consider hiring an analyst.

“AI” or machine learning tools typically focus on all industries and their data. Specialists will know how to address your concerns and make actionable suggestions.

Also…

Kount is an Equifax company.

If you’re American, I’m sure you’re familiar with the Equifax data breach of 2017. It resulted in the exposure of information to 147 million people [1].

As a business owner, why would I trust a company's subsidiary who lost my data to host my company’s data?

I get it. They’re technically separate. And (hopefully) Equifax got their stuff together.

But the name is tarnished in my eyes. It’s hard for me to be unbiased toward them.

Speaking of biases.

I am recommending the product of the company I’m writing for. After playing with the dashboard and comparing it to other services, I found it more accessible.

Is it perfect software? No.

Because chargeback alerts would cost you more than the value of smaller purchases.

Though, these costs could save you from having to pay chargeback fees (which often cost more).

Anyway. Check it out if you’re interested.

Consider the next pick if you’re after a more comprehensive solution and are a large business.

2. Chargebacks911: Best for Enterprise Use

• Services:
  • Alerts
  • Management
  • Compliance check
  • Dispute source finder
  • Representment help
• Best for: Comprehensive solution for large businesses

Pros:

• Specialized chargeback management and reduction
• Revenue recovery services
• Dispute resolution expertise

Cons:

• Less focus on pre-transaction fraud prevention
• May require additional tools for comprehensive fraud detection

Chargebacks911 is best for large businesses with high chargeback rates that need a solution to manage disputes.

It focuses on managing disputes after they occur.

Kount aims to prevent fraud before it leads to disputes.

This difference shapes the features and benefits each platform offers.

Chargebacks911 does the following:

• Offers chargeback representment
  • Where they contest invalid chargebacks on behalf of the merchant
• Improve chargeback ratios
• Recover revenue
• Help identify chargeback sources

They have had a lawsuit because of their representment software.

You should read it and decide whether they’re right based on what the FTC provided.

Anyway:

This can lead to cost savings and improved relationships with payment processors.

This targeted approach can be a game-changer for businesses struggling with high chargeback rates.

Kount uses AI and machine learning to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions.

Their system analyzes various data points to score the risk of each transaction in real-time. This approach can stop many disputes by preventing fraud purchases.

The choice between these platforms depends on a sellers’ pain points:

• Chargebacks911: Suffering from friendly fraud or high chargeback rates.
• Kount: Fraud prevention.

Chargebacks911 excels in post-transaction management.

Do you want more options for enterprise use? Check out a separate guide we wrote.

However…

You may need to supplement it with fraud prevention tools for a complete solution.

Kount provides a more all-in-one approach to fraud and chargeback prevention. But may lack the dispute resolution services that Chargebacks911 offers.

You might not need such a complex solution. I have you covered.

3. Chargeflow: Best for Smaller Businesses

• Services:
  • Alerts
  • Management
  • Dispute response generator
• Best for: E-commerce stores who sell high-ticket items

Pros:

• Automated chargeback dispute process
• Integrated chargeback alerts
• Streamlined evidence gathering

Cons:

• Less focus on pre-transaction fraud prevention
• May not suit businesses with complex fraud patterns

Chargeflow is best for businesses seeking an automated, all-in-one solution to manage disputes.

Chargeflow's automation streamlines the representment process. Reducing the manual workload for businesses.

Its system gathers evidence, manages disputes, and responds to chargebacks quickly. This can save time and resources for companies dealing with a high volume of disputes.

This use case (and their pricing model) works better in some cases than chargeback alerts alone.

For instance, if you sell a lot of low-cost items, you wouldn’t want to pay for alerts for all the issues that come from those purchases.

It would save you more money to only pay for disputes that you win through Chargeflow.

As they charge a percentage of the disputed amount for won chargebacks.

Here’s food for thought:

If you were to reply to a dispute past the expiry date, you automatically lose. Chargeflow prevents this.

Kount uses AI and machine learning to assess transaction risk in real time.

Its goal is to stop fraudulent transactions before they lead to chargebacks. This approach can reduce the number of chargebacks by preventing fraud at its source.

Who should get each solution, then?

Sellers who want to reduce manual work may find Chargeflow more beneficial. As its automation features can help companies handle disputes.

Companies facing fraud attempts or operating in high-risk industries might lean towards Kount.

Its fraud prevention capabilities identify and block fraudulent transactions.

Again, if you’re a smaller business, you’ll likely want to go with Chargeflow over Chargebacks911. It has fewer features, but its pricing is transparent and doesn’t target enterprise customers.

