Stripe Documentation
The official guides and API reference for Stripe, covering Checkout, subscriptions with Billing, webhooks, tax and Stripe's own merchant of record option. The docs are among the best written in the industry, but check first that Stripe is available to a business in your country.
Guide
Web Development
Stripe
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What it covers
Stripe's documentation explains how to accept payments on the web and in apps: hosted Checkout pages, Payment Links that need no code, subscriptions and invoices with Stripe Billing, customer self-service portals, webhooks, testing with test cards, and tax calculation with Stripe Tax. It also documents Managed Payments, Stripe's merchant of record service for digital products, which handles sales tax and VAT for you.
Is Stripe available to you?
Check this before anything else. Stripe lists the countries where businesses can open an account on stripe.com/global. As of 2026-09 that is around 45 countries, mostly in North America, Europe and parts of Asia Pacific, with India and Indonesia listed as preview and several African countries served through Paystack, which Stripe owns. Many countries, including Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh and the Philippines, are not listed. If your country is missing, the usual options are a merchant of record such as Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or Gumroad, or registering a company in a supported country, for example through Stripe Atlas, which has its own costs and tax obligations. Never open an account with a false address: Stripe can freeze the balance.
Fees (as of 2026-09, United States page)
Stripe's US pricing page lists 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card payment, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% when currency conversion is needed. Billing for subscriptions adds 0.7% of billing volume on pay-as-you-go. Fees differ by country, so read the pricing page for the country your account is in.
Where to start
- Read the Checkout quickstart and build a test payment with test cards.
- Add a webhook endpoint that listens for completed checkouts and subscription changes, and verify the signature.
- Turn on the customer portal so subscribers can update cards and cancel without emailing you.
- Only then think about custom payment forms.
Common questions
Do I need to handle VAT myself with Stripe? With a normal Stripe account you are the seller, so yes; Stripe Tax can calculate and help file it for a fee. With Managed Payments, Stripe is the merchant of record and handles it, if your business location and product qualify.
Is test mode free? Yes. You can build and test the whole flow without a live account.
Sources: stripe.com/global, stripe.com/pricing and docs.stripe.com/payments/managed-payments, checked 2026-09.
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