by StripePayments and billing
Payment processing at 2.9% + 30¢ per US card, with subscriptions, tax calculation and a merchant-of-record option priced as separate lines.
Card payments, subscriptions and tax calculation as separate per-transaction lines, with the lowest total of the three in our scenario: $500 on $10,000.
Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per US card and lets you add only what you use: Billing for subscriptions (0.7%), Tax Basic for calculation (0.5% where you are registered), Radar, Invoicing and more. In our scenario that comes to $500 a month. You remain the seller, so registering and filing sales tax and VAT is yours unless you add Tax Complete or Managed Payments. Granular roles, SAML SSO, an audit log and a documented card-export process are part of every account.
Against 3 other products we reviewed in Payments and billing: what you pay for with each, the five access facts, the plan limits we recorded and each review's bottom line. The note under the table says how each one was checked.
| Metric | Stripe | Braintree | Paddle | FastSpring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Saves engineering timeCard payments, subscriptions and tax calculation as separate per-transaction lines, with the lowest total of the three in our scenario: $500 on $10,000. | Worth the priceCards, PayPal and Venmo through one gateway, with the lowest card fees in our scenario: $368 on $10,000 a month, subscriptions included. | Compliance includedPaddle becomes the seller of record: it files and remits sales tax and VAT and answers buyer billing questions, all inside 5% + 50¢. | Compliance includedFastSpring becomes the seller of record: it collects and remits sales tax and VAT, runs subscriptions and handles fraud and chargebacks for one quoted rate. |
| Overall score | 8.1Best | 7.5 | 6.9 | 5.3 |
| Free option | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured | Free trial |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Approval wait | Approval wait | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | 2.9% + 30¢/US card charge | 2.89% + 29¢/card transaction | 5% + 50¢/transaction | Quote/transaction |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Custom quote |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices | Prices hidden |
| Model | Payment processor; you are the seller | Payment processor; you are the seller | Merchant of record | Merchant of record |
| Base fee | 2.9% + 30¢ per US card | 2.89% + 29¢ per US card | 5% + 50¢ per transaction | Quoted revenue share; no published rate |
| $10,000/mo scenario | $500 (5.0%), computed | $368 (3.7%), computed | $600 (6.0%), computed | Not computable; priced by sales |
| Sales tax and VAT filing | Yours; Tax Complete from $90/mo, or Managed Payments +3.5% | Yours; no tax product offered | Paddle files and remits | FastSpring collects and remits |
| Dispute fee | $15, plus $15 to counter (refunded if won) | $15, not refunded if won | $20, not refunded if won | $20 per chargeback or prevention alert |
| Payouts | Daily, weekly or monthly; standard schedule free | Every weekday (US accounts) | Monthly, $100 minimum | Twice a month by default; weekly or monthly; $100 minimum |
| Charge currencies | 135+ | 130+, one merchant account per currency | 33 | 36 |
| Team access | Granular roles, SAML SSO, audit log | Custom roles, SAML SSO, SCIM, 2FA required | Five roles, 2FA | Ten predefined roles, 2FA, Okta (OIDC) or Google SSO |
| Card export if you leave | Documented, to a PCI DSS Level 1 processor | Documented, free, to a PCI-compliant gateway | Not documented; data portability stated | Not documented; data returned in a standard form |
| Security reports | PCI Service Provider Level 1, SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II | PCI DSS Level 1 service provider; no SOC 2 stated | PCI DSS attestation, SOC 2 Type II | PCI DSS, SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3 |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Stripe has the lowest fees in our scenario and the strongest controls and exit path here. Tax registration and filing stay with you unless you pay for Tax Complete or Managed Payments. | From its public pages, Braintree has the lowest fees in our scenario and strong access controls and exit terms. It leaves tax entirely to you and takes an application before you go live. | From its public pages, Paddle is the most complete merchant of record here for a SaaS business: tax filing, buyer support and security reports in one 5% + 50¢ fee. Plan around monthly payouts and the $20 chargeback fee. | From its public pages, FastSpring is a full merchant of record with strong B2B tools and security reports, but its rate is quoted by sales, so its cost cannot be compared here before a call. |
Evidence: Stripe: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Braintree: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Paddle: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; FastSpring: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
Review from public pages
Written from Stripe's public pages (pricing, security or privacy, and docs) as read on Oct 15, 2026. We did not sign up, and no hands-on run is published yet.
