Stripe Pricing 2026
Plans, hidden costs, and alternatives compared
Prices last confirmed on Sep 29, 2026 on stripe.com. Same data as Markdown or JSON.
Cite this data: Toolradar, Stripe pricing verified Sep 2026, toolradar.com/tools/stripe/pricing
Stripe uses custom pricing.
Verified Sep 2026 from the official pricing page.
Is Stripe worth the price?
Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction is the standard every payment processor is compared against.
There are no monthly fees, no minimums, and no contracts, you pay only when you process payments. The simplicity is genuine: most businesses can start accepting payments in hours with zero upfront cost.
A typical international SaaS business pays an effective rate of 3.5-4.5%, not 2.9%.
Pricing Plans
Pay-As-You-Go
Free
- 2.9% + 30¢ per card
- 0.8% ACH (max $5)
- No monthly fees
- No setup fees
Terminal
Free
- 2.7% + 5¢ in-person
- Hardware from $59
- No monthly fees
- Physical card readers
Custom Pricing
Custom
- Volume discounts
- Interchange-plus pricing
- For $250k+ annual
- Dedicated support
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
International card surcharge
+1.5% on top of the 2.9% base rate for cards issued outside your country. A US business charging a UK customer pays 4.4% + 30¢, not 2.9%
Currency conversion fee
+1% when the charge currency differs from the payout currency. Combined with international cards, cross-border transactions cost 5.4% + 30¢
Stripe Radar (fraud protection)
not free. Basic is included but Radar for Fraud Teams costs $0.07/screened transaction + $0.02/3D Secure attempt. On 10K transactions/mo: $700/mo extra
Stripe Billing (subscriptions/invoicing)
adds 0.5% on recurring payments and 0.4% on invoices ON TOP of the 2.9% payment fee.
Instant payouts
1% of the payout amount (min $0.50) instead of waiting 2 business days for standard payouts.
Manually entered card transactions (MOTO)
3.4% + 30¢ instead of 2.9%, a 17% price increase. Phone orders and manual entries are penalized
Stripe Tax
0.5% per transaction for automatic tax calculation.
Which Plan Do You Need?
Zero upfront cost, instant setup, excellent API and documentation. The developer experience is unmatched, pre-built checkout, subscription billing, and 100+ payment methods out of the box.
Overage & Usage Pricing
tax
0.5% per transaction for automatic tax calculation
radar
$0.05/screened txn (basic) or $0.07/txn + $0.02/3DS (Fraud Teams)
billing
0.5% per recurring payment, 0.4% per invoice
connect
$2/active connected account/month + payment fees
issuing
Card creation $0.10-3.00, 0.2% + 20¢ per transaction
ach Debit
0.8% capped at $5 per transaction
identity
$1.50 per verification
in Person
2.7% + 5¢ per tap/dip/swipe (Stripe Terminal)
chargebacks
$15 per dispute (win or lose)
manual Entry
3.4% + 30¢ per manually entered card transaction
online Cards
2.9% + 30¢ per successful charge (US domestic)
wire Transfers
$8 per wire transfer received
instant Payouts
1% of payout amount, min $0.50
currency Conversion
+1% when charge and payout currencies differ
international Cards
+1.5% on top of standard rate
How Stripe compares
1 of 6 direct competitors offers a free plan.
| Tool | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Contact sales | Yes |
| PayPal | $14.99/month, billing unit not specified | No |
| Adyen | $0.13/month, billing unit not specified | No |
| Square | $49/month, billing unit not specified | Yes |
| Braintree | 2.59% fee | No |
| Authorize.net | $25/month, billing unit not specified | No |
| Worldpay | 0.0% fee | No |
Stripe Pricing FAQ
How much does Stripe cost?
Stripe uses custom pricing. Contact Stripe directly for a quote based on your team size and requirements.
Does Stripe have a free plan?
Yes. Stripe offers a free plan called "Pay-As-You-Go". It includes: 2.9% + 30¢ per card, 0.8% ACH (max $5), No monthly fees.
What are alternatives to Stripe?
Alternatives to Stripe include PayPal, Adyen, Square, Braintree. PayPal starts at $14.99/month, billing unit not specified; Adyen starts at $0.13/month, billing unit not specified; Square starts at $49/month, billing unit not specified.
Stripe alternatives
Direct competitors. Starting prices match the table above.
PayPal
$14.99/month, billing unit not specified
Adyen
$0.13/month, billing unit not specified
Nickel is a cashflow platform for businesses that combines accounts receivable, accounts payable, payments, and banking tools. It supports domestic and international payments across 135+ countries, offers unlimited free ACH, and includes tools such as Nickel Balance, which pays 2% APY on idle cash. It may be a better fit than a payment processor alone for businesses that want to manage collections, vendor payments, and cash in one place.
Square
$49/month, billing unit not specified
Braintree
2.59% fee
Authorize.net
$25/month, billing unit not specified
Worldpay
0.0% fee
Sources
- Official Stripe pricing: stripe.com/pricing (verified Sep 2026)
- Cite this data: Toolradar, Stripe pricing verified Sep 2026, toolradar.com/tools/stripe/pricing
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