Stripe is a payments infrastructure platform that provides APIs and hosted components for processing online transactions. It handles payment authorization, settlement, and compliance while leaving storefront design and business logic to the operator.
It is commonly used as a composable payments layer inside custom applications or existing platforms, rather than as a complete commerce system.
Fits
- High control over payment flows and transaction logic
- Composable integration with custom sites and applications
- Teams comfortable working with APIs and external services
Costs
- Responsibility for integrating and maintaining payment logic
- Operational dependence on an external payments provider
- Additional complexity compared to bundled commerce platforms
Operational profile
- Stripe manages payment processing, security, and regulatory compliance
- The operator manages storefront behavior, checkout flow, and integrations
- Reliability depends on both Stripe uptime and the surrounding system
Where it breaks
- Projects seeking an all-in-one commerce solution
- Operators without development capacity for custom integrations
- Sites that require minimal setup and ongoing technical involvement
Pricing shape
- Usage-based transaction fees
- Additional fees for advanced products and international payments
- No fixed monthly platform cost for basic usage