No matter what type of business you run, it is nearly impossible to operate without accepting credit cards. Stripe enables you to do just that and at an affordable price. Transaction fees are as low as 2.7% plus 5 cents for in-person transactions and credit card terminals start at $59 for mobile card readers. Get the complete breakdown of Stripe pricing to find out why it is consistently rated as one of the best credit card processing companies on the market today.
Who Is Stripe Best For?
Stripe is one of the most popular payment processing companies for small businesses for good reason. Stripe gives small business owners an easy way to process payments and the ability to accept credit card payments without a minimum monthly revenue. It offers extensive point-of-sale (POS) tools, accepts 135-plus currencies and allows businesses to customize their customers’ checkout experience.
Stripe Plans and Pricing
Stripe’s pricing is fairly straightforward. Stripe is free to set up and the company does not charge a monthly or annual fee for its services. Instead, all Stripe fees are per transaction with transparent pricing. Online sales cost businesses 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. There is an additional 1% fee for international and currency conversion transactions. In-person transactions cost 2.7% plus 5 cents per transaction with the same added 1% for any currency conversion or international card use. These fees are charged automatically and deducted from the merchant’s final payout.
Stripe includes a prebuilt, hosted checkout page optimized for conversion. The checkout page can accept one-time and recurring payments, can be customized to match a company’s branding, is available in 20 languages and comes with built-in conversion optimizations. Stripe also offers an automatic tax collection on all transactions for 0.5% of each transaction as well as easy-to-use tax reporting for each filing market.
| Payment Method | Pricing |
|---|---|
|
Online payment including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay and more
|
2.9% plus 30 cents per successful card charge Plus 1% for international cards Plus 1% if currency conversion is required
|
|
In-Person payment through Stripe Terminal
|
2.7% plus 5 cents per successful card charge
|
|
Bank Debits and Transfers to allow the acceptance of large payments or recurring charges
|
|
|
ACH Credit
|
$1 per ACH credit payment
|
|
Wire
|
$8 per wire payment
|
|
Checks
|
$5 per check received
|
|
ACH Direct Deposit
|
0.8% per transaction with maximum ACH fee of $5
|
Stripe also offers a customizable plan for businesses with large payments volume, high-value transactions or unique business models. The customizable plan offers large-volume discounts, multiproduct discounts, country-specific rates and interchange pricing. Businesses interested in the customizable plan must contact the sales team for a quote.
Once Stripe is linked to a business’s bank account, the standard payout is two business days. Business owners can schedule automatic payouts daily, weekly or monthly, or set a custom payout schedule. Instant payouts allow qualified business owners to be paid out within 30 minutes of the approved transaction. Instant Payouts cost an additional 1% of the payout amount with a minimum fee of 50 cents per transaction.
International Transactions
One of Stripe’s features is its accessibility for international customers. Currently, 47 countries including Canada, Brazil, Japan and Croatia support Stripe. Once Stripe is supported, businesses in those countries can take payment from anywhere in the world.
Stripe accepts more than 135 currencies, allowing businesses to present prices in the customer’s native currency, automatically collect taxes in 30 countries, offer global support and support popular payment methods from around the world including Bancontact, EPS, Giropay and iDEAL. It is worth noting that pricing does change depending on the payment method and a 1.5% fee is applied for international payment methods as well as a 1% fee for currency conversion.
Credit Card Terminals
Businesses looking to accept credit card payments in-person also will need to buy a credit card terminal. Pricing varies by terminal type and start at $59 for a mobile card reader and go up to $249 for countertop terminals.
Stripe Alternatives
While Stripe made Forbes Advisor’s Top 10 Best Credit Card Processing Companies, it is not the only processing company worthy of note. Of the Five Top Stripe Alternatives, Payment Depot is best for large-scale operations because it does not have a minimum processing amount. While small businesses can find cheaper options elsewhere, large-scale businesses can take advantage of wholesale prices.
A great option for small businesses is Square. The all-in-one solution for payments, POS and inventory management is one of the most popular credit card companies on the market because of its ease of use and plethora of features. Businesses that want great customer support should research Gravity Payments. The company is known for its stellar customer support team that provides 24/7/365 multilingual support without having to navigate automated systems to get help.
When shopping for the best credit card processor for your business, pay attention to the processing fees. For example, Payment Depot and Stripe have different pricing structures. Payment Depot charges between $59 and $99 a month as a membership fee. In exchange, it charges a lower per-transaction fee that benefits companies with a large volume of transactions. Stripe, however, does not charge a monthly fee, but charges a higher transaction fee. This benefits smaller companies that do not have a large volume of transactions.
Additional Stripe Tools
Stripe offers a number of tools in its software suite that can be used in conjunction with the payment processing to help small businesses be as successful as possible. One of the most popular tools for brick-and-mortar businesses is Stripe Terminal. This card reader enables in-person checkouts. In addition to covering the cost of the card reader, businesses pay a processing fee for each transaction.
Other popular tools include Stripe Invoicing, which allows businesses to create and send invoices, Stripe Billing to help businesses instantly collect one-time or recurring payments via card, ACH and other popular payment methods, and Stripe Radar, which provides fraud protection for payment processing, advanced fraud protection tools and protection from disputes.
Featured Partners
1
Stax
No
First Month Free
$99 per month, 7 cents to 15 cents per transaction plus interchange rate
2
Paysafe
No
SAVE or get a $200 gift card + FREE payment equipment*
Industry-low rates starting at $0.15 batch fee + 0% Cash Discount Plans available
3
Payment Depot
No
$0 Setup & No Cancellation Fees
Customized Interchange+ Pricing - Rates as low as 0.2% - 1.95%
4
Finix
No
Save up to 40% on credit card processing
Transparent subscription-based pricing with 0% markup on interchange fees
Bottom Line
Stripe excels in the e-commerce space. If you have an online marketplace, it is hard to beat Stripe for its advanced reporting tools, automatic payouts, abundance of resources to operate in a global market and ability to create subscription-based business models. With a simple, easy-to-set-up dashboard, a transparent pricing structure and lack of hidden fees, Stripe is the perfect choice to get a new e-commerce business up and running,
Frequently Asked Questions
What do credit card processing companies do?
Credit card processing companies act as the middleman between the business accepting payment from a transaction and the credit card company. A payment processor can accept credit card payments online or in person. Learn more about the best credit card processing companies.
What types of companies use Stripe?
Stripe excels with software-as-a-service (SaaS), e-commerce and marketplace platforms. Its customers include Lyft, Instacart, Postmates and Meetup. Stripe does not serve gambling companies, adult websites, cannabis-related businesses, bankruptcy attorneys and bail bond services.
Is Stripe better than PayPal?
Both Stripe and PayPal are online payment processing specialists. Stripe works better for larger companies that may want to have more payment options such as subscriptions and recurring payments. PayPal is slightly more expensive than Stripe, charging 2.7% plus 30 cents per online transaction, compared to the 2.7% plus 5 cents for most transactions with Stripe.
What is the best Stripe alternative for companies with multiple sales channels?
Elavon works best for companies with multiple sales methods including online, in-person, in-app mobile payments and contactless payments. The omnichannel features, flexible payment gateway options and secure checkout experience are only part of the company’s appeal. Elavon is backed by the strength of its parent company U.S. Bank, which allows customers to access funding options not available with other credit card processors.
Learn more about the top Stripe alternatives.
Is credit card processing secure?
Yes. Because so much sensitive information is being transferred across these networks, credit card processors are PCI-compliant and use advanced encryption methods to secure transactions.
