Skip to content
Create account
 or
Sign in
The Stripe Docs logo
/
Create account
Sign in
OverviewUpgrade your integration
Online payments
OverviewFind your use caseManaged Payments
Payment methods
Payment interfaces
Payment scenarios
In-person payments
Beyond payments

Recurring payments

Understand your options for charging customers on a recurring basis.

Stripe offers several ways to charge customers on a recurring basis. This guide helps you understand which method or approach best supports your business.

This guide offers a few ways to understand your options:

Use cases

Accept recurring payments

Let customers pay you regularly and repeatedly through Stripe.

Split purchases into a few payments

Create installment plans to let customers pay you a total amount in a limited number of partial payments.

Enable customers to manage their own subscriptions

Set up the customer portal so your customers can create and manage their own subscriptions.

Accept recurring donations

Let customers make donations to your organization on a regular basis.

Migrate existing subscriptions to Stripe

Move your existing subscriptions from a third-party service to Stripe.

Types of recurring payments

The following tabs describe the different types of recurring payments that Stripe supports.

Overview

Use Stripe Billing to create and manage your subscriptions through the Dashboard or programmatically through the API.

Features
  • No coding required. (You can optionally use the Subscriptions API and prebuilt components like Stripe Checkout and Elements to build a programmatic subscriptions integration.)
  • Customize appearance and behavior in your app.
  • Supports multiple products and prices in different currencies.
  • Supports responsive web and mobile native.
  • Website required. You can use Stripe Elements to customize the appearance of payment forms.
Use cases

Stripe products for recurring payments

The following table describes which Stripe products support recurring payments.

ProductFeaturesUse cases
Payment Links
  • No coding
  • Customize branding
  • One payment link for one or more products
  • Mobile support for responsive web
  • No website required; share link through SMS, email, or social media
  • Stripe Tax support
Invoicing
  • No coding required. (You can optionally use the Invoices API and prebuilt components like Stripe Checkout and Elements to build a programmatic invoicing integration.)
  • Customize branding and templates.
  • One invoice for one or more products. Optionally combine one-time and recurring products.
  • Mobile support for responsive web.
  • No website required. Share invoices through customer portal, hosted invoice page, or as PDFs.
  • Stripe Tax support.
Subscriptions
  • No coding required. (You can optionally use the Subscriptions API and prebuilt components like Stripe Checkout and Elements to build a programmatic subscriptions integration.)
  • Customize full appearance of payment forms and checkout experience.
  • Multiple products, prices, pricing models, and currencies.
  • Mobile support for responsive web.
  • No website required. You can also add subscriptions to your site.
  • Stripe Tax support.
Checkout
  • Minimal coding
  • Customize branding
  • Multiple products and prices in different currencies
  • Mobile support for responsive web
  • Website required, but Stripe hosts the payment page
  • Stripe Tax support
Elements
  • More coding
  • Customize full appearance
  • Multiple products and prices in different currencies
  • Responsive web and mobile native
  • Website required; you add Elements to your payment page
  • Stripe Tax supported with your own tax integration
API
  • Most coding
  • Customize full appearance, accept payments through your own UI
  • Multiple products and prices in different currencies
  • Website required; accept payments through your own UI
  • Stripe Tax supported with your own tax integration

Accept recurring payments

Stripe offers several ways for you to accept recurring payments. Use Subscriptions with Stripe Billing, PaymentIntents, SetupIntents, or Invoicing.

Use subscriptions to accept recurring payments

Save and reuse payment information for recurring charges

Use invoices to automatically charge customers

Split purchases into a few payments

Offer your customers payment plans in installments with Subscription Schedules API (part of Stripe Billing) or buy now, pay later methods. If your business is based in Mexico, you can offer card payments in installments.

Create an installment plan with Subscription Schedules

Use a buy now, pay later payment method

Accept card payments in installments

Enable customers to manage their own subscriptions

If you want your customers to manage their own accounts and recurring subscriptions, use the customer portal. Stripe hosts the customer portal, which allows your customers to self-manage their payment details, download invoices, and manage their subscriptions in one place. Read the no-code customer portal guide for complete details.

Integrate with the customer portal API

Set up the customer portal

See what your customers can do in the customer portal

View demo

Accept recurring donations

You can accept recurring donations with Stripe, in the same way as recurring payments. For example, you have a llama rescue organization, Llama House, and want to allow supporters to choose an amount for a recurring, monthly donation. You can use Payment Links to create a link to share on social media and email. From the same payment link, you can also generate a QR code to add to flyers, and an embeddable buy button for your website–all from the Dashboard.

Accept recurring donations with Payment Links

Migrate existing subscriptions to Stripe

If you have existing subscriptions in another system, you can migrate them to Stripe Billing. Read the guide for more information.

See also

Was this page helpful?
YesNo