Stripe is a popular payment processor with numerous tools for selling products, services, and subscriptions online and integrating with hundreds of sales, ecommerce, and business software. Chargebee is a powerful software for managing subscription services and works with payment processors—including Stripe.
Both offer excellent tools for managing recurring billing and invoicing for local or international sales. Stripe is more general in purpose and more technical, while Chargebee does one thing—subscriptions—with easy-to-use tools that don’t require a lot of coding. However, it lacks payment processing; for that, you need to integrate it with a payment processor like Stripe.
- Stripe: Best for online sales that may include subscriptions but are more focused on one-time or irregular sales of goods or services
- Chargebee: Best for handling recurring subscriptions for goods, services, or SaaS products
Selling on-premise? Consider Square:
If you primarily run a brick-and-mortar business with an online component that includes subscriptions, we recommend Square. It often ranks high on our lists for payment processing, POS systems, and more. It has competitive pricing and offers a free POS and other paid features that let it grow with your business. Visit Square to create a free account.
Chargebee vs Stripe Quick Comparison
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
Monthly processing fee | $0–$599+ | $0 |
Payment processing | Third-party | ✓ |
Recurring payments | ✓ | ✓ |
One-time payments | N/A | ✓ |
Dunning tools | ✓ | ✓ |
Chargeback tools | Varies by payment processor | ✓ |
Fraud prevention tools | ✓ | ✓ |
International payments | Works with 150+ merchant countries | Works with 45+ merchant countries |
Payout | Varies by payment processor | 2–7 business days |
Real-world user reviews* | 4.43 | 4.65 |
Accepts PayPal | Yes | No |
*Revenue limits apply; overage fees of 0.6%-0.75% apply with some plans
**Reviews are averaged over multiple user review sites
When to Use Chargebee vs Stripe
Asking, “Which is better, Chargebee or Stripe?” may be the wrong question. In fact, you can use Stripe to process the payments you collect from customers using the Chargebee software. Both are excellent, but Chargebee is a software with a greater depth of functionality for managing subscriptions, while Stripe is a payment processor with broader features and capabilities when it comes to processing payments. Click through the tabs below to learn more about the use case for each.
Best for Affordability: Stripe
Since Our Last Update:
Stripe has changed its pricing. The monthly rate is more expensive, but the other rates are simplified and some are cheaper.
| | |
|---|---|---|
Monthly processing fee | $0 | $0–$599, plus overage charges* |
Online processing fee | 2.9% + 30 cents | Varies by payment processor |
Invoicing fee | 3.49% + 49 cents $0/mo. | Varies by payment processor |
Recurring billing/ subscription fee | 3.4% + 30 cents to 3.7% + 30 cents $10/month for custom domain | Varies by payment processor |
ACH/e-check processing fee | 0.8% ($5 cap) | Varies by payment processor |
Virtual terminal fee | 3.4% + 30 cents; add 0.4% for post-payment invoice sends (cap $2) $10/month for custom domain | Varies by payment processor |
In person/POS fee** | 2.7% + 5 cents $0/mo. | Varies by payment processor |
Chargeback fee | $15 | Varies by payment processor |
Failed transactions fees | $4–$15, depending on the type of transaction | Varies by payment processor |
Discounts | Discounts for nonprofits and high-volume sellers | Free trial for startups; payment processing fees still apply |
High-volume discounts | Custom | Varies by payment processor |
Card reader prices | $59–$299 | Varies by payment processor |
*Overage charges: Chargebee’s monthly pricing comes with revenue limits. For example, the Rise Plan at $299/month includes $600K/year revenue and then charges you 0.6% for any revenue you make past that amount.
**Chargebee requires a third-party POS software, while Stripe now has Stripe Terminal or POS integration
We chose Stripe as the most affordable because Chargebee has a monthly fee of up to $599, yet you still have to pay a third party for payment processing. Stripe, meanwhile, offers its subscription tools for free and charges only for payment processing. Stripe also has its own POS-type system, Stripe Terminal, while Chargebee requires a third-party add-on. Finally, Stripe is among the cheapest credit card processors and even has special pricing for nonprofits and high-volume merchants.
