Rated higher than Stripe on Trustpilot.
Best for: Small businesses and startups, as Wise Business names them
- Trustpilot4.3/5· 294,008
We score Stripe for one service, contractor payouts through Stripe Connect. A platform sends money from its own balance to the bank account or debit card of a seller, freelancer or other service provider, and pays 0.25% + 25¢ per payout plus $2 for each connected account that is paid in a month. Funds routing and platform management add 0.25% of payout volume where they apply, and cross-border payouts start at another 0.25%. Stripe publishes that fee schedule and its service agreement, and says it holds PCI DSS Level 1 and SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II. It is a payment rail that the platform builds into its own product, with no contractor management on top. It gives no list of Connect payout countries; its Connect page says Connect Onboarding supports 46+ countries and does not tie that figure to payouts.
Verdict
Best for
- Platforms and marketplaces that pay sellers, freelancers, creators or service providers, as Stripe describes its customers
- Companies with engineers who can build the payout flow into their own product
- Platforms in the US, UK, EEA, Canada or Switzerland paying people in those same regions
- Buyers who want the fee schedule and the service agreement public before they talk to sales
Not for
- Companies that want a provider to run contractor onboarding, contracts or closing documents: Stripe's pages describe a payment flow, not those
- Buyers without engineering capacity
- Platforms that need self-serve cross-border payouts to or from platforms outside the US, UK, EEA, Canada and Switzerland
- Teams that need a single all-in price per contractor, because Connect charges a per-payout fee, a monthly account fee, a 0.25% routing fee and extra fees for instant and cross-border payouts
- Stands out
- Published terms. Connect's fee schedule is on a public page, with no minimum term stated, and the Stripe Services Agreement is public too. Stripe, LLC appears in GLEIF with Delaware file 4675506, and Stripe Payments Company holds US state money transmitter licences.
- Biggest limit
- Reach we cannot document. Stripe's Connect page says Connect Onboarding supports 46+ countries, and no page lists payout countries. Its docs limit self-serve cross-border payouts to platforms and connected accounts located in five regions: US, UK, EEA, Canada, Switzerland. Our score for coverage rests on the claimed figure alone.
On this page
Services
| Service | Price | Basis | Score | Countries documented |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contractor payouts | from 0.25%[1][2][3] | of each payout | Our score 6.4 of 10 | None documented |
Top alternatives to Stripe
Providers with a higher contractor payouts score from us than Stripe. How we score
Rated higher than Stripe on Trustpilot.
Best for: Companies paying contractors in many countries by bank, wallet, crypto or card
- Trustpilot3.1/5· 125
Higher contractor payouts score: 6.8 against 6.4.
Best for: Companies of any size that work mostly with contractors spread over many countries
- Capterra4.1/5· 49
Pricing
Setup fees and what each list price includes, by service.
| Service | Setup fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor payouts | — | Read from the US Connect page, model where the platform handles pricing: 0.25% + 25¢ per payout sent and $2 per monthly active account (paid to bank account or debit card in that month). Instant Payouts 1% of payout volume; cross-border payouts from 0.25%; funds routing and platform management 0.25%. If Stripe handles pricing, the platform pays no account, payout-volume or per-payout fee. The euro page reads 0.25% + €0.10 and €2. US tax forms: $2.99 per 1099 e-filed or mailed. Global Payouts is a separate preview product for US and UK businesses with its own pricing. No deposit is stated.[1][2][3] |
How we scored Stripe
Each service gets its own score from our five criteria. Review-platform ratings are not part of it.
Contractor payouts Our score 6.4 of 10
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Contribution | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance | 30% | 8.3 | 2.49 | Contracting entity on a company register: yes; Service agreement: published; Own security certifications: PCI DSS, SOC 1, SOC 2; Licences: 1; Facts on record for this criterion: 4 of 4. |
| Coverage | 20% | 4.0 | 0.80 | Countries: 0 documented, 46 claimed; Reach: 14% of the widest provider of this service; Facts on record for this criterion: 1 of 1. |
| Price | 20% | 5.5 | 1.10 | Price: published in several parts (per payout, per account or percentages on top), so it is not ranked against single-figure prices; Setup fee: not disclosed; Deposit: not disclosed; Minimum term: none; Termination fee: on record, not confirmed; Facts on record for this criterion: 2 of 5. |
| Platform | 15% | 7.5 | 1.13 | API: yes; Integrations: not disclosed; Self-serve sign-up: yes; Documents in the platform: not disclosed; Payout methods: bank transfer and card (1 more on record, not confirmed); Facts on record for this criterion: 3 of 5. |
| Support | 15% | 6.0 | 0.90 | Live support channels: phone, email and chat; Live support hours: not stated; Dedicated manager: no; Stated onboarding time: not stated; Stated response target: no; Facts on record for this criterion: 3 of 5. |
| Our score | 6.4 |
Key facts
As the provider states them.
