What is Stripe?
This Stripe review explains how this payment tool helps you collect money from customers online. Stripe makes it easy to accept credit cards, debit cards, and other payment methods on your website or app. Started in 2010, millions of businesses now use Stripe to get paid – from small startups to huge companies.
What makes Stripe different is how simple it is to set up. You can start taking payments in just a few hours without complicated paperwork. It works with almost any website and accepts payments in over 135 different currencies from 45 countries around the world.
Stripe does more than just process payments. It protects you from fraud, creates invoices automatically, handles monthly subscriptions, and shows you detailed reports about your sales. You also get tools for accepting in-person payments, managing marketplaces, and even incorporating your business.
In this Stripe review, we’ll break down exactly how much it costs, what features you get, the good parts and the bad parts, and help you figure out if it’s the right choice for your business. Whether you sell products online, run a subscription service, or accept client payments, you’ll understand everything Stripe offers.
Online businesses, Freelancer, Organizations
Key Features
Accept All Payment Types
Take payments from credit cards, debit cards, and over 40 other ways people pay including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank transfers. Accept money in 135 different currencies and it converts automatically to your currency. Security is handled for you automatically so you don't need to worry about it.
Monthly Subscriptions Made Easy
Automatically charge customers every month or year. Create different pricing plans, offer free trials, let people upgrade or downgrade, handle refunds easily, send receipts automatically, and automatically try again if a payment fails so you don't lose money.
Fraud Protection
Smart computer system checks every payment to spot fraud using data from billions of transactions. Automatically blocks suspicious payments, reduces chargebacks by up to 40%, lets you set your own fraud rules, and protects you without making checkout harder for real customers.
Easy Website Connection
Simple code to add Stripe to any website. Works with popular programming languages like Python, Ruby, and JavaScript. Comes with clear instructions and examples. Get instant notifications when payments happen. Test everything in practice mode before going live. Your developer can customize everything to match your needs.
Ready-Made Checkout Pages
Beautiful checkout pages that work on phones, tablets, and computers without you building anything. Create payment links you can share anywhere without writing code. Add your logo and brand colors. Accepts multiple payment methods automatically. These pages are proven to help more people complete their purchases.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- No setup costs, monthly fees, or surprise charges - only pay when you make money
- Easy for developers to connect and customize everything
- Accepts 40+ payment methods including all major cards and digital wallets
- Built-in fraud protection saves you from fake transactions and chargebacks
- Get your money fast with quick deposits to your bank account
Cons
- Fees add up if you process a lot of payments - bigger businesses might find cheaper options
- Sometimes Stripe holds your money for verification without much warning
- Support is mostly through email - no phone support unless you pay extra
- Custom pricing only for extremely large businesses processing millions
- Application process asks for lots of documents and can be strict
Pricing Plans
Standard Plan
- Accept all credit cards
- Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Accept payments in 135 currencies
- Basic fraud protection
- Get money in your bank fast
- Email help,
- Connect to your website easily
Stripe Plus
- Lower fees if you process lots of payments
- Personal account helper,
- Special fraud protection tools,
- Phone support priority
- Custom payment setups
- Tools to increase revenue
- Detailed business reports
International Card Payments
- Accept cards from other countries
- Automatic currency exchange
- Fraud protection for international sales
- Fast payouts in some countries
How It Compares
Paypal Payments
Stripe has better tools for developers, lower fees (2.9% + $0.30 vs PayPal's 2.99% + $0.49), nicer checkout pages that convert better, better subscription management, you get paid faster, and better fraud protection. You can also customize Stripe more to match your brand.
Authorize.Net
Stripe has no monthly fee saving you $300 per year, uses modern technology instead of old systems, has nicer checkout pages, includes fraud protection free, accepts more payment types, and is much easier to connect to modern websites and apps