Stripe increases Fee 40% with plan deprecation

Stripe today announced is deprecating its existing Billing Starter plan and moving all customers to a single plan that includes all Stripe Billing features. This move eliminates the need for businesses to choose between different plan tiers based on their needs. However, it also comes with a price increase.

Previously, the Billing Starter plan charged users 0.5% of their billing volume. Under the new plan, this fee will increase to 0.7% of billing volume.

While the price increase is immediate, Stripe will offer a one-year grace period. Businesses will continue to be billed at their current 0.5% rate until June 30, 2025. This grace period provides some time for businesses to adjust to the upcoming price change.

It's important to clarify that this price increase only applies to Stripe Billing functionality. The pricing for one-time invoices generated through Stripe Invoicing remains unchanged.

Future Payment Options: Pay-As-You-Go or Subscription

The second update announced by Stripe concerns future payment options for Stripe Billing. Currently, businesses are billed based on their billing volume (pay-as-you-go model). However, Stripe plans to introduce a subscription-based payment option later in 2024.

While details regarding the subscription pricing model are not yet available, businesses can sign up to be notified when this option becomes available in their region. This flexibility in payment options could potentially benefit businesses with predictable or consistent billing volume, allowing them to potentially lock in a lower rate through a subscription.

The transition to a single plan simplifies the overall Stripe Billing offering for businesses. However, the price increase will likely affect businesses' overall payment processing costs.

Businesses are drawn to Stripe for several reasons. First and foremost, it offers a user-friendly and developer-friendly platform, making it easy to integrate payment processing into existing applications and websites. This is particularly attractive for businesses that lack extensive technical resources in-house. Additionally, Stripe boasts a robust suite of features beyond basic payment processing. This includes subscription management, fraud prevention tools, invoicing capabilities, and international payment acceptance – all factors that can streamline financial operations and cater to a wider customer base.

However, Stripe isn't the only player in the payment processing game. Competitors like Square, PayPal, and Authorize.net offer similar functionalities, and some may have slightly lower transaction fees depending on the specific business model. It's important for businesses to carefully compare pricing structures and features across different providers to find the solution that best suits their individual needs and transaction volume.