Our Stripe pricing guide highlights the payment processing platform’s extensive functionality, from e-commerce checkout tools to climate-conscious carbon offsetting commitments. We’ll break down Stripe pricing to illuminate how much the vendor might cost your organization, and compare it to alternative vendors so you can select the ideal solution. Then, find out how Vertice can save you money by negotiating directly on your behalf to achieve the lowest price. 

What Stripe can do for you 

Stripe originated as a payments processing platform in 2011, but the vendor now goes far beyond simple transactions. 

Organizations worldwide can leverage a complete financial suite packed with enterprise-level capabilities that help them manage entire financial ecosystems, from purchase to post-sale processes. 

Stripe also offers fraud management features, developer-friendly APIs, and carbon offsetting initiatives. Keep reading to discover how the company’s focus on innovation makes it a major player in the payment processing space. 

Stripe pricing structures and tiers

Stripe pricing uses a pay-as-you-go structure for its core payment processing features, with most other capabilities being charged monthly. Here’s a more detailed look.  

Stripe pricing – Payments

Pricing for Stripe’s Payments product  is flexible depending on the exact payment methods required, and whether you want to leverage any advanced features like adaptive pricing or instant payouts. 

Check below for a breakdown:

• Cards and Wallets – 2.9% + 30¢ per successful charge for domestic cards (+0.5% for manually entered cards, +1.5% for international cards, +1% if currency conversion required).
• Link (Stripe’s accelerated checkout solution) – 2.9% + 30¢ per successful charge for domestic cards.
• Bank Debit and Transfers – 0.8% ACH Direct Debit ($5.00 cap).
• Additional Payment Methods (Bancontact, Giropay, and more) – starting at 80¢ for iDEAL.
• Buy Now Pay Later – starting at 5.99% + 30¢ for Klarna.
• 3D Secure (3DS) Authentication – 3¢ per 3D Secure attempt.
• Card Account Updater – 25¢ per update.
• Adaptive Acceptance – 0.08% per successful card charge.
• Network Tokens – 15¢ per token.
• Instant Payouts – 1.5% of instant payouts volume (50¢ minimum fee).
• Disputes – $15 per chargeback.
• Vault and Forward API – custom pricing.
• Adaptive Pricing – 1% per successful charge for currency conversion + 2% fee presented to your buyers.

Stripe pricing – Checkout 

The Checkout product is mainly aimed at e-commerce businesses, although subscription-based companies can also take advantage. Here, Stripe provides a pre-built payment page with customizable branding optimized for conversion.

There aren’t any checkout-specific base fees, although some additions cost extra: 

• Custom Domain – $10 per month.
• Post-Payment Invoices – 0.4% on transaction total ($2 cap per invoice).

Stripe pricing – Payment Links

Stripe’s Payment Links product helps you seamlessly create branded payment links with no coding necessary. While there are no fees on the base product, the add-ons cost the same as the Checkout extras above:

• Custom Domain – $10.
• Post-Payment Invoices – 0.4% on transaction total ($2 cap per invoice).

Stripe pricing – Tax

Managing tax commitments is a mission-critical concern for all organizations, regardless of size. Stripe provides built-in tax solutions across several products, including Billing, Payments, Invoices, Checkout, and more. 

Here’s a cost breakdown: 

• Built-in Tax Assistance – 0.5% per transaction.
• Custom Checkout Tax Integration – 50¢ per transaction.

Stripe pricing – Terminal 

Stripe pricing for the Terminal product is particularly eye-catching. This product enables businesses to seamlessly take in-person payments, either with card readers or smartphones. Check below for a breakdown: 

• In-Person Card Processing – 2.7% + 5¢ per successful charge for domestic cards (+1.5% for international cards).
• Card Readers – $349.00 for Stripe Reader S700, $59.00 for Stripe Reader M2, $249.00 for BBPOS WisePOS E.
• Tap to Pay (Smartphone) – 10¢ per authorization.
• Point-to-Point Encryption – 5¢ per authorization.

Stripe pricing – Issuing 

Stripe’s Issuing product helps organizations create, manage, and distribute virtual or physical cards. Here are the rates:

• Card Creation – 10¢ per virtual card.
• Disputes – $15 per dispute.
• International Payments – 1% + 30¢.

Stripe pricing – Financial Connections 

With Financial Connections, organizations can leverage open banking to seamlessly connect with customers’ financial accounts. This has various use cases, from account verification to assistance with financial management. 

