Clearo vs. Stripe: two ways to price card payments
Stripe gives developers the tools to build their own payments. Clearo sets you up with interchange-plus pricing and a dedicated rep. Here's how each one prices the same sale.
The short version
When we checked Stripe's US pricing page on , it listed 2.9% + 30¢ for domestic cards online and 2.7% + 5¢ in person, with no setup or monthly fees on standard pricing. Manually entered and international cards cost more, and Stripe publishes separate prices for Canada.
That's flat-rate pricing: one price for every domestic card, which makes your bill easy to predict.
Clearo uses interchange-plus pricing: you pay each card's interchange and network fees, plus a markup quoted for your business. Depending on your card mix and volume, that can cost less than a flat rate, or more.
| Feature | Stripe | Clearo Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | A flat rate on standard pricing; custom packages for large volume can include interchange-plus | Interchange-plus: each card's interchange and network fees, plus a markup |
| Where you find the price | Standard rates published on Stripe's pricing page | Quoted for your business, based on your volume and card mix |
| Building your checkout | APIs and developer documentation for custom payment flows, marketplaces and subscriptions | Hosted checkout or gateway integration, with AVS, CVV checks and velocity rules |
| Good fit for | Teams that write their own payment code | Businesses that want interchange-plus pricing and a dedicated rep, without building an integration |
When Stripe is a good fit
If you're building a custom checkout, a marketplace or subscription billing for e-commerce, Stripe's developer documentation covers that work, from custom payment flows to platforms that pay out to other sellers. If your team writes its own payment code, that's a strong reason to pick Stripe.
Businesses with large payments volume can also ask Stripe for a custom package. Its pricing page lists interchange-plus among the options, so get that quote too before you compare.
When Clearo is a good fit
If you'd rather not build and maintain your own integration, we set up online payments with hosted checkout or gateway integration, plus fraud screening with AVS, CVV checks and velocity rules. Every client gets a dedicated rep.
Here's one online sale under both models. At the 2.9% + 30¢ rate for domestic cards on Stripe's US pricing page (checked ), a $100 sale costs $3.20. On interchange-plus, the same sale costs that card's interchange and network fees, plus the processor's markup.
A debit card from a bank with $10 billion or more in assets carries at most 27 cents of interchange on $100 under the Federal Reserve's Regulation II. That cap doesn't apply to credit cards, whose interchange depends on the card. So the answer turns on your card mix, your average ticket, your volume and the markup you're quoted, and a free statement review runs both models on your own sales.
Want to see your own numbers? Book a free call and we'll compare what you pay Stripe now with an interchange-plus quote for the same sales.
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Clearo works with businesses across the US and Canada. Find your industry below.
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