When to Use Chargebee
Startups can take advantage of Chargebee’s Launch Plan, which gives you access to most of its tools for your first $100,000 in total (not monthly) revenue. After that, however, you are auto-converted to a plan costing $99/month for up to $25,000 in revenue, with a 0.5% charge on any revenue exceeding the $25,000 per month. You may also be able to find a payment processor that charges less than Stripe and whose savings make up for the monthly fees imposed by Chargebee.
Best for Recurring Payments: Chargebee
| | |
|---|---|---|
Recurring payments and card on file fee | Varies by payment processor | 0.5%–0.8% |
Credit card management | ✓ | ✓ |
No-code custom checkout | ✓ | Sometimes |
Multiple payment gateways | Yes, with Smart Routing for best rates | N/A |
Dunning management | ✓ | ✓ |
Handles one-time as well as recurring checkouts | Included in all plans | Requires higher plan |
Chargebee takes the lead for recurring payments because it offers more subscription payments options. To start, it will manage subscriptions with offline payments. Second, if you use multiple payment processors, Chargebee’s smart routing tool will use the payment processor that gives you the best deal. Chargebee’s dunning management also applies to offline payments and is highly configurable. You can even send up to 12 emails to customers to remind or entice them to renew.
Chargebee’s dunning controls work with offline and online payments. (Source: Chargebee Support)
When to Use Stripe
If you don’t take cash or checks for subscriptions and are happy using Stripe, then there’s not a lot extra that Chargebee offers for recurring billing. Like Chargebee, Stripe works with credit card companies to ensure account information stays current. It also says its dunning tools result in a 38% recovery of failed recurring billing.
Best for Managing Subscriptions: Chargebee
| | |
|---|---|---|
Automations | ✓ | ✓ |
Trial management | ✓ | ✓ |
Upgrades, downgrades | ✓ | ✓ |
Self-service subscription management | ✓ | ✓ |
Start subscription with next billing cycle | ✓ | ✓ |
Manage add-ons | ✓ | N/A |
Pause and reactivate subscriptions | ✓ | Limited |
Gift subscriptions | ✓ | With coupons |
Chargebee is made for subscription management—and it shows. While both it and Stripe check off the most important tools for subscriptions, it’s the depth of control that gives Chargebee its lead. It offers dozens more subscription models than Stripe and allows customers to manage their own subscriptions or can connect them to a sales rep for a customized subscription plan.
You can manage coupons, gift subscriptions, add-ons, and more. Changes made mid-subscription period that result in different pricing can be prorated if needed, and changes are reflected in the invoices.
One other tool that sets Chargebee ahead is the ability to pause and restart subscriptions. (Source: Chargebee Support)
When to Use Stripe
If you have straightforward subscriptions and are satisfied handling payments through Stripe, then its strong subscription toolset should be good enough for you. It offers multiple subscription types, from standard monthly billing to plans-plus-overage. Like Chargebee, you can manage trials, upgrades, or downgrades. It can pause subscriptions after a trial if payments are not made. Overall, it is feature-rich but not as extensive as Chargebee.
Best for Billing & Invoicing: Chargebee
| | |
|---|---|---|
Invoiced payments fees | Varies by processor | 0.4%–0.5% |
Types of billing | 65+ models | 15+ |
Customizable invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Quote-to-cash automation | ✓ | ✓ |
Plan and Product Catalog | ✓ | ✓ |
B2B | ✓ | ✓ |
Request deposits/down payments | ✓ | ✓ |
Partial payments | ✓ | ✓ |
Manage offline payments | ✓ | N/A |
Refunds via credit | ✓ | N/A |
While limited to subscriptions and recurring billing, we nonetheless found Chargebee’s invoicing tools superior to Stripe’s. In addition to offering many of the same kinds of tools as Stripe—custom invoicing, automations, partial payments—it lets you manage offline payments and offer refunds as credit to be used toward other subscriptions. If you have many subscription types or offer gift subscriptions, this can keep you from losing money.