We read Stripe's pricing page and its security, account setup, user roles, SSO, payment data export and Managed Payments docs on Oct 15, 2026; we did not sign up for this review. The pricing page lists standard rates for every product: 2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card, +1.5% for international cards and +1% when currency conversion is needed, $15 per dispute, Billing at 0.7% of billing volume, and Tax Basic at 0.5% per transaction where you're registered to collect tax. The FAQ says there are no setup, monthly or closure fees on standard pricing.
The docs make the model clear: you verify your business (Stripe's KYC review) to go live, and you remain the seller. Stripe Tax calculates and collects; Tax Complete, from $90 a month on a one-year contract, adds registrations and filings. The pricing page also lists Managed Payments, Stripe's own merchant of record, at 3.5% per transaction on top of payment fees, with subscriptions running on Billing.
One small inconsistency: the pricing page says Managed Payments covers tax in more than 75 countries, while its product page and docs say more than 80.
$500 a month on $10,000 in card subscriptions, including Billing and tax calculation.
vs Lemon Squeezy: Paddle comes to $600 and Lemon Squeezy to $680 for the same scenario, though both also file tax for you.
Payouts can run daily (every business day), weekly or monthly, free on the standard schedule, and customers can be charged in 135+ currencies.
vs Lemon Squeezy: Paddle pays out monthly in 33 payment currencies; Lemon Squeezy pays out twice a month and charges every order in USD.
Granular predefined roles, SAML 2.0 SSO with SCIM, multi-factor authentication including passkeys, and a security-history audit log.
vs Lemon Squeezy: Paddle documents five roles and 2FA; Lemon Squeezy has owners and members.
If you leave, Stripe will send saved card data in an encrypted export to another PCI DSS Level 1 processor.
Managed Payments adds tax compliance, fraud, disputes and buyer support for 3.5% per transaction, for all sales or only some markets and products.
Tax Basic calculates and collects only where you are registered; registering and filing need Tax Complete (from $90 a month, one-year contract) or your own accountant.
Workaround: Managed Payments makes Stripe the merchant of record for 3.5% on top of payment fees.
A subscription business pays card fees, the international surcharge, Billing and, if used, Tax as separate lines, so the effective rate takes some arithmetic.
Each dispute costs $15, plus $15 to counter it manually (refunded if you win); Smart Disputes takes 30% of amounts won.
The FAQ says processing and currency conversion fees from the original transaction are not returned when you refund.
Stripe bills per transaction with no monthly fee on standard pricing. Cards cost 2.9% + 30¢, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is needed. Billing adds 0.7% of billing volume (or a monthly plan from $620 on a one-year contract), Tax Basic 0.5% per transaction where you are registered. Disputes cost $15.
For our scenario ($10,000 in $50 subscriptions, 160 US and 40 EU cards): 160 × $1.75 = $280, 40 × $2.50 = $100, Billing $70, Tax Basic $50, total $500. Filing is extra: Tax Complete from $90 a month. With Managed Payments instead of Tax Basic: $380 + $350 + $70 = $800, by our arithmetic.
Stripe documents a payment data export: on request it sends saved card details, emails and metadata in an encrypted file to another PCI DSS Level 1 processor. It does not export payment history or subscriptions; those stay readable through the API and Dashboard while the account stays open.
From its public pages, Stripe has the lowest fees in our scenario and the strongest controls and exit path here. Tax registration and filing stay with you unless you pay for Tax Complete or Managed Payments.
| Limit | As recorded |
|---|---|
| Model | Payment processor; you are the seller |
| Base fee | 2.9% + 30¢ per US card |
| $10,000/mo scenario | $500 (5.0%), computed |
| Sales tax and VAT filing | Yours; Tax Complete from $90/mo, or Managed Payments +3.5% |
| Dispute fee | $15, plus $15 to counter (refunded if won) |
| Payouts | Daily, weekly or monthly; standard schedule free |
| Charge currencies | 135+ |
| Team access | Granular roles, SAML SSO, audit log |
| Card export if you leave | Documented, to a PCI DSS Level 1 processor |
| Security reports | PCI Service Provider Level 1, SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II |
Read from the vendor's public pages on Oct 15, 2026. No hands-on run is published yet. How we check
We have not published a sign-up run for Stripe yet. The access facts above were read from its sign-up and pricing pages on Oct 15, 2026.
We have not published API calls for Stripe yet.
Stripe lists 5 plans. The cheapest paid plan, Payments (standard pricing), costs 2.9% + 30¢/US card charge.
Prices as listed, USD, excluding tax; observed 2026-10-15.
Source: stripe.com pricing page. Prices change; the observed date above is when our agent read them.
We read the pricing, security, help and docs pages of a payment processor and two merchants of record on the same day and scored them on the same six indicators. What $10,000 a month costs, who files the tax, and who should pick which.
