Stripe 🧾 Service

What you get

Stripe processes card and wallet payments online, with Billing for subscriptions, Invoicing, Checkout, Payment Links, fraud tools and Connect for marketplaces. Standard US pricing is 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful domestic card payment, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion is needed. Stripe says it charges no setup or monthly fees. Billing costs 0.7% of billing volume on pay-as-you-go. Managed Payments, Stripe's merchant-of-record option, adds 3.5% per transaction on top of standard fees and handles indirect tax (sales tax, VAT, GST) in 75+ countries, fraud, disputes and customer support.

Who qualifies

Any business in a Stripe-supported country. Stripe's startup programme offers credits to offset Stripe fees and an invoicing cap for venture-backed businesses that are just getting started; you apply from the Stripe dashboard. Stripe does not state the credit amount.

Good to know

• Without Managed Payments you are responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax and VAT yourself.
• Stripe Atlas companies get $2,500 in Stripe credits for the first year.

• Billing can also be paid monthly from $620 a month on a one-year contract, which only makes sense at higher volume.
• Stripe's startup programme includes an Invoicing cap starting at 0.4%, up to $10 per invoice.
• Stripe offers a partner network through which VC firms and accelerators arrange discounts for their portfolio companies.

Verdict

The standard choice for startups that want full control of payments and billing. Choose Managed Payments, Paddle or Lemon Squeezy if you would rather not handle global tax.

1. Create a Stripe account and verify your business.
2. Connect your bank account for payouts.
3. Add Checkout, Payment Links or the API to your product.
4. If you are venture-backed, apply to the startup programme from the dashboard.