- Founded
- 2010
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, US / Dublin, Ireland
- Reach
- Global
- Minimum term
- None[3]
- Support
- phone, email, chat
Countries covered
Claimed is the provider’s own count. Documented countries are the ones with evidence from a company register or the provider’s own site; countries we list without evidence are not counted.
Contractor payouts
Claimed: 46 countries · Documented: None documented
Who it fits
- Hiring patterns
- Mostly contractors
- Segments it names
- Platforms and marketplaces that pay sellers, freelancers, creators or service providers; the Global Payouts page adds insurers, fintechs, businesses and government agencies (Global Payouts is a separate product)
Pros and cons
Pros
- Fee schedule published: 0.25% + 25¢ per payout and $2 per monthly active account, plus 0.25% of payout volume for funds routing and platform management where it applies, Instant Payouts at 1% and cross-border payouts from 0.25% of payout volume
- No minimum term is stated, and the Connect pricing page has a Start now button next to Contact sales
- The Stripe Services Agreement, which a platform accepts, is public
- Stripe, LLC appears in GLEIF with Delaware file 4675506, and Stripe Payments Company lists its US state money transmitter licences
- Says it holds PCI DSS Level 1 (service provider), SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II audits, and publishes a SOC 3 report
- API and dashboard integration, with bank and debit card payouts and phone, email and chat support
Cons
- No country list for Connect payouts. The Connect page says Connect Onboarding supports 46+ countries and does not tie that to payouts; we document none
- Self-serve cross-border payouts are limited in the docs to platforms and connected accounts in five regions: US, UK, EEA, Canada, Switzerland. The pages do not say how the 46+ relates to that limit
- The platform has to build the integration. The pages describe no contracts, closing documents or contractor management
- The fee has several parts: a per-payout fee, a monthly account fee, 0.25% for funds routing and platform management where it applies, cross-border fees and 1% for instant payouts. US tax forms cost $2.99 each when Stripe e-files or mails a 1099
- Support pages say 24x7 phone, email and chat help but not who answers. The only response target, 15 minutes, is for critical issues on paid support plans
- No dedicated account manager on Connect pricing; a technical account manager comes with paid Premium and Enterprise plans
- The contracting Stripe entity depends on the platform's account country. We score Stripe, LLC, the US one
- No deposit, integration count or onboarding time is stated
Reviews in brief
AI summary
Written by an AI model from the data on our pages on 16 Oct 2026. Not a recommendation, not our score, and not a quote from any assistant.
What does the data show about Stripe as a contractor payout provider?
AI
Stripe Connect charges 0.25% + 25¢ per payout and $2 per monthly active account, plus 0.25% for funds routing where it applies and from 0.25% for cross-border payouts. Stripe states PCI DSS Level 1 plus SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II audits. Stripe, LLC appears in GLEIF with Delaware file 4675506. Payouts go to bank accounts or debit cards.
What the data does not show
Stripe's Connect page says Connect Onboarding supports 46+ countries and lists no payout countries, so we document none. It states no deposit and no onboarding time.
What are Stripe's main drawbacks?
AI
Coverage we cannot document and an integration the platform must build. The docs allow self-serve cross-border payouts only among five regions: US, UK, EEA, Canada, Switzerland. Fees have several parts (per payout, per monthly active account, 0.25% routing, cross-border), and the 15-minute response target applies only to critical issues on paid support plans.
What the data does not show
This answer does not use review data.