Check Stripe pricing for Financial Connections below:

• Instant Bank Account Verifications – $1.50 per successful instant verification.
• Balances – 10¢ per successful API call.
• Account Owners – $1.50 per successful API call.
• Transactions – 30¢ per institution per account holder per month.

Additional Stripe costs to consider 

The Stripe pricing structure also includes several smaller products that can help organizations react to specific challenges like compliance, data analysis, and company incorporation: 

• Connect (0.25% starting fee) – Leverage built-in financial infrastructure with embedded payments for platforms and marketplaces. 
• Billing (0.5% + $10/month for Custom Domain) – Provides tools to help manage recurring invoices and subscriptions with reduced churn. 
• Invoicing (0.4% per Paid Invoice) – An easy and scalable solution for managing invoices and ensuring they’re paid. 
• Revenue Recognition (0.25% of Transaction Volume) – Helps organizations track revenue to help with audits and ensure compliance with ASC 606 and IFRS 15.
• Data Pipeline (3¢ Per Transaction) – Receive real-time Stripe data and reports in Snowflake or Redshift with a built-in solution not requiring any third-party integrations. 
• Sigma ($10 Starting at $10 + 2¢ Per Charge) – A built-in analytics tool offering custom reports and all transactional data as Structured Query Language (SQL) within an interactive dashboard. 
• Radar ($¢ per Screened Transaction) – A robust fraud and risk management unit leveraging machine learning, SCA logic, device fingerprinting, and more. 
• Identity ($1.50 per Verification / 50¢ per Lookup) – A biometric ID verification solution helping organizations comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) rules and other regulations. 
• Atlas ($500 + Ongoing Company Running Costs) – A potential game changer helping startups streamline the US incorporating process to quickly form an LLC or C Corporation.   
• Climate – A trailblazing feature of Stripe that helps organizations offset carbon emissions with a streamlined dashboard. There aren’t any Stripe-specific costs for this service, although organizations must make third-party purchases to start offsetting. 

Other vendors offering payment processing solutions 

Payment processing is a mission-critical concern for most organizations, especially e-commerce businesses and startups. Missed payments or over-inflated fees can significantly hurt profits, so choosing the right vendor for the job is crucial. 

Furthermore, it’s always wise to compare solutions as part of a strong SaaS procurement process, as this is the best way to make sure a product meets your needs at a price that fits your budget. Here are three Stripe alternatives to consider.

Stripe pricing vs Square 

Square pricing is generally simpler than Stripe due to the somewhat smaller product range. The vendor’s focus leans more heavily towards in-person transactions, including a free best-in-class point of sale application. 

Organizations can choose from three core Square packages: 

• Free – $0/month (plus fees).
• Plus – $29+/month (plus fees).
• Premium – custom pricing.

The main processing fees to consider are: 

• In-Person – 2.6% + 10¢ per transaction.
• Online – 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.
  Manually Entered – 3.5% + 15¢ per transaction.
• Invoices – 3.3% + 30¢ per transaction.

These numbers are slightly lower than Stripe on average, although the overall functionality is also less versatile — particularly for online payments — so bear this in mind. 

Stripe pricing vs PayPal 

PayPal pricing for business transactions is slightly harder to estimate on account of its huge popularity among individual sellers. Best known as a digital wallet, the vendor also hands payment processing. 

Stripe is likely the better option for larger enterprises, but PayPal can appeal to boutique merchants and traders due to its ease of use, built-in seller protection, and lower prices. 

Stripe pricing vs Authorize.Net

Authorize.net pricing offers an all-in-one plan costing $25/month with an additional 2.9% and 30¢ per transaction. Organizations can also add payment gateway and eCheck support. 

Generally speaking, Authorize.Net is better for e-commerce businesses seeking a plug-and-play payment processing solution to integrate with an existing platform. The primary downside is more limited functionality compared to Stripe’s highly versatile toolset.

Stripe pricing – the Vertice verdict 

Stripe offers an impressively multi-faceted platform that goes far beyond just payment processing. While the vendor may not offer the best plug-and-play solution due to its complexity, organizations with the resources and technical expertise can leverage Stripe’s full potential. As well as advanced payment processing, a few highlights include streamlined tax management, data pipeline, fraud prevention, and climate-friendly initiatives.  

If you’re looking to acquire Stripe, why not let Vertice help? Our experts can negotiate directly on your behalf to secure the lowest Stripe pricing, leveraging exclusive benchmarks based on what other companies are paying for the service.

On top, our SaaS Purchasing Platform provides greater visibility into your software spending through unified dashboards and granular reporting. With $3.4 billion in managed spend across our partners, get in contact below to see how we can help you save.