# How Checkout works Learn how to use Checkout to collect payments on your website. Checkout is a low-code payment integration that creates a customizable form for collecting payments. Checkout’s built-in features allow you to reduce your development time. It supports more than 100 payment methods, including [Link](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/link.md), which lets your customers save their payment method for faster checkout. You can accept payments by embedding Checkout directly into your website, redirecting customers to a Stripe-hosted payment page, or creating a customized checkout page with [Stripe Elements](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/elements.md). Checkout supports payments for both [one-time purchases](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/online-payments.md) and [subscriptions](https://docs.stripe.com/subscriptions.md). You can also customize Checkout and access additional functionality with [Checkout Sessions](https://docs.stripe.com/api/checkout/sessions.md) and the Stripe Dashboard. For a complete list of features, see its [built-in and customizable features](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/how-checkout-works.md#features). # Full embedded page ![](https://docs.stripecdn.com/how_it_works_embedded.0e959f038676541a6341d6ba5fe2ceb27fd5d2093ae52132c7a04d22bb274f5e.mp4) ## Checkout lifecycle 1. When a customer is ready to complete their purchase, your application creates a new `Checkout Session`. 2. You embed Checkout on your website to show a payment form. 3. Customers enter their payment details and complete the transaction. 4. After the transaction, the [checkout.session.completed](https://docs.stripe.com/api/events/types.md#event_types-checkout.session.completed) webhook event triggers the [order fulfillment process](https://docs.stripe.com/checkout/fulfillment.md). A diagram of an embedded page integration's lifecycle (See full diagram at https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/how-checkout-works) ```text [Client] -- Send order information --> [Server] [Server] -- Create Checkout Session --> [Stripe API] [Stripe API] -- checkout.session.created: Return Checkout Session --> [Server] [Server] -- Return Checkout Session client secret --> [Client] [Client] -- Mount Checkout on your website --> [Stripe Checkout] [Stripe Checkout] -- Customer completes payment --> [Stripe Checkout] [Stripe Checkout] -- Customer returns to your website --> [Client] [Stripe API] -- checkout.session.completed: Handle fulfillment --> [Server] ``` ## Low-code integration Checkout requires minimal coding and is the best choice for most integrations because of its prebuilt functionalities and customization options. You can integrate Checkout by creating a `Checkout Session` and collecting customer payment details. Collect payment by [embedding a payment form](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/accept-a-payment.md?payment-ui=checkout&ui=embedded-page) in your website. [Compare Checkout](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/online-payments.md#compare-features-and-availability) to other Stripe payment options to determine the best one for you. Checkout displays a payment form to collect customer payment information, validates cards, handles errors, and so on. | Feature | Customizable | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------ | | Support for digital wallets and Link | Built-in | | Responsive mobile design | Built-in | | SCA-ready | Built-in | | CAPTCHAs | Built-in | | PCI compliance | Built-in | | Card validation | Built-in | | Error messaging | Built-in | | [Adjustable quantities](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/adjustable-quantity.md) | Built-in | | [Automatic tax collection](https://docs.stripe.com/tax/checkout.md) | Built-in | | International language support | Built-in | | [Adaptive Pricing](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/currencies/localize-prices/adaptive-pricing.md) | Built-in | | [Managed Payments](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/managed-payments/how-it-works.md) | Customizable | | [Collect taxes](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/taxes.md) | Customizable | | [Custom branding with colors, buttons, and font](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/customization.md) | Customizable | | [Optional items](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/optional-items.md) | Customizable | | [Global payment methods](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/dashboard-payment-methods.md) | Customizable | | [Subscription upsells](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/upsells.md) | Customizable | | [Custom domains](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/custom-domains.md) (Full hosted page only) | Customizable | | [Email receipts](https://docs.stripe.com/receipts.md) | Customizable | | [Apply