A Complete Guide To How Much Stripe Costs In 2022

Are you curious about how much Stripe costs and what makes it different from other processors? Even though Stripe has less name recognition than competitors Square and PayPal, Stripe has likely processed many of your recent online shopping transactions without you realizing it.

That’s because Stripe is behind the scenes for some of the biggest names, such as Zoom, Instacart, Google, Shopify, and Lyft, just to name-drop a few. Stripe sits at the top as one of the world’s most respected and well-trusted platforms. Instead of front-facing branding and name recognition, it focuses on delivering developer tools with extensive code libraries and customization options behind the scenes.

Shared from Stripe’s website

If you are looking for a ready-made, polished solution for eCommerce payment processing, Stripe may not be the ideal choice. A solution such as Square may be much better suited to your needs. If, however, you want to customize your payment processing platform (and have the technical resources to do so), you’ll find a range of robust, world-class developer tools waiting.

As the graphic above shows, Stripe receives over 250M API requests per day, provides over 35 countries with local acquiring, and, perhaps surprisingly, 90% of adults in the US have bought from businesses using Stripe.

In this post, you’ll learn about Stripe fees and features, so you can find out if this is the right fit for your small business.

How Much Does Stripe Charge? An Overview Of Stripe Processing Fees

Stripe uses a simple flat-rate pricing plan that works on a pay-as-you-go model, where there are usually no recurring monthly or annual fees. All online transactions cost 2.9% + $0.30 each, while card-present transactions all cost a flat 2.7% + $0.05 each. Things get more complicated when you add on alternative payment methods and special Stripe services, so read on for more details.

Are Stripe Merchant Fees A Good Deal?

Stripe’s use of flat-rate pricing for processing fees makes it an affordable choice for small or newly-established businesses. Unless you sign up for some of the company’s optional services or purchase a Stripe-compatible terminal, you’ll only pay for transaction processing.

Stripe’s flat-rate pricing structure is simple and predictable and can be a very good deal overall for low-volume businesses. However, flat-rate pricing can become more expensive at higher monthly processing volumes than an interchange-plus or membership pricing plan. Whether this type of pricing will be cost-effective for your business will depend on several factors, explained below:

5 Reasons To Like Stripe’s Pricing Structure

3 Reasons Not To Like Stripe’s Pricing Structure

Stripe Processing & Transaction Fees

Stripe Payment Examples via Stripe Website

Stripe transaction fees are very clearly defined, so you shouldn’t be getting any surprises. You won’t find any hidden monthly fees, either. However, the amount that Stripe costs for you depends on how you process payments — whether online or in-person — and any optional payment or security features you want to use for your business.

Here’s an overview of Stripe’s basic pricing structure under its integrated plan:

While Stripe has built its reputation over the years by offering a top-notch eCommerce-only solution, it’s recently expanded into retail as well as more businesses pivot to an omnichannel model. If you need processing hardware, Stripe offers the following choices for sale, all of which are certified to work with Stripe and include cloud-based hardware management:

• BBPOS Chipper 2X BT for $59
• BBPOS WisePOS E for $249
• BBPOS Wise 3 for Can$79 (non-US markets)

How Are Stripe Fees Calculated?

Like other providers, Stripe’s credit card processing fees are based on the total value of the transaction, including taxes and any additional applicable fees and charges. Stripe deducts its fees after the transaction has been approved and processed, with the net amount of the transaction minus processing fees being deposited into your merchant account. Note that with Stripe’s flat-rate pricing, you won’t see a breakdown of the interchange and markup fees on your monthly processing statement. This information is only available if you choose a customized pricing plan with interchange-plus pricing.

Funds in your merchant account are then automatically transferred to your business banking account according to a preset payout schedule. By default, payouts will occur automatically every day, although your first payout when you start using Stripe will take seven to 14 days. You can select different payout options in the Stripe Dashboard. Note that funds from a given transaction will typically take around two business days to reach your merchant account. Instant payouts are also available for an additional fee, but the rules and charges vary quite a bit from country to country.

Stripe Custom Pricing Plans

In addition to its flat-rate integrated plan, Stripe offers customized pricing to businesses with large payments volume or unique business models. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide any specific details on the qualifications you would have to meet to qualify under either of these two categories.

With a customized pricing plan, you’ll receive interchange-plus pricing that will usually be much lower than the flat rates Stripe normally offers. The tradeoff is that you’ll also be subject to the usual assortment of recurring fees every month whether you use your account or not. Several items included at no extra charge under the integrated plan will incur separate fees if you’re on a customized plan. Stripe does a pretty good job disclosing these differences on its website, but you’ll want to thoroughly review your proposed contract to avoid being surprised later on.

