Stablecoin platforms · November 2026 Edition
NOWPayments vs Circle
Zero of fourteen models named NOWPayments first on the direct prompt; one named Circle. NOWPayments was named by eight of the fourteen models and Circle by fourteen and NOWPayments carries 12 labels and Circle 30, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share12%7%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate17%3%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#4A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels1230A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, NOWPayments reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.BVNK was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. BVNK vs NOWPayments · BVNK vs Circle · NOWPayments vs Request Finance
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the stablecoin platforms page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
NOWPaymentsFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCircle
Direct012 against NOWPayments
Paraphrase02
Comparative01
Budget-constrained501 against Circle
Scale-constrained00
Negative00
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where NOWPayments and Circle stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | ||||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | ||||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | ||||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | |||
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | |||
| Llama 4 Maverick | ||||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | |||||
| Kimi K2 | | | ||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | ||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | ||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | |
NOWPayments Circle first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, NOWPayments on the left and Circle on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where NOWPayments and Circle stood in it.
Circle first, NOWPayments not the choice
1 of 14 modelsNOWPayments was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Mistral SmallBVNK, Circle
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Perplexity SonarRequest Finance alternatives: BVNK, Bridge, Circle, Stripe Crypto
Grok 4.20BVNK alternatives: Circle, Conduit, Stripe Bridge
DeepSeek V4 FlashRequest Finance alternatives: BVNK, Circle, Stripe Crypto
GPT-6 LunaMastercard Global Money Platform alternatives: Circle, Stripe Crypto
Muse Glimmer 30BRequest Finance alternatives: BVNK, Bridge, Circle, Stripe Crypto
Neither was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5BVNK alternatives: Crossmint, OSL BizPay
GPT-5.4 miniCircle's CPN / Managed Payments alternatives: BVNK, Bridge, Fireblocks
Gemini 3.5 FlashRequest Finance alternatives: BVNK, Bridge, Mural Pay, Triple-A
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Qwen 3.7 FlashMural Pay alternatives: BVNK, Circle Payments, PhotonPay, Stripe Crypto
Kimi K2BVNK alternatives: Request Finance, Stripe Crypto
GLM 4.7 FlashXBVNK alternatives: Fipto, Triple-A
MiniMax M2.5Mural Pay alternatives: BVNK, Request Finance, TokenFi
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
NOWPayments leads by eight points.
NOWPayments12%#3 of 12Circle4%#6 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
NOWPayments leads by five points.
NOWPayments12%#2 of 12Circle7%#4 of 12Enterprise
NOWPayments is not named for this buyer.
Circle17%#2 of 9NOWPayments—not namedWhat the models said about NOWPayments
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“it's more merchant-oriented (less B2B treasury depth) and has limited regulatory licensing compared to the others” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · soft negative
“generally less comprehensive for complex B2B stablecoin payments compared to BVNK and Circle” Mistral Small · direct prompt · soft negative
“I'd recommend starting with NOWPayments due to its competitive 0.5%-1% fees, no monthly costs” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“Why NOWPayments is a top pick: The 0.5% base rate is the lowest among the big hosted gateways.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“For most small companies on a limited budget, NOWPayments is the best overall choice.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Circle
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“enterprise platforms like Circle or Ripple that typically require custom pricing and higher minimums” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · hard negative
“Circle is another top choice, particularly for institutional payments and USDC transactions.” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“Choose Circle for large-scale USDC minting, redemption, and treasury management.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
“Circle (with USDC) would be my top recommendation for a mid-sized B2B company.” Grok 4.20 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.