Stripe Review 2026: Features and Pricing
Stripe is best suited to online businesses, especially ones that sell internationally.
The bottom line:
Stripe is a powerful payment processor for businesses that complete most transactions online. This includes service-based businesses, software-as-a-service platforms and online retailers alike. Its advanced developer tools give you full control over your checkout flows. Or, you can opt for prebuilt modules instead. Stripe can also support global sales. It accepts dozens of payment methods and more than 135 currencies.
Software details
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.7% + $0.05
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$0
Pros & Cons
Pros
Flat-rate, transparent pricing.
No setup, cancellation or monthly fees.
Supports a wide variety of payment methods and currencies.
24/7 customer support.
Cons
May be difficult to customize without software development expertise.
Limited functionality for in-person businesses.
Compare to other products
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.7% + $0.05
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.29% + $0.09
Online: 2.99% + $0.49
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.15
Online: 3.3% + $0.30
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Need more options? Check our picks for best payment processing systems
PayPal: Better brand recognition. Stripe is popular. But PayPal has almost twice its market share in the online payments market (44% vs. 22.3%) as of January 2026, according to Capital One. Like Stripe, it also supports multiple currencies. If you don’t need all of Stripe’s online checkout customization options, PayPal could be a solid alternative. Read our full PayPal Business review.
Square: Better for brick-and-mortar businesses. Square offers more in-person checkout options than Stripe. You can choose from a variety of hardware, including card readers, terminals and full countertop POS setups. You’ll also find additional tools for employee management and analytics. Read our full Square review.
Shopify: Better online retail tools. Shopify is made specifically for online retailers. It comes with a monthly fee starting at $39 per month, but you also get more industry-specific features. These include shipping discounts, website templates and marketing tools. Read our full Shopify review.
Full review
Stripe is an online payment processing solution founded in 2010. More than 1.29 million active websites use it around the world to process payments, according to Capital One. Some well-known clients include Wayfair, Instacart and Peloton. But that doesn’t mean Stripe is out of reach for smaller online businesses.
It’s also ideal for small SaaS and service-based businesses, as well as online retailers. That’s, in part, because Stripe’s fees are relatively low. Its online rates are competitive at 2.9% plus 30 cents. And unlike alternatives such as Shopify, it doesn’t charge monthly fees. You won’t find added costs for termination or PCI compliance either. It’s partially why we recommend it as one of the best payment processors for online sales.
Stripe stands out for its variety of online checkout options too. Businesses can create their own online checkout flow or embed a prebuilt checkout form into an existing website. They can also use it to grow their customer base on a global level. Stripe supports more than 100 payment methods and is available in more than 50 countries.
Stripe, however, is not a good fit for businesses that mainly accept in-person payments. The same goes for businesses in specific industries, like food and beverage. It’s missing many of the features you find in more specialized POS systems, like Square. Some examples include inventory tracking and end-of-day reports.
Stripe is best for:
✔️ Online transactions.
✔️ Global sellers.
✔️ Customizable checkout flows.
Stripe overview
| Payment processing model | Flat rate. |
| Payment processing fees |
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| Monthly fee |
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| Hardware cost |
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| Contract length | No set contract length. You can close your Stripe account at any time, as long as you complete any pending transactions. |
| Customer support | 24/7 live chat. Phone and email support only available as add-ons. |
What’s new with Stripe?
In 2025, Stripe released new capabilities that let customers make purchases through ChatGPT and other AI agents. (It added a dedicated option for Microsoft Copilot in early 2026.)
This feature lets LLM users ask for product recommendations and transact in the same tab. But it can come at a steep cost for merchants. ChatGPT, for example, charges 4% on top of Stripe’s existing fees. That comes out to 6.9% plus 30 cents per transaction.
Where Stripe Payments stands out
Accepts a variety of payment methods and currencies
It’s standard today for payment processors to accept all major credit cards on top of digital wallets and ACH transfers. Stripe takes it a step further by supporting more than 125 payment methods.
