Overview

Stripe is a payment processing platform with powerful APIs for online payments, subscriptions, and marketplaces. It handles payments api, subscriptions, invoicing, and connect, and it's best suited for developers wanting the best payment api. It has been around since 2010, giving it a 16-year head start in building out integrations and refining the product.

The free plan offers no monthly fees.

Strengths

  • Includes Payments API as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
  • Includes Subscriptions as a core feature, purpose-built for payment processing workflows
  • No monthly fees — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
  • Established product with 16+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

  • Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
  • Developer-oriented tooling may not suit non-technical team members
  • Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in payment processing
  • Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Quick info

Starting price
2.9% + $0.30
Free tier
Yes — No monthly fees
Open source
No
Best for
Any size
Founded
2010

Last updated 2026-04-12

Top alternatives to Stripe

1
Paddle Free tier

Payment infrastructure that handles tax, compliance, and billing as your merchant of record.

No upfront costs · Paid from 5% + $0.50 SaaS companies wanting a merchant of record
Merchant of Record Tax Handling Billing Checkout
2
Lemon Squeezy Free tier

All-in-one platform for selling digital products with merchant of record and tax handling.

No monthly fees · Paid from 5% + $0.50 Indie developers wanting simple digital product sales
Digital Products Subscriptions Tax Handling Checkout
3
Gumroad Free tier

Simple e-commerce platform for creators to sell digital products, memberships, and courses.

No monthly fees (10% flat) · Paid from 10% Creators wanting the simplest way to sell online
Digital Sales Memberships Email Analytics
4
PayPal Free tier

Global payment platform for online and in-person payments, invoicing, and transfers.

No monthly fees · Paid from 2.9% + $0.30 Businesses wanting universal payment acceptance
Payments Invoicing Checkout Global
5
Square Free tier

Payment processing with point-of-sale hardware, online payments, and business tools.

No monthly fees · Paid from 2.6% + $0.10 Small businesses wanting POS and online payments
POS Online Payments Invoicing Hardware

Stripe comparisons

More Payment Processing tools

See all Payment Processing tools →

Explore more