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Software review · Pricing verified 2026-10-28
Stripe review
Verified Oct 28, 2026Stripe is a payments platform for businesses that sell online: it processes card and wallet payments on your website or app, handles payouts to your bank account, and sells optional products around billing, invoicing, tax calculation, fraud screening and dispute handling. There are no setup fees or monthly fees on standard pricing — you pay per successful transaction plus whatever add-ons you use. Its headline cost is simple; its total cost depends on which add-on products you switch on.
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Unpack Money score: 86/100
Stripe is a strong fit for businesses that sell online and want a custom checkout, subscriptions or an embedded payment flow. It is a weaker fit for a business that mainly sells face to face and wants a ready-made counter system with no developer help. Its headline cost is simple; its total cost depends on which add-on products you switch on.
On standard pricing there are no setup fees or monthly fees — you pay per successful transaction. An online domestic card payment costs 2.9% + 30¢, so a $100 sale costs $3.20 and you keep $96.80 before any add-on fees; the same $100 from an international card needing currency conversion costs $5.70 ($3.20 + $1.50 + $1.00) and you keep $94.30. A $1,000 online domestic sale costs $29.30. Small sales feel the fixed 30¢ most: on a $10 sale the fee is $0.59, or 5.9% of the sale. In person, Stripe Terminal costs 2.7% + 5¢ for a domestic card, and ACH Direct Debit costs 0.8%, capped at $5. Disputes cost $15 on receipt plus $15 if you counter manually — the countered fee is returned if you win, kept if you lose.
Two details separate Stripe from the rest of this comparison. First, one platform covers online, in-person, subscription and invoice payments, with broad payment-method and currency support for businesses selling internationally. Second, the add-ons stack: billing, tax calculation, fraud tools and invoicing each carry their own fee, so price the stack you will actually use, not the headline rate alone. The original processing fee is not returned when you refund a payment (per Stripe's published terms) — budget refunds as a cost, not a free reversal.
Online, Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ undercuts PayPal Checkout's 3.49% + $0.49, while Square's Free-plan online rate is higher at 3.3% + 30¢. In person, Stripe Terminal and Square Free are close and the winner depends on ticket size: on a $100 sale both cost $2.75; below $100 Stripe Terminal is slightly cheaper, above $100 Square Free is slightly cheaper — so run your own average ticket. For a basic hosted checkout or a payment link you need no developer; for a fully custom checkout, subscriptions with complex pricing, or an embedded platform flow, you do — or a platform integration that handles it for you. Educational only; no hands-on testing is claimed. Unpack Money currently earns $0 affiliate revenue and has no approved affiliate programs.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | For |
|---|---|---|
| Online domestic card | 2.9% + 30¢ | Per successful transaction, domestic cards |
| International card | +1.5% | On top of the standard rate |
| Currency conversion, where required | +1% | On top of the standard rate |
| In-person (Stripe Terminal, domestic card) | 2.7% + 5¢ | Per in-person transaction |
| ACH Direct Debit | 0.8%, capped at $5 | As listed on the pricing page |
| Disputes | $15 received; $15 countered | Countered fee returned if you win, kept if you lose |
Prices verified 2026-10-28 on the provider's official pricing page. Prices change — confirm before you buy.
What we like
- Transparent published pricing with no setup or monthly fee on the standard plan
- One platform for online, in-person, subscription and invoice payments
- Broad payment-method and currency support for businesses selling internationally
Watch out for
- Add-ons stack: billing, tax calculation, fraud tools and invoicing each carry their own fee
- The original processing fee is not returned when you refund a payment
- Disputes cost $15 on receipt plus $15 if you counter manually
- In-person selling needs Terminal hardware and integration — no ready-made counter system
How we reviewed Stripe
We record every plan, price, cap, and add-on from Stripe's official pricing page — never from review aggregators — and date-stamp the check; this page was last verified on 2026-10-28. Our editorial score weighs what a small business actually gets for the money: the capability of the cheapest useful tier, the true cost once add-ons and renewals are counted, pricing transparency, and contract traps such as auto-renewing trials. Compensation never changes a score or a verdict. Read our full review methodology.
Sources
Every price and feature on this page was verified against the provider's official website on 2026-10-28. We never use aggregator sites as sources.