discounts](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/discounts.md) | Customizable | | [Custom success page](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/custom-success-page.md) | Customizable | | [Recover abandoned carts](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/abandoned-carts.md) | Customizable | | [Autofill payment details with Link](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/link/checkout-link.md) | Customizable | | [Collect Tax IDs](https://docs.stripe.com/tax/checkout/tax-ids.md) | Customizable | | [Collect shipping information](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/collect-addresses.md?payment-ui=checkout) | Customizable | | [Collect phone numbers](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/phone-numbers.md) | Customizable | | [Set the subscription billing cycle date](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/billing-cycle.md) | Customizable | ### Custom branding You can set fonts, colors, icons, and field styles for your embedded form using the [Branding settings](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/branding/checkout) in the Dashboard. For more information, see [Customize your integration](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/customization.md). ## Checkout Session The `Checkout Session` is a programmatic representation of what your customers see on the payment form. After creating a `Checkout Session`, mount Checkout on your payment page to complete the purchase. When customers complete their purchase, you can [fulfill their orders](https://docs.stripe.com/checkout/fulfillment.md) by configuring an [event destination](https://docs.stripe.com/event-destinations.md) to process `Checkout Session` events. This code snippet from the [quickstart guide](https://docs.stripe.com/checkout/quickstart.md) is an example of how to create a `Checkout Session` in your application. ```curl curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/checkout/sessions \ -u "<>:" \ -d "line_items[0][price]={{PRICE_ID}}" \ -d "line_items[0][quantity]=1" \ -d mode=payment \ -d ui_mode=embedded_page \ --data-urlencode "return_url=https://example.com/return" \ -d integration_identifier=embedded_web_0001 ``` ### One-time and recurring payments Allow customers to make one-time payments or subscribe to a product or service by setting the [mode](https://docs.stripe.com/api/checkout/sessions/create.md#create_checkout_session-mode) parameter in a `Checkout Session`. | Mode | Purchase type | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Payment | One-time purchases | | [Subscription](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/overview.md) | - Recurring purchases - Mixed cart: Recurring purchases with one-time purchases | ### Mixed cart Create a mixed cart in Checkout that lets your customers purchase Subscription items and one-time purchase items at the same time. To create a mixed cart, set the `mode` parameter to `subscription` and include the Price IDs, or `price_data`, for each line_item in the [line_items](https://docs.stripe.com/api/checkout/sessions/create.md#create_checkout_session-line_items) array. Price IDs come from Price objects created using the Stripe Dashboard or API and allow you to store information about your product catalog in Stripe. You can also use [price_data](https://docs.stripe.com/api/checkout/sessions/create.md#create_checkout_session-line_items-price_data) to reference information from an external database where you’re hosting price and product details without storing product catalog information on Stripe. For more information, see [Build a subscriptions integration](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/build-subscriptions.md). ```curl curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/checkout/sessions \ -u "<>:" \ -d "line_items[0][price]={{RECURRING_PRICE_ID}}" \ -d "line_items[0][quantity]=1" \ -d "line_items[1][price]={{ONE_TIME_PRICE_ID}}" \ -d "line_items[1][quantity]=1" \ -d mode=subscription \ -d ui_mode=embedded_page \ --data-urlencode "return_url=https://example.com/return" \ -d integration_identifier=embedded_web_0001 ``` ### Payment methods You can view, enable, and disable different payment methods in the [Stripe Dashboard](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/payment_methods) at any time. Stripe enables certain payment methods for you by default. We might also enable additional payment methods after notifying you. View our [complete list of payment methods](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/payment-methods/overview.md). ### Save payment details and default payment methods You can [save payment details for future use](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/save-and-reuse.md) by sending an API parameter when you create a `Checkout Session`. Options to save payment details include: - **Single payment**: If your `Checkout Session` uses `payment` mode, set the [payment_intent_data.setup_future_usage](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/payment-intents.md#future-usage) parameter. - **Subscription payment**: If your `Checkout Session` uses `subscription` mode, Stripe saves the payment method by default. - [Multiple saved payment methods](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/accept-a-payment.md?platform=web&ui=checkout#save-payment-method-details): If a customer has multiple payment methods saved, you can make one of them the customer’s default payment method by specifying its ID as the [configuration.customer.billing.default_payment_method](https://docs.stripe.com/api/v2/core/accounts/object.md#v2_account_object-configuration-customer-billing-default_payment_method) (`Account` object) or the [invoice_settings.default_payment_method](https://docs.stripe.com/api/customers/object.md#customer_object-invoice_settings-default_payment_method) (`Customer` object). However, these payment methods don’t appear for return purchases in Checkout. > #### Use the Accounts v2 API to represent customers > > The Accounts v2 API is generally available for Connect users, and in public preview for other Stripe users. If you’re part of the Accounts v2 preview, you need to specify a [preview version](https://docs.stripe.com/api-v2-overview.md#sdk-and-api-versioning) in your code. > > To join the Accounts v2 preview, go to [Account previews and features](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/previews) in your Dashboard and enable **Reusable payment methods for Global Payouts**. > > For most use cases, we recommend [modeling your customers as customer-configured Account objects](https://docs.stripe.com/accounts-v2/use-accounts-as-customers.md) instead of using [Customer](https://docs.stripe.com/api/customers.md) objects. ### Guest customers You can represent a customer of your business either as a customer-configured [Account](https://docs.stripe.com/api/v2/core/accounts/object.md) object or a [Customer](https://docs.stripe.com/api/customers/object.md) object. These objects store information about each customer and associate them with their subscriptions and payments. `Checkout Sessions` that don’t use existing customers or create new ones are associated with [guest customers](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/guest-customers.md) instead. > #### Use the Accounts v2 API to represent customers > > The Accounts v2 API is generally available for Connect users, and in public preview for other Stripe users. If you’re part of the Accounts v2 preview, you need to specify a [preview version](https://docs.stripe.com/api-v2-overview.md#sdk-and-api-versioning) in your code. > > To join the Accounts v2 preview, go to [Account previews and features](https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/previews) in your Dashboard and enable **Reusable payment methods for Global Payouts**. > > For most use cases, we recommend [modeling your customers as customer-configured Account objects](https://docs.stripe.com/accounts-v2/use-accounts-as-customers.md) instead of using [Customer](https://docs.stripe.com/api/customers.md) objects. ### Expiration By default, a `Checkout Session` expires after 24 hours. You can set a custom expiration time for a `Checkout Session` by setting the [expires_at](https://docs.stripe.com/api/checkout/sessions/create.md#create_checkout_session-expires_at) parameter. It can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours after `Checkout Session` creation. You can also [expire](https://docs.stripe.com/api/checkout/sessions/expire.md) a `Checkout Session`. ## Complete a transaction To automate business flows after a transaction has occurred, register an [event destination](https://docs.stripe.com/event-destinations.md) and build a [webhook endpoint handler](https://docs.stripe.com/webhooks/quickstart.md). Consider the following events and automations to enable: - Process the [checkout.session.completed](https://docs.stripe.com/api/events/types.md#event_types-checkout.session.completed) event to fulfill orders when a customer completes their purchase - Process the [checkout.session.expired](https://docs.stripe.com/api/events/types.md#event_types-checkout.session.expired) event to return items to your inventory or send users a cart [abandonment](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/abandoned-carts.md) email when they don’t make a purchase and their cart expires ## See also - [Checkout quickstart](https://docs.stripe.com/checkout/quickstart.md) - [Fulfill your orders](https://docs.stripe.com/checkout/fulfillment.md) - [Collect taxes in Checkout](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/taxes.md) - [Manage limited inventory with Checkout](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/checkout/managing-limited-inventory.md) - [Automatically convert to local currencies with Adaptive Pricing](https://docs.stripe.com/payments/currencies/localize-prices/adaptive-pricing.md)