Chargebee’s invoices are very customizable and contain extra elements like notes about coupon use. (Source: Chargebee)
When to Use Stripe
Stripe is no slouch when it comes to invoices, which is why it’s on our list of the best B2B payment processing solutions. It’s definitely the best if you need to send bills to services for infrequent or one-time sales. It takes only minutes to create and send a customized invoice with a button that makes it easy for clients to pay straight from the email.
Looking for additional functionality?
See our list of the top-ranking invoicing software and best recurring billing software.
Best for Ecommerce Checkout: Stripe
| | |
|---|---|---|
Invoiced payments fee | Standard fee +0.4%–0.5% | Varies by payment processor |
Payment types | Credit card, debit card, digital wallets, ACH credit, gift cards | Credit card, debit card, ACH credit and debit, PayPal (varies by payment provider) |
Multichannel (eBay, Amazon) | With third-party integrations | N/A |
Buy buttons/cancel buttons | Stripe Payments | N/A |
Social selling | Stripe Payment Link, Stripe Connect | N/A |
Ecommerce integrations | 230+ | <10 |
Buy Now Pay Later | Klarna, Afterpay, Clearpay, credit card installments | Varies by payment provider |
PCI compliance | ✓ | ✓ |
One-click checkout | Link with Stripe | Varies by payment provider |
Stripe takes the lead for ecommerce checkouts because it’s more versatile than Chargebee. While Chargebee has a checkout tool for subscriptions that offers a lot of options, Stripe offers more in terms of buy buttons, social selling, and ecommerce. It has over 230 integrations for ecommerce; compare this to Chargebee’s eight, only two of which are online shopping carts.
Stripe’s versatility for multichannel sales makes it the best choice for ecommerce checkout. (Source: Stripe)
When to Use Chargebee
If all you need is a checkout for subscriptions on your website, then Chargebee can do the job. One advantage it has over Stripe is that it allows multiple payment processors. For example, you can offer payment by Stripe and PayPal, Amazon Pay, or others. However, depending on the ecommerce platform you use, you can likely add multiple payment options to your checkout just through your platform’s settings.
Best for International Subscriptions: Chargebee
| | |
|---|---|---|
Cross-border fee | Varies by payment provider | 1% + 30 cents |
Currency conversion fee | Varies by payment provider | 1% |
# Currencies | 100+ | 135+ |
# Languages | 7 | 34 |
# Merchant countries | 150 | 47 |
Multiple currencies | ✓ | Beta |
*International card transactions are increasing to 1.5% in June 2023
Since Our Last Update:
Chargebee has added Ukrainian to its list of supported languages.
Chargebee is slightly superior to Stripe for international payments because it can work with non-US payment processors and has plans that allow multiple currencies. It works with over 20 payment gateways around the world (including Stripe), with a reach of 150 nations. Naturally, what cross-border or other fees you pay and what restrictions you face will depend on the payment provider you use. (You can, of course, use multiple providers to expand your reach.) You can set multiple currencies by creating plan variations within the subscription base.
The drop-down menu shows only 58 nations, but it supports more; contact support if you are based in a different country. (Source: Chargebee)
Since Our Last Update:
We had seen that Stripe was beta testing the ability to change billing currency for a customer without creating a new profile. However, the guides still show that you cannot change currency once set.
When to Use Stripe
Stripe lets you work in more languages than Chargebee, which is good for where your customers may not speak English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, or Ukrainian. Of course, Stripe is the better choice for international sales that are not subscription-based. In fact, Stripe tops our list of the best international merchant accounts.
