Stripe

Overview

Stripe charges 2.9% plus 30 cents per successful domestic card transaction with no setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees. You only pay when you get paid. Beyond basic card processing, Stripe gives small businesses a prebuilt checkout page, no-code payment links you can share without a website, invoicing at 0.4% per paid invoice, and in-person card readers starting at $59. The platform supports 100-plus payment methods including ACH direct debit at 0.8% capped at $5, buy-now-pay-later options, and digital wallets. Fraud protection powered by the Stripe network is included at no extra charge on standard pricing. Stripe processed $1.9 trillion in payments volume in 2025 and maintains 99.999% historical uptime. A Forrester study found businesses that deployed Stripe achieved more than a 3x return on investment.

Features

• Accept payments online with no monthly fees at 2.9% plus 30 cents per domestic card transaction
• Share no-code payment links to sell without a website, included with standard pricing
• Accept in-person payments with card readers starting at $59 and a rate of 2.7% plus 5 cents
• Send invoices automatically at 0.4% per paid invoice with a $2 cap
• Protect against fraud with ML-powered Radar included free on standard pricing

Best for

Stripe works best for small businesses that sell online or need a flexible payments setup covering in-person, subscriptions, and invoicing from one place. It suits owners who want transparent per-transaction pricing without committing to monthly fees until their volume justifies it.