Those include PayPal and Cash App transactions, along with buy now, pay later solutions, like Klarna and Afterpay. There are some more niche options too, like cryptocurrency.
Stripe accepts payments in more than 135 different currencies as well. And it can facilitate transfers from banks in other countries. This can help your customer base expand across borders.
Highly customizable
Stripe lets you fully customize your online payments experience. You can use its open APIs and software development kits to create a unique, branded payments page. Or, you can keep it simple and send your customers payment links.
Prebuilt payment forms are another option. They don't give you as much flexibility, but they're easier to embed into an existing website.
Where Stripe Payments falls short
May not be as valuable without coding knowledge
Stripe’s customization options and open APIs are a real asset. But if you don’t have coding experience, you won’t get as much out of them.
If you envision a very specific online checkout flow, you may need to temper your expectations. You can still use its prebuilt checkout forms — they just may not reflect your branding as strongly.
Bringing a developer on for freelance work could be an option. It will cost money, but it may be worth it in the long run. You might use sites like Upwork or LinkedIn to find freelancers in your budget range.
Not ideal for in-person transactions
Stripe is made specifically for online transactions. It supports selling across marketplaces, e-commerce shops and subscription channels. Its options for in-person sales are much more limited. If you’re a brick-and-mortar retailer that does most or all of your transactions in person, then you’ll likely want to choose a different processor, like Square.
For example, Stripe sells card readers, but not full countertop POS systems. You can use Stripe Terminal to build a custom POS integration, but it’s not a straightforward process. Instead, it involves coding and could take weeks, according to Stripe’s website.
What small-business owners think of Stripe
NerdWallet checked online forums like Reddit and reviews from sites like TrustPilot, G2, the App Store and Google Play to gauge how users feel about Stripe. We used an AI tool to help analyze this feedback. Here are the major trends we spotted.
👍 Integrations
Online reviewers speak highly of Stripe’s variety of integrations and how easy it is to implement them. Just because a product offers native integrations doesn’t mean they’re going to work smoothly. So these positive comments are reassuring.
Some say Stripe syncs effortlessly with their customer relationship management platforms. Others appreciate being able to quickly integrate Stripe’s payment form into their websites. Stripe integrates with more than 400 third-party apps, including WooCommerce, Salesforce and QuickBooks Online.
👎 Account freezes
You don’t have to search hard to find claims that Stripe suddenly suspended businesses’ accounts. Other payment service providers, like Square, often face similar complaints. That’s because they pool multiple businesses’ funds into a large merchant account instead of assigning individual accounts to each business.
This results in a quicker and easier signup process. But it can also lead to more account instability. Aggregated accounts often have a lower tolerance for risk than individual accounts.
Several Reddit users suggest applying for individual merchant accounts instead. The detailed application process can help ensure the processor understands your industry before they approve you.
How we evaluated Stripe
NerdWallet’s writers and editors independently review payment processing companies, like Stripe, by analyzing more than 30 data points. We collected data from Stripe’s public-facing website, help articles and company representatives.
Our evaluations also take user sentiment into account. This involves looking through individual reviews and feedback on sites like Trustpilot, the App Store, Google Play and Reddit. Then, we use AI tools to help spot larger trends within those comments. Since we cannot verify each user’s individual experience, we don’t incorporate user reviews in our star ratings. For more information on how we score payment processing companies, see our full methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Stripe follows the security and compliance practices you would expect to see from a global payment processor of its stature. The company is PCI compliant, uses the same standard of data encryption (AES) as the U.S. government and carries several other security-related licenses and certifications, according to Stripe’s website.
Stripe has a lot of strengths, including its full pricing transparency, lack of additional fees and long-term contracts, and 24/7 customer support. The biggest drawback to Stripe is likely to be that using it to its full potential and taking complete advantage of its customizability requires coding and developer skills.