Other Stripe Merchant Fees

Stripe has some other products that might be a good fit now or in the future for your small business. We’re going to look at how much these products cost, along with the specific fees Stripe charges for each option.

Stripe International Fees

Another great thing about Stripe is that you can accept international cards (for an additional 1%). If you need to convert the currency, however, you’ll have to pay another 1% on top of that. This is great for businesses that sell internationally, especially with Stripe’s ability to present prices in the customer’s local currency. While this may seem expensive, it’s much more affordable than many of its competitors. PayPal, for example, charges a 1.5% cross-border fee for international transactions, plus another 3-4% currency conversion fee, if needed.

Stripe Invoicing & Billing Fees

The Stripe Invoicing and Billing integrations are for businesses focused on recurring revenue growth. Both Stripe Billing and Stripe Invoicing offer a choice of basic and more advanced plans with a variety of features included.

Stripe Billing: Starter Plan

• Costs an additional 0.5% on recurring charges
• Automatic bill collection features (smart retries, automatic email reminders)
• Customer portal for user-managed subscriptions

Stripe Billing: Scale Plan

• Costs an additional 0.8% on recurring charges
• Automatic bill collection features (smart retries, automatic email reminders)
• Customer portal for user-managed subscriptions
• Stripe Connector for NetSuite (implementation fee required)
• Estimates for customers before a subscription is started

Stripe Invoicing: Starter Plan

• 25 free invoices per month, 0.4% per invoice after that
• Hosted invoice page
• Insight and analytics via Stripe Dashboard

Stripe Invoicing: Plus Plan

• 0.5% per paid invoice
• Hosted invoice page
• Insight and analytics via Stripe Dashboard
• Automatic payment collection features (smart retries, automatic email reminders)
• Auto-reconciliation for invoices paid by ACH credit or wire transfers
• Estimates for customers before a subscription is started

Stripe Instant Payouts (For Merchants)

Stripe Instant Payouts allows you to skip the usual one to two business days of waiting for your funds by transferring them to an eligible debit card. You’ll pay a fee of 1% of the transferred amount. Daily transfer limits may apply, depending on your industry and your history with Stripe. Currently, instant payouts are available in the US, UK, Canada, and Singapore.

Stripe Tax

An optional feature, Stripe Tax automatically calculates and collects the applicable tax for your customer’s location and produces detailed reports for use when filing your taxes. Stripe Tax costs 0.5% per transaction, where you’re registered to collect taxes (0.4% for processing volumes over $100,000/month).

Stripe Connect Fees & Pricing

Stripe Connect is an integration built for marketplaces or platforms that allow third-party payment acceptance. You’ll have three options for your business — Stripe Connect for Standard, Express, and Custom accounts.

Here’s an overview of the main features — and the fees charged for them — of these three options:

For more details about each of these plans and the features they offer, refer to Stripe’s website for the latest information.

Stripe Rates For Other Services

While Stripe is primarily a platform for accepting and processing payments, it also offers a number of ancillary services that can enhance the security of your account and help safeguard against chargebacks and fraudulent transactions. Here’s a brief overview of what these services do and how much they cost:

Will Stripe’s Pricing Save You Money?

Stripe offers very transparent pricing, but you’ll have to run the numbers to determine if Stripe’s payment fees save you money compared to your current processor or another one that you’re comparing. Stripe does not charge monthly fees or lock you into a contract, and payment security is included with processing.

Also, consider that the real meat of Stripe is its rich developer tools that let you customize everything about the payment experience while giving you some deeper insights and analytical data you can use right away.

We think that businesses wanting a fully-branded, ready-to-scale solution will likely find all the tools they need and then some. However, for the eCommerce business that simply needs a reliable and secure payment processor, Stripe may be overkill. If you don’t have the technical expertise or developers on staff, you may never tap into Stripe’s full potential.

If you’re new to eCommerce and aren’t sure which features you’ll need for your business, check out our article, The Best eCommerce Merchant Services & 4 Essential Features For An eCommerce Merchant Account. For a more in-depth analysis of Stripe’s many products and features, check out our full review of Stripe. Finally, the following articles will help you make a more detailed comparison between Stripe and some of its more popular competitors:

• Stripe VS Square: Comparing Features, Pricing, & Key Differences In 2022
• Stripe VS Authorize.Net: Which Is Better?
• Stripe VS Braintree: Which Online Payment Processor & Gateway Is Right For You?
• Stripe VS PayPal: How to Choose The Right Payment Processor For Your Online Business
• The Best Stripe Alternatives & Competitors For Small Businesses

Frequently Asked Questions About Stripe Fees

Because Stripe offers a broad range of services, you can imagine people have some questions. Here are the most common FAQs related to Stripe charges to help you find a quick answer.