Stripe
Stripe processes online payments: cards, Apple Pay, Klarna, subscriptions, and invoices via an API or pre-built checkout pages.
Stripe is the internet's payment infrastructure: The company handles card payments, Apple Pay, Klarna, and SEPA direct debits, and manages subscriptions, invoicing, and fraud detection. For standard EU cards, you pay 1.5 percent plus 25 cents per transaction.
Commonly used for: SaaS subscriptions, online shops via WooCommerce or Shopify, course sales via Payment Link, and marketplaces via Stripe Connect. Its strength lies in the developer experience — few APIs are better documented, and for non-technical users, checkout links are perfectly sufficient. Payouts are batched and deposited into your business account, complete with reporting for accounting.
In the German market, PayPal inspires more buyer trust and should therefore still be included as an additional checkout option. Stripe's Achilles' heel is account suspensions: With unusual revenue patterns, the system sometimes freezes payouts for weeks, and support can be sluggish.
The standard choice for SaaS, digital products, and custom platforms. Pure brick-and-mortar stores or invoicing workflows without online sales don't need Stripe, and PayPal should be added as a supplement in any online shop.
Functions
- Most developer-friendly documentation in the industry
- Standard fee in Europe: 1.5 percent plus 25 cents per transaction with an EU card
- Payment Links: collect payments without a website, simply send a link
- Ready-made integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce, Webflow, and Lovable
- Subscription management with prorated billing and cancellation logic
Core Functions
- Payment processing for cards, Apple Pay, Klarna, SEPA, and more
- Pre-built checkout and payment links without coding
- Billing for subscriptions, usage-based billing, and dunning
- Invoicing, tax calculation, and payout reporting
- Fraud detection with Stripe Radar
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