Stripe

Stripe is a payments infrastructure platform that lets businesses accept card, wallet and bank payments online and in person, run subscriptions, send invoices and calculate sales tax. It is used by everyone from solo founders selling through Payment Links to large marketplaces and SaaS companies, and it is the payment layer beneath many other products in this directory. Its APIs, SDKs, documentation and test mode are widely regarded as the best in the category, and no-code options such as Payment Links, Checkout and the hosted customer portal cover simpler needs.

There is no monthly fee. US pricing is 2.9% plus $0.30 per successful domestic card charge, with surcharges of roughly 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion. Optional products are priced separately: Stripe Billing takes a percentage of recurring volume (0.7% on the starter tier), Stripe Invoicing charges a percentage per paid invoice, Stripe Tax adds a per-transaction fee, and Stripe Terminal hardware is bought outright. Custom rates are negotiable at high volume.

Stripe is available to businesses in roughly 45 countries and supports 135+ currencies, but merchants elsewhere cannot open an account. Getting full value from it usually needs a developer, add-on percentages stack up for subscription businesses, and risk reviews can lead to holds or reserves for higher-risk categories.