Stripe vs Checkout.com: products, pricing and markets (2026)

Stripe and Checkout.com both sell online card acquiring and payment processing, but Stripe publishes standard rates and a wide modular product range used by businesses of every size, while Checkout.com quotes pricing merchant by merchant and focuses on large digital enterprises. In Europe, Stripe operates through an Irish e-money institution and Checkout.com through a French one, and both have separate FCA-authorised UK entities.

Side-by-side

Sources: company pages and registers listed below, opened on 3 November 2026. New to the terminology? Our guide to gateways, PSPs and acquirers explains the roles.

Licences and regulation

The Central Bank of Ireland register shows STEL authorised on 22 March 2019. Checkout.com's certificates page also lists entities in Australia (AUSTRAC registration), New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada. Stripe's UK disclosure page says it was last updated in January 2017, so confirm the current FCA register entry before relying on it. Our guide on how to check a financial licence explains the steps.

In the US, Checkout.com announced on 9 September 2026 that it had started direct acquiring under a Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter in Georgia. Its earlier release, dated 3 October 2025, said the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance had accepted the application. The September 2026 release describes the charter as live but does not give an approval date.

Products

Stripe

Stripe's product menu, checked on 3 November 2026, runs to more than 30 items. The main groups are:

• Acceptance: Payments, Checkout, Elements, Payment Links, Link, Terminal (in person).
• Platforms: Connect, Capital for platforms, Treasury for platforms.
• Revenue and finance: Billing, Subscriptions, Usage-based billing, Invoicing, Tax, Revenue Recognition, Sigma and Data Pipeline.
• Risk and identity: Radar, Identity, Authorization Boost.
• Money movement and cards: Issuing, Treasury, Global Payouts, Capital.
• Other: Atlas (company formation), Crypto and Crypto Onramp, Climate.

Stripe's 2025 annual letter said businesses on Stripe processed $1.9tn in 2025, up 34% on 2024, and that its revenue products were on track for a $1bn annual run rate.

Checkout.com

Checkout.com's range is narrower and centred on acceptance and acquiring. Its product menu lists a Unified Payments API, Flow (its checkout component), a Hosted Payment Page, Mobile SDK, Payment Links, plugins, Acquiring, Payment Methods, Issuing, Payouts, Fraud Detection, Authentication, Identity Verification, Disputes, Vault, Intelligent Acceptance, Network Tokens, Real-Time Account Updater, and Treasury and FX. On 20 October 2026 it announced an expansion into in-person payments, according to its newsroom listing; we did not review the detail of that release.

The difference is mostly breadth. Stripe sells billing, tax, company formation and capital alongside payments; Checkout.com sells deep acceptance tooling (network tokens, account updater, authorisation optimisation) aimed at merchants where a small uplift in approval rates is worth a lot of money.

Pricing

Figures from each company's pricing page as displayed on 3 November 2026.

Stripe's published price card lets a small business know its cost before talking to anyone. Checkout.com asks merchants to contact sales for a plan, which is usual for a provider whose customer base is weighted towards enterprises. For how interchange and scheme fees feed into either model, see how card payments work.

Scale and financials

Both firms report volume their own way, so treat the figures as indicators of scale rather than a like-for-like ranking.

Coverage and payment methods

Stripe says it is available to businesses in more than 50 countries and supports more than 135 currencies and payment methods. Checkout.com's licence list shows regulated entities in the UK, the EEA (via France), the UAE, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, the US, Canada and Brazil. On 28 September 2026 Checkout.com said it had integrated Jaywan into its UAE acquiring platform, according to its newsroom listing. For local wallets and bank methods, see our alternative payment methods explainer.

Which is the better fit for what

• Early-stage or small online business: Stripe's published rates and no-setup-fee standard plan make costs predictable from day one. Checkout.com does not publish an entry-level plan.
• SaaS or subscription business: Stripe Billing, Tax and Invoicing sit in the same account, which may suit firms that want one vendor.
• Large digital merchant focused on approval rates: Checkout.com's acceptance tools and quote-based Interchange++ pricing are aimed at this profile. Stripe also offers custom Interchange++ and Authorization Boost, so it is worth running both through a tender.
• Platform paying out to sellers: Stripe Connect is a dedicated product; Checkout.com lists Payouts and Issuing. Compare onboarding and payout coverage by country.
• US acquiring: Checkout.com now acquires directly in the US under its Georgia charter. Ask either provider which entity and sponsor bank would handle your US volume.

What to check before signing

• The contracting entity and its register entry in your market.
• A pricing quote on both blended and Interchange++ terms using your real card mix.
• Reserve, payout timing and chargeback fee terms.
• Coverage of the payment methods your customers use.
• Contract length and termination terms.

Related reading: the Adyen vs Stripe comparison, Stripe alternatives, and the Stripe and Checkout.com profiles. More providers are in our gateways hub.

Information only, not financial or investment advice. Fees and licences change; check each provider's own pages and the regulator's register before signing a contract.