Shopify vs Stripe Comparison 2026
Both cover monetization & payments. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
A storefront whose card rate falls by plan
Card payments at a published per-charge rate
At a glance
- Only Stripe has a free tier.
Side by side
Shopify | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $29 | Free |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing (they differ) | Monthly or annual | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on (they differ) | Web, iOS, Android |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Shopify
A storefront whose card rate falls by plan
Shopify runs the shop itself, the checkout and the card processing, which is why its pricing has two numbers rather than one: a monthly plan and a card rate that drops as the plan rises. Selling on social, in person and through a site all report into the same catalogue and stock count. The plans are otherwise similar enough that most people choose on the card rate and the staff seats. Using a payment provider other than Shopify's own adds a transaction fee on top, so the cheap plan is not always the cheap option.
Our note
Work out the crossover between plans on your own card volume before choosing, because 0.2 percent of a busy month covers the difference between two tiers and most people pick on features instead. If a third-party gateway is a requirement rather than a preference, price that transaction fee in first, since it can cost more than the plan itself.
Only on this side
- Covers digital products & storefronts
Stripe
Card payments at a published per-charge rate
Stripe is the processor a great many of the tools in this directory are quietly built on, and going to it directly makes sense once you sell from a site you control. The rate is published rather than quoted, which is rarer in payments than it sounds. Subscriptions, invoices, payment links and a hosted checkout all sit on the same account. Nothing is billed monthly, so an idle account costs nothing.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.