Best for Chargeback Prevention & Fraud Monitoring: Tied
| | |
|---|---|---|
Fraud protection | Unit charges, address verification; more depending on payment processor | Advanced machine-learning fraud protection, ID verification |
Transaction security | PCI DSS Level 1, SOC-1, SOC-2, ISO compliant | PCI DSS Level 1, AES-256 encryption, SSAE18 SOC 1 and 2 reports, PSDS2 and SCA compliant |
Chargeback fees | Varies by payment processor | $15 |
Chargeback protection | Varies by payment processor | ✓ |
This was a tough one to judge because while both services offer excellent transaction security and basic fraud prevention, many of Chargebee’s tools for fraud prevention and chargeback protection will depend on the payment processor you use. As a result, you could find something even better than what Stripe offers—although Stripe is top-of-the-line.
Stripe Radar offers complete chargeback protection—it handles everything and takes care of any fees if a chargeback is upheld. This costs an extra 5 cents per screened transaction but is waived for accounts that are being charged 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. If you need more control and customizations, the Radar for Fraud Teams is an additional 7 cents per transaction or $2 cents per transaction with the standard 2.9$ + 30 cents pricing.
Best for Ease of Use: Stripe
| | |
|---|---|---|
Frozen accounts | Low | Varies by payment processor |
Application and approval requirements | None | Varies by payment processor |
Payment platform setup | Needs some coding skill | Needs some coding skill |
Plug-and-play integration | ✓ | ✓ |
Customer service | 24/7 chat and phone support (by request) | 24/7 email (all plans) 24/7 chat support (paid plans) 24/5 phone support (Rise & Scale plans) 24/7 phone (Enterprise Plan) |
Video tutorial | Many | Few |
Premium support | Included in all plans | Enterprise Plan |
Real-world user reviews* | 4.65 | 4.52 |
*Reviews are averaged over multiple user review sites
Overall, Stripe is the easiest to use. Despite the fact that you need some coding skills to get the most out of the platform, the majority of the basic functions—including invoicing and checkout—have a plug-and-play option. It offers quick and stable accounts, whereas with Chargebee, that depends on the payment processor you select.
We like Stripe’s YouTube channel, with its plethora of help videos for users and developers, which are done with real people. Chargebee only has a handful of videos—and many are computer-read. It does offer premium support, whereas Stripe gives the same support to all its customers. However, real-world users were satisfied overall with Stripe’s regular customer service.
How Hard Is Chargebee to Use?
While Stripe is easier overall, Chargebee is nonetheless simple. Real-world users, for the most part, praised the user interface, although some said the coding was outdated. It does provide setup help, as well. The sandbox is a great tool for experimenting with billing before going live, and the interface is clean and straightforward. It also has in-app help buttons that explain individual tools.
Chargebee vs Stripe Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Absolutely not. Chargebee is a Stripe partner, and you can easily integrate its service if Stripe’s subscription tools are not enough for your business. You can even add Stripe as one of your payment processors if you want to use more than one on Chargebee.
Adding Stripe to Chargebee is pretty straightforward. You go to settings and configure Stripe as a payment gateway. Of course, you need to have a Stripe account first. Chargebee recommends you configure first on your test site, then go live. You can find complete details in Chargebee’s knowledge center.
Chargebee works with over 20 payment gateways around the world. Which ones you can use depend on the country you operate out of. They include:
- Credit/Debit cards: Visa, Master Card, Discover, JCB
- Bank-based payments: iDEAL, Bancontact, Giropay
- Direct debit: ACH, SEPA, PAD, BACS, BECS
- Offline payments: Cash, check
- Digital wallets: Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, PayPal, Braintree, Google Pay
A quick search of Stripe’s partners showed 36 partners for subscriptions, including Recharge, Zoho Subscriptions, Recurly, and Paid Memberships of WordPress. Recurring billing revealed 10 partners. Some, like Paywhirl, were also listed under subscriptions, but it also included Chargify, Instapayments, and MyFundBox. You may also find recurring subscription tools in some of the POS and ecommerce solutions.
Bottom Line
When considering Chargebee vs Stripe, there is only one question to consider: Do you need heavy-duty subscription service management? If so, and Stripe is not enough for you, then Chargebee is the best choice. However, it’s never an either-or decision. You can integrate Chargebee and Stripe and get the best of both worlds.
