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Pricing index

Backend / bridge

Stripe

Card payments, subscriptions and hosted checkout: the standard way to charge for an AI-built SaaS, with fees that depend on your country.

Stripe processes card payments and, through Stripe Billing, recurring subscriptions. For an AI-built SaaS the usual pattern is a hosted Checkout page or Payment Link for the purchase and a webhook that tells your app when a payment succeeded. The webhook is where AI-generated apps most often break: a missing signature check or an unhandled retry can grant access to the wrong user. Fees vary by country. Stripe's page for the Netherlands, checked 29 September 2026, lists 1.5% plus EUR 0.25 for standard cards from the European Economic Area, 2.5% plus EUR 0.25 for UK cards and 3.15% plus EUR 0.25 for other international cards, with a further 2% for currency conversion; Stripe Billing is 0.7% of billing volume on pay-as-you-go, and a received chargeback costs EUR 20. Stripe's US pricing page redirected to the Dutch version when we checked, so the 2.9% plus 30 cents headline often quoted for the US could not be confirmed today; check your own country's page.

Strengths

  • No setup or monthly fee for a standard account, per Stripe's pricing page
  • Hosted Checkout and Payment Links mean the app never handles card numbers
  • Stripe Billing handles subscriptions, trials and the customer portal
  • Official docs and SDKs for every stack a builder is likely to generate
  • Test mode lets you rehearse the whole payment flow before going live

Trade-offs

  • Fees vary by country and card type, so a single headline percentage is misleading
  • Stripe Billing adds a further percentage on subscription volume on the pay-as-you-go option
  • Account review for new businesses can take time and can pause payouts
  • A received chargeback costs EUR 20 on the Dutch pricing page, and a contested one is refunded only if you win
  • AI-generated webhook code needs checking: signature verification and duplicate-event handling are commonly missed

Our take

Stripe is the default and usually the right choice for taking payments from an AI-built app. Use hosted Checkout, test the webhook in test mode before launch, and read your own country's fee page, since the headline rate you see in guides may not be yours.