Stripe Payment Links: what they cost, and whether one can take a payment plan

Every price and rule below is from Stripe's own pricing page and documentation, opened on 2 November 2026. Negotiated pricing can differ, so check your own Stripe fee schedule too.

What is a Stripe payment link?

A payment link is a URL to a checkout page that Stripe hosts. You make one in the Dashboard under Payment Links: click +New, pick a product or add one, and click Create link. Anyone who opens the link can pay, so you can share it by email, by text, as a QR code or as a buy button on your website. (Stripe: create a payment link)

Stripe fees on a $14,800 program, through payment linksDeposit + subscription, card~$526One link in full, card$429.50Deposit + subscription, ACH~$158One link in full, ACH$5.00Stripe's published US prices, 2 Nov 2026 · the subscription adds Billing at 0.7%

A link can sell one of three things:

• A product at a fixed price. A link takes up to 20 line items, and you can let the customer change the quantity.
• A subscription, from a recurring price, with an optional free trial.
• An amount the customer chooses, for donations, tips or pay-what-you-want. This option doesn't support recurring payments, and its default maximum is $10,000 USD unless Stripe support raises it.

The checkout page shows the payment methods that suit the customer, from over 40, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. (Stripe: Payment Links)

What does a Stripe payment link cost?

On Stripe's standard pricing, accepting payments through a link is "included at no additional charge". You pay Stripe's processing on each payment (Stripe pricing):

A link that sells a subscription creates a subscription in Stripe Billing. Stripe prices Billing at 0.7% of Billing volume on pay-as-you-go, with no recurring fee (Stripe Billing pricing). Stripe charges no setup or monthly fees for the account itself. The Stripe fee calculator works out the card side for any amount.

Can a Stripe payment link take a payment plan?

Not on its own. Stripe's table comparing Invoicing and Payment Links has a row for "Collect partial payments or set up payment plans": supported for Invoicing, not for Payment Links (Stripe: Payment Links). A link charges one amount, once, or the same amount every period as a subscription.

There are three ways people build a plan around that:

• A deposit link, then invoices. The link takes the deposit. The balance goes on a Stripe invoice, which can be split into installments or charged automatically.
• A deposit link, then a subscription link. The second link charges the same amount every week, month or other period. A subscription keeps going until it's cancelled, so you set it to cancel after the last payment. In the Dashboard that is Cancel subscription with a custom date; a subscription schedule set to cancel at its end does the same for a set number of periods (Stripe: cancel subscriptions).
• A link that saves payment details. Under Advanced options, Save payment details for future use keeps the card or bank account on file (Stripe: customize Payment Links). Every later payment is then yours to start.

The subscription route has a catch on most real prices: every charge is the same amount. A plan that doesn't divide evenly comes up a few cents short, unless you add a phase for the last payment, as Does Stripe offer payment plans? walks through.

What does a $14,800 program cost through payment links?

Take the sample used across this blog: a $14,800 program at the Denver location, with a $1,500 deposit and twelve payments of about $1,108. Here it is paid in full through one link, and as a deposit link plus a monthly subscription link of $1,108.33, at Stripe's standard US prices:

Card fees are rounded per payment. The subscription collects 12 × $1,108.33, which is $13,299.96, so the plan as built collects $14,799.96 unless you fix the last payment. Paid in full, the customer needs the whole $14,800 on the day. Split up, the card side costs a little more in processing, because the 30¢ is charged on every payment, and Billing adds its 0.7% on top.

Payment link or invoice?

Stripe's own comparison sets out where each fits (Stripe: Payment Links):

A link suits one price for many buyers: a registration fee, a deposit, a workshop seat. An invoice suits one customer who owes a set balance. Payment link analytics don't cover links with recurring prices, so subscription links are tracked under Billing > Subscriptions instead (Stripe: after a payment link payment).

Can you add a card surcharge to a Stripe payment link?

Only in a private preview, as of today. Stripe's automatic surcharge for Payment Links needs an invitation, a preview API version and a third-party surcharge provider's Stripe App. It is API-only, US-only, covers cards and Apple Pay, and doesn't work on links that include a subscription (Stripe: customize Payment Links). Stripe also says you are responsible for checking the provider's surcharges comply with the law and card network rules where you operate. Whether you may surcharge at all depends on your state: see Is it legal to charge credit card fees?.

What should you set on a deposit link?

If a link takes a deposit for a high-ticket sale, these settings, all from Stripe's docs, keep it tidy:

• Limit the number of payments. Set it to 1 for a link meant for one customer, and it deactivates after the first payment. You can write the message shown on a used link.
• Prefill the customer's email with the prefilled_email URL parameter, or locked_prefilled_email so it can't be changed.
• Add a custom field, such as the location or the program, as a dropdown of up to 10 options from the Dashboard. Stripe warns against using custom fields for sensitive data.
• Require agreement to your terms, once your terms URL is in your account's public details.
• Redirect after payment to your own page, with the checkout session ID in the URL, so your records can match the payment.

How do payment links work across several locations?

A payment link belongs to the Stripe account it's created in, and pays into that account. A business whose locations are separate legal entities usually has a Stripe account per entity, for the reasons in One LLC per location. Then each location needs its own links, its own copies of the products, and someone who knows which link to send. When a customer pays the wrong location's link, the money lands in the wrong account and the wrong books.

Changelog

• 2 November 2026: first published, with Stripe's US pricing and Payment Links documentation as they read that day.