If you only need alerts (which Chargeflow offers), go with Chargeback or Chargeblast.

Both platforms offer cheaper alerts.

Or you can see what other similar solutions exist.

If you need fraud prevention and chargeback management, consider the next pick.

4. Signifyd: Best for Account Security

• Services:
  • Alerts
  • Management
  • Dispute response generator
  • Fraud prevention
  • Account protection
• Best for: All-in-one solutions for large businesses

Pros:

• Fully automated representment
• Chargeback Protection with financial guarantee
• Authorization Rate Optimization

Cons:

• Non-transparent pricing
• Limited customization options

Signifyd suits sellers seeking automated fraud prevention and chargeback protection.

It also shifts fraud liability from merchants. This appeals to high-volume sellers who want hands-off protection.

Signifyd's Commerce Network provides context for order decisions. This helps catch fraud without blocking good customers.

Wouldn’t Kount be better for that?

Kount offers more control over fraud prevention. Which works for businesses with unique fraud patterns.

Kount's integration with Ethoca and CDRN also provides early warnings about disputes. This lets merchants resolve issues before they become chargebacks.

However:

Signifyd uses various pricing structures based on business size and needs.

Kount has a simpler per-transaction fee for most users.

Enterprises may negotiate custom rates with either provider.

I’m just going to list features from both companies. Decide which would better benefit your company…

Signifyd:

• Account Protection builds shopper profiles over time.
  • Helps spot account takeovers quickly.
• Signifyd connects directly with banks to share transaction data.
  • Helps prevent authorization errors and false positives, increasing conversions.
• Emphasizes real-time decisions rather than after-the-fact analysis

Kount:

• Kount also offers account protection.
  • It focuses more on new account fraud, though.
• Analyzes past authorizations to improve future success rates.
• Provides detailed reporting on chargeback wins and losses.
  • Helps merchants understand their dispute landscape.
• Kount's watchlist search adds an extra security layer.
  • Great for global businesses.

Signifyd relies more on its network data for risk assessment.

Those wanting full protection with minimal effort lean towards Signifyd.

Businesses needing granular control over fraud rules find Kount more suitable.

Do you need a balance between Signifyd and Kount? Think about the last option.

5. SEON: Budget-Friendly Alternative

• Services:
  • Alerts
  • Management
  • Dispute response generator
  • Fraud prevention
  • Account protection
• Best for: All-in-one solutions for large businesses

Pros:

• Free tier for small businesses
• Simple rule setup
• One-click data export

Cons:

• Limited queries per second
• Fewer integrations than Kount

SEON fits small to medium businesses looking for budget-friendly fraud prevention.

SEON offers a free tier, making it accessible to startups and small merchants.

This lets sellers test the waters without commitment.

I will break down this comparison to make things easier to read.

1. Rule creation differs between the two:

• SEON emphasizes simplicity.
  • Set basic amount-based rules or complex velocity checks. 
• Kount provides more preset rules.
  • This requires more setup time.

2. Data collection.

SEON gathers information through device fingerprinting and data enrichment. Which helps build a fuller picture of each customer.

Kount relies on its extensive network for similar insights.

Both platforms tackle account takeover, but with different methods:

• SEON monitors user behavior for signs of compromise.
• Kount uses its global watchlist to spot potential threats.

2. Chargeback management tools.

SEON focuses on data export for manual dispute handling.

Kount offers automated responses and deadline tracking.

3. Integration capabilities.

Kount connects with more third-party services. This suits businesses with complex tech stacks.

SEON's lighter integration footprint works for simpler setups.

4. Performance under high load varies.

SEON limits queries per second on lower tiers. Kount handles higher volumes without stated limits.

This makes Kount better for large-scale operations.

5. Pricing.

Businesses must consider growth plans when choosing:

• SEON's tiered pricing allows for easy scaling.
  • Suits those wanting a low-cost entry point with room to grow.
• Kount may require negotiations for volume discounts.
  • Better for established businesses needing comprehensive, out-of-the-box solutions.

Hopefully, you’ve found an alternative. Because that’s all I have.

Wrapping Up

Most of these companies only jump in after you've got a problem on your hands.

Not great, right?

Some say they can stop trouble before it starts or give you a heads up. But here's the thing — that'll cost you extra. So why not try to avoid the mess in the first place?

That's where we come in. We've got this cool way to let you know about issues before they turn into real headaches.

Want to know how we can make your life easier?

See how we can help.

Sources

• [1] Equifax Data Breach Settlement. FTC, US. February, 2024.