Trust and registration
More alternatives to Stripe
Other contractor payouts providers, by our contractor payouts score. How we score
- Contractor payouts price from
- 3% of each payout
- Contractor payouts countries 190 claimed, 98 documented
- Services EOR · Payouts · Contractors · Payroll
- Best for
- Startups, SMBs, agencies and enterprises: the segments Remozo names for its contractor product
- Not for
- Buyers whose security review asks for SOC 2 or ISO 27001 held by Remozo itself
- Top pro
- Contractor payouts claimed in 190+ countries; 98 are listed one by one in Remozo's help centre
- Top con
- Contractor plan from 3% per payout: for contractor payouts, 2 of the 6 other percentage prices we compare are lower and 1 the same. The contractor page says from 1.5%, which we do not score
- Contractor payouts price
- Custom quote
- Contractor payouts countries 200 claimed
- Services Payouts · Contractors
- Best for
- Businesses paying large, distributed payee networks across borders, which is how Tipalti describes Mass Payments
- Not for
- Buyers who need a published per-payout or per-contractor price before contacting sales
- Top pro
- Own SOC 1 and SOC 2 attestations at Type II level, stated on Tipalti's cloud page
- Top con
- Mass Payments shows only a $249 monthly plan fee; transaction pricing is charged on top and not published, so we leave its price unranked
- Trustpilot3.1/5· 97
- G24.5/5· 416
Signals checked 29 Jun 2026
- Contractor payouts price from
- US$49 per contractor a month
- Contractor payouts countries 190 claimed
- Deposit None
- Services EOR · Payouts · Contractors · AOR · Payroll
- Best for
- Crypto and web3 teams paying contractors in stablecoins or crypto, a segment Rise names (startups, web3 startups, DAOs, global agencies)
- Not for
- Companies that need an EOR in countries beyond the US and the UK today
- Top pro
- Prices are published per head: $49 a contractor a month (discounts for startups and non-profits), $299 for Agent of Record, $399 an employee for EOR
- Top con
- EOR is documented in 2 countries (US, UK) against a claim of 90+. The parent, Rise Works, Inc., is on the GLEIF register; no own entity is documented in either country
- Trustpilot4.6/5· 7,623
Signals checked 29 Jun 2026
Questions people ask
Which Stripe product do you score?
Stripe Connect payouts to contractors, sellers and other service providers. Stripe also offers Global Payouts, a separate preview product that requires Treasury and is open to businesses in the US and UK. It has its own pricing and is not scored here.
What does Stripe Connect charge for payouts?
In the model where the platform sets pricing, the US page gives 0.25% + 25¢ per payout sent and $2 per monthly active account, which is an account paid in that month by bank or debit card. Instant Payouts cost 1% of payout volume, cross-border payouts start at 0.25% of payout volume, and funds routing and platform management cost 0.25% of payout volume where they apply. The euro page reads 0.25% + €0.10 and €2 (stripe.com/connect/pricing, checked 2026-10-16).
In how many countries can Stripe pay contractors?
Stripe's Connect page says Connect Onboarding supports 46+ countries; no page lists payout countries, so we document none. Its docs let platforms in the US, UK, EEA, Canada or Switzerland send money across borders to connected accounts in the same five regions, and rule out self-serve cross-border payouts beyond them. Global Payouts states more than 160 countries, but only for US and UK businesses in preview.
Does Stripe handle contractor contracts or act as the employer?
Its Connect pages describe payouts, identity checks and onboarding of paid users, and we found no contract, closing-document or contractor-management flow. We therefore score only contractor payouts. The paid person accepts a Connected Account Agreement.
Which certifications does Stripe state?
On its security page Stripe lists a PCI Service Provider Level 1 certification, annual SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II audit reports it hands out on request, and a public SOC 3 report. ISO 27001 is not on that page (docs.stripe.com/security, checked 2026-10-16).
Can Stripe pay contractors in stablecoins?
Stablecoin payouts are in private preview, for platforms based in the US and for individuals or sole proprietors only, according to Stripe's docs. We do not score crypto as a payout method for Stripe.
What support does Stripe offer?
Every customer gets 24x7 phone, email and chat help, but the page does not say people staff each channel. Paid Growth, Premium and Enterprise plans add escalation for critical issues with a stated 15-minute response target, and a technical account manager comes with Premium and Enterprise.
Sources
- Stripe Connect pricing, Stripe · checked 16 Oct 2026
- Stripe docs Global Payouts, Stripe · checked 16 Oct 2026
- Stripe Connect, Stripe · checked 16 Oct 2026
How this page is built
Last checked: 16 Oct 2026.