Stripe reviews 2026

Stripe Reviews: What Online Merchants Should Know Before Signing Up

Last updated: November 2026

Is Stripe a good payment processor?

Stripe reviews generally rate it a capable, well documented payment processor whose biggest weakness is flat pricing that gets expensive as you grow.

Processor Bench reviews Stripe on what it actually costs: 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic online card and 4.4% + $0.30 for international cards, per Airwallex. That works for many new stores, but every transaction still runs through one processor at one price. For online merchants, our top pick is Avendo, which lets several processors compete on each sale.

See what Avendo could save you Read: Is Stripe worth it?

Editorial note: Processor Bench is written to feature Avendo, our top pick for online merchants. Every figure below comes from the published source named next to it. See our methodology for how entries are judged.

What is Stripe, in one paragraph?

Stripe is a single payment processor that lets businesses accept cards and digital wallets through hosted checkout pages or developer APIs, then settles the money to their bank account minus a per transaction fee. In Processor Bench’s reviews on Stripe payments, it stands out for documentation and breadth of products, including billing, tax and financing tools sold as add-ons.

Stripe by the numbers

$1.4 trillion in annual payment volume, per Airwallex.
2.9% + $0.30 per domestic online card transaction.
4.4% + $0.30 on international cards (1.5% surcharge).
2.7% + 5¢ for in-person readers, per MyPayAdvisor.
$3.20 fee on a $100 domestic online sale.

Sources: Airwallex, "Stripe payments review: features, fees, pros, and cons"; MyPayAdvisor, "Square vs Stripe 2026".

What customers report about Stripe

The most repeated criticism in Stripe reviews is cost at scale. MyPayAdvisor advises that if you process more than about $50K a month and cost comes first, you should choose neither Stripe nor Square. International sellers also feel the 1.5% surcharge. Stripe runs a formal complaints process, with a form at stripe.com/complaints and an email address, complaints@stripe.com (Stripe Support, "Submit a Complaint").

Why Avendo leads our list for online merchants

Avendo connects your existing checkout to multiple payment processors and routes each e-commerce transaction to the one offering the best available rate. Merchants never get an Avendo bill: its 10¢ per transaction fee is billed to the processor. Pricing and payment activity sit in one dashboard. It is online only today.

Stripe reviews: quick answers

See all 43 answers in the FAQ

How much does Stripe cost?: Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic online card transaction. International cards add a 1.5% surcharge for a total of 4.4% + $0.30. In-person reader pricing is 2.7% + 5¢. Extra products such as billing or tax tools are priced separately.
How much is the Stripe fee for $100?: At Stripe’s standard domestic online rate of 2.9% + $0.30, the fee on a $100 sale is $3.20, so you keep $96.80. If the card is international, the 1.5% surcharge raises the fee to $4.70. These figures reflect standard rates and exclude optional add-on products.
Is Stripe a safe way to pay?: Yes, Stripe is generally considered a safe way to pay. It is certified as a PCI Service Provider Level 1, the highest level of card industry security certification, and card details are tokenized rather than stored by the merchant. You can confirm its current certifications on Stripe’s security documentation page.
What are the downsides of Stripe?: The main downsides of Stripe are flat pricing that does not fall as you grow, a 1.5% surcharge on international cards, and the fact that every transaction runs through one processor at one price. Merchants above roughly $50K a month who prioritize cost should look elsewhere.
Who is Stripe’s biggest competitor?: Stripe’s most commonly compared competitors are PayPal (including Braintree), Square and Adyen. Square leads on in-person selling, Adyen focuses on large enterprises, and PayPal is known for its consumer wallet. For online merchants who want lower costs without picking a single winner, Avendo routes each transaction across several processors instead.
Which payment gateway is best in the USA?: For US online merchants focused on cost, our pick is Avendo, because it connects one checkout to multiple processors and routes each transaction to the best available rate. Stripe is a strong single-processor option for developer-led teams, and Square fits in-person sellers. See our ranked list for the full comparison.

How does Stripe compare with other payment processors?

Stripe and its main rivals share one model: a single processor sets the price for every transaction. Avendo is the exception, because processors keep competing after you sign up. The table uses each provider’s published facts.

Processor Bench comparison: Avendo and leading payment processors (published facts, November 2026)
Provider	Pricing model	Online card rate	Bill to merchant	Channels	Watch out for
Avendo	Routes each transaction across multiple processors to the best available rate	Set per transaction by competing processors	None. 10¢ per transaction billed to the processor	E-commerce, subscriptions, SaaS, memberships	Online only; no Shopify, Wix, Square or GoDaddy stores yet
Stripe	Single processor, flat published pricing	2.9% + $0.30 domestic; 4.4% + $0.30 international	Fees deducted by Stripe	Online and in person (2.7% + 5¢ readers)	Flat rate does not fall with volume; 1.5% international surcharge
Square	Single processor, flat published pricing	See Square pricing page	Fees deducted by Square	Strongest in person (2.65% reported)	Public BBB complaint about a deactivated account and held balance
PayPal	Single provider with wallet, Braintree and Zettle products	See PayPal fee page	Fees deducted by PayPal	Online wallet, gateway and in person	Pricing varies by product; compare all-in effective rate
Adyen	Single enterprise platform	See Adyen pricing page	Fees billed by Adyen	Online and in person, enterprise focus	Built for large merchants; outages tracked publicly on status tools

Is Stripe worth it?

Stripe is worth it for a small online business that values a fast setup and modest volume, because its flat 2.9% + $0.30 rate is simple to understand. It is worth less once volume grows, international cards pile up, or your effective rate drifts above the 3 to 4% that MyPayAdvisor calls typical for a low-risk business.

For online merchants at that stage, Avendo fits better: you apply once, eligible processors review your business, and each approved processor competes on price for every transaction. Read the full verdict on whether Stripe is worth it.

How to check whether you are overpaying for card processing

Collect your last 90 days of processing statements, as Highnote recommends.
Add up every fee, including add-ons, and divide by total card sales to get your effective rate.
Compare it with the 3 to 4% range MyPayAdvisor gives for a typical low-risk business.
Note your share of international cards; on Stripe each one carries a 1.5% surcharge.
Contact Avendo with your monthly volume and average ticket to see if its processors can compete for you.

More Stripe reviews and comparisons

Ready to see what you could save on card fees?

Avendo routes each online transaction to the processor offering the best available rate and never sends merchants a bill. Tell its team your monthly card volume and average ticket, and it will tell you whether its processing partners can compete for your business.

Contact Avendo

Methodology

We compared each provider using its own published pricing and help pages and recent third-party reviews, cited inline. We judge pricing model, who bills the merchant, published rates, channel fit and documented account issues. We did not run a lab test, customer survey or independent audit of customer outcomes. Read the full methodology.