Overview
Stripe is a financial infrastructure company that provides APIs and hosted products for accepting payments online and in person. Its products cover card and local payment methods, recurring billing, invoicing, fraud prevention, tax and payouts for marketplaces.
Developers integrate it directly through well-documented APIs or use hosted components such as Checkout and Payment Links. It is commonly used by SaaS companies for subscriptions and by platforms that route payments between many sellers.
Key features
- PaymentsAccept cards, wallets and local payment methods across many countries.
- BillingSubscriptions, usage-based pricing, invoices and a customer portal.
- CheckoutHosted and embeddable payment pages with conversion features built in.
- ConnectOnboard and pay out sellers or service providers on marketplaces and platforms.
- RadarMachine learning fraud detection with configurable rules.
- TaxCalculate and collect sales tax, VAT and GST on transactions.
Best for
- SaaS companies running subscription or usage-based billing
- Developers building custom checkout flows
- Marketplaces and platforms that pay out to many sellers
Pricing
Usage-based. No monthly fee for standard payments; fees are charged per successful transaction, with additional products priced separately and custom pricing for large volumes.
| Plan | What you get |
|---|---|
| Standard | Pay-as-you-go processing fees per transaction. |
| Custom | Volume discounts and tailored packages for larger businesses. |
Prices and plan limits change often. Check the official website for current pricing. Last reviewed Oct 3, 2026.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Excellent API design and documentation
- Broad product range covering most payment and billing needs
- Wide support for international payment methods
Cons
- Fees for add-on products can accumulate alongside processing fees
- Account reviews and holds can disrupt businesses in higher-risk categories
- Advanced billing setups still require meaningful engineering work
Stripe alternatives
-
Ecommerce Free trial Visit
Shopify
Hosted commerce platform for online stores, point of sale and multichannel selling.
-
Ecommerce Usage-based Visit
Gumroad
Simple storefronts for creators selling digital products and memberships.
-
Ecommerce Open source Visit
WooCommerce
Open-source ecommerce plugin that turns WordPress sites into online stores.
Related resources
The best free tools for solo founders
Six tools with genuinely useful free or open-source options that let a solo founder plan, build, launch, measure and get paid before spending on software.
5 min read
Try Stripe
No monthly fee for standard payments; fees are charged per successful transaction, with additional products priced separately and custom pricing for large volumes.