Try It Out
We can't recommend this enough: test early and test often. It's a great way to identify potential issues with your integration, and it also gives you ample opportunities to get familiar with Braintree.
The Braintree sandbox
The sandbox is a test environment that is almost identical to our production environment. Within your sandbox, you can create users and roles, run transactions using test credit card numbers, and explore the full functionality of the Braintree gateway by using our sandbox testing values in the sandbox Control Panel or via the API.
Get started by signing up for a Braintree sandbox account!
Sandbox versus production
There are a few key differences to keep in mind:
Sandbox | Production | |
|---|---|---|
Login URLs | ||
Payment methods accepted | Test credit cards/payment methods | Real credit cards/payment methods |
Processor responses | Triggered by specific test values | Returned by processing banks |
Hardware resources | No dedicated hardware resources – can't withstand high transaction volumes | Dedicated hardware resources – can withstand high transaction volumes |
Purge and delete capabilities | Can purge transactions, Vault records, payment methods, addresses, subscriptions, and sub-merchants | Must manually delete Vault records, payment methods, addresses, and subscriptions; must manually suspend sub-merchants; can't delete transactions |
Webhooks | Triggered by specific test values | Triggered by actual events in the gateway |
Processing options and settings | Standard processing options are displayed | Processing options may be limited based on account setup |
Disputes | Chargebacks can be created in the Control Panel, and you can simulate winning or losing a dispute | The way you manage chargebacks depends on your account setup – not all accounts have disputes available in the Control Panel |
Location | Determined by the country selection made at the time of signup | Determined by the country in which your business is registered |
Recurring Billing | Limited to 100,000 active subscriptions | Unlimited number of subscriptions |
Your sandbox business location will default to the country from which you access the Braintree homepage, unless you manually change the country selection before signing up. Sandbox processing options, currencies, and features can vary by country.
Your sandbox account is not linked to your production account in any way. Nothing created in the sandbox will transfer to production. This includes processing options and recurring billing settings. Your login information, merchant ID, and API keys will also be different.
Testing currencies
When you set up your sandbox for the first time, your account will default to processing with a single currency setup – usually with the major currency in your region. If you’d like to test other currencies, you can create new merchant accounts in the sandbox and specify which currency you would like to test for each one.
- Log into the sandbox Control Panel
- Click on the gear icon in the top right corner
- Click Business from the drop-down menu
- Scroll down to the Merchant Accounts section
- Click the New Sandbox Merchant Account button
- Enter a merchant account ID – this can be whatever you’d like to name it
-
Check any of the desired boxes to:
- Set the new merchant account as your default account
- Accept PayPal payments
- Select the currency you'd like to test in
- Click the Save button
Keep in mind – while the sandbox is designed to simulate how the gateway functions in production, there can be some differences. For example: in the sandbox, everyone can manage disputes within the Control Panel; in production, your location and account setup will determine how you manage disputed transactions. If you have any questions about limitations in production, feel free to contact us.
Switching from sandbox to production
Once you're ready to start accepting real payments, your developers can begin your production integration.