Stedi vs Waystar
Two Claims & Clearinghouses vendors, side by side. Facts from public sources; judgments are ours.
At a glance
Derived from public facts · a rough scale, not a ranking
| Stedi | Waystar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-transaction / per-chart · Published pay-as-you-go rates, volume tiers, no minimum | Per-transaction / per-chart · per-claim fees plus subscription, quote based |
| Speed to go live | Self-serve signup, your developers integrate the API | standard EHR/PM integration project |
| Automation model | Data / network utility · API-first clearinghouse | Software platform · AI-assisted RCM and clearinghouse suite |
| Built for | Billing companies, Enterprise systems, Payers | Small practices, Mid-size groups, Enterprise systems, Billing companies |
| Security posture | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA | HITRUST, SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS |
| Company maturity | 9 yrs (est. 2017) | 9 yrs (est. 2017) |
| Financial backing | $142M · Series C | Public (Nasdaq: WAY) |
| Named customers | 5 named | 5 named |
| Published results | Specific numbers public | Specific numbers public |
| Documented integrations | 4 listed | 5 listed |
| Third-party validation | None found | None found |
Bottom line
- Pick Stedi if you have engineers and want a modern clearinghouse API with transparent per-transaction pricing you can start testing today.
- Pick Waystar if you want one proven clearinghouse and claims platform covering eligibility through payments across any practice size.
Stedi
API-first clearinghouse for developers
- Founded
- 2017
- HQ
- New York, NY
- Stage
- Series C
- Raised
- $142M
What it does
- Real-time eligibility checks via JSON API (270/271)
- Insurance discovery when patient coverage is unknown
- Claim submission and claim status via API (837/276)
- Electronic remittance advice (ERA) retrieval
- Payer transaction enrollments managed programmatically
- Batch eligibility checks at high volume
Where it's strong
- Everything is accessible via API with public docs and transparent self-serve onboarding, which legacy clearinghouses like Availity and Optum do not offer.
- Support is unusually fast for the category, with a median ticket response under seven minutes across 1,500+ shared support channels.
- Well capitalized ($142M raised, backed by Stripe and Addition) with rapid traction: paying customers up 6x and billed transactions up 7x year over year into 2026.
What buyers should weigh
- It is clearinghouse rails, not a billing service; you need engineers to build eligibility and claims workflows on top of it.
- Its direct payer network is younger than Availity's or Optum's, so some connections still route through intermediary partners.
- The company only pivoted from general-purpose EDI to healthcare around 2023, so its healthcare-specific track record is short.
Named customers
Pair Team · Tennr · Candid Health · Nirvana · Berry Street
Integrations
Waystar
Public RCM platform spanning claims to patient payments
- Founded
- 2017
- HQ
- Lehi, UT
- Stage
- Public (Nasdaq: WAY)
- Raised
- $968M IPO (June 2024)
What it does
- Claims clearinghouse connected to 5,000+ payer endpoints
- Eligibility verification and prior authorization automation
- Denial prevention, appeals, and recovery workflows
- Patient estimates, billing, and payment collection
- Remit and payer payment management with analytics
- AI clinical documentation integrity via Iodine Software
Where it's strong
- True end-to-end RCM platform, so one vendor can replace several point solutions across the revenue cycle.
- Deep, certified EHR integrations (Epic, Cerner, MEDITECH) mean staff work claims inside existing workflows rather than a separate portal.
- Named client results are strong and public: Cincinnati Children's cut clearinghouse costs in half and BAYADA reduced denials 72%.
What buyers should weigh
- Pricing is modular and not published, and total cost climbs quickly as you add suites beyond the base clearinghouse.
- The $1.25B Iodine acquisition closed October 2025, so clinical intelligence products are still being integrated and roadmaps may shift.
- Enterprise contracts are multi-year, and switching clearinghouses later means re-doing payer enrollments, a real lock-in cost.
Named customers
Piedmont · Baptist Health (Kentucky) · Cincinnati Children's · Renown Health · BAYADA Home Health Care
Integrations
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