Stripe

Developer-friendly payments infrastructure. Best for businesses that build custom workflows or integrate payments into software.

Visit Stripe

Pricing

Free

Setup

Easy

Free Plan

Free Trial

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What is Stripe?

Stripe is the leading payments infrastructure for internet businesses. It handles one-time and recurring payments, subscriptions, invoicing, and more. Unlike Square, Stripe requires more technical setup — but its flexibility is unmatched. For service businesses using custom websites or integrating payments with other software (via Zapier/Make or direct API), Stripe is the standard choice.

Pricing note: No monthly fee. Transaction-based pricing — check stripe.com/pricing for current rates. Stripe is available in most countries.

Best for

✓ Agencies and consultants sending invoices online
✓ Businesses with custom websites or apps
✓ Businesses needing subscription billing
✓ Technically comfortable owners who want flexibility

Not ideal for

✗ In-person-only businesses (no card reader ecosystem)
✗ Business owners who want an all-in-one business tool
✗ Businesses that want booking included

Pros & Cons

Pros

+ Industry standard with best-in-class reliability
+ No monthly fees
+ Excellent developer tools and documentation
+ Works globally — supports many currencies
+ Strong integration ecosystem

Cons

− Not a business management tool — payment only
− Setup requires more technical knowledge than Square
− No in-person POS ecosystem comparable to Square

Key Features

Payment links (no code needed)

Stripe Invoicing

Subscription management

Customer portal

Stripe Checkout (hosted payment page)

Direct API for custom integration

International payments

Strong fraud detection

Sources

Stripe Pricing — retrieved 2024-11-01

Information on this page is based on documented product features and publicly available pricing. Details may change — always verify with the official website.