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ES · Español

Stripe vs Wise Business

This is not two versions of the same product. Stripe takes card payments; Wise gives you local bank details in other currencies so a client can pay you by transfer. The real question is how your client is going to pay.

By Biel Vazquez · Rates verified

Short answer

If your client can pay by bank transfer, Wise costs a fraction of Stripe: $14.50 against $254.60 on a $5,000.00 US payment into Spain. If they need to pay by card, Wise is not an option here and Stripe is the cheaper processor.

Two different routes for the same invoice

A card payment through Stripe passes three layers on a cross-border invoice: the card fee, the surcharge for a foreign card and the conversion. On the $5,000.00 example that is $75.25, $82.50 and $96.85.

With Wise, the client pays your US account details by ACH as if you were a local supplier. There is no card and no border, so the first two layers do not exist. What is left is the conversion, which Wise does at the mid-market rate with a published fee of 0.29% from dollars to euros. Hence $14.50.

The gap grows with the invoice, because both costs are percentages: on $20,000.00 it is $959.65. Below a few hundred dollars it hardly matters, and the convenience of a card link can be worth more than the saving.

In practice many freelancers keep both: Wise details printed on the invoice for business clients, and a Stripe link for the client who will only pay by card.

What each one takes from a $5,000.00 payment

PaymentStripeWise BusinessCheaper
US client → US business$5,000.00 invoice$145.302.91%$0.000%Wise Business
US client → Spanish business$5,000.00 invoice$254.605.09%$14.500.29%Wise Business
US client → UK business$5,000.00 invoice$254.555.09%$16.500.33%Wise Business
German client → US business€5,000.00 invoice€268.105.36%€23.500.47%Wise Business

All four fee layers included. Stripe is cheaper in 0 of 4 payments, Wise Business in 4. Try your own route on the map.

Choose Stripe if…

  • Your clients pay by card: consumers, subscriptions, a checkout on your site.
  • You want invoices with a "pay now" card button and automatic reminders.
  • The client will not set up a bank transfer to a new supplier.

Choose Wise Business if…

  • Your clients are businesses that pay invoices by transfer anyway.
  • The invoices are large, so every percentage point is real money.
  • You want to be paid in dollars, pounds or euros without converting until you choose to.
Open a Wise Business account

How each one is priced, layer by layer (account in the EEA)

Fee layerStripeWise Business
Card or receiving fee1.5% + 0.25none (bank transfer)
Cross-border surcharge1% UK · 1.65% internationalnone
Currency conversion2%0.28%–0.49%
Payout to bankfreefree

Sources: Stripe · Wise Business. Fixed amounts in the account currency.

Questions

Is Wise cheaper than Stripe?

For a client who pays by bank transfer, yes: 0.29% against 5.09% on a US payment into a euro account. They are not interchangeable, though: Stripe is for card payments, Wise for transfers.

Can Wise take card payments?

This site models Wise only for bank transfers. Wise has been adding ways for clients to pay through payment links, but pricing and availability depend on the country, so check Wise's own pricing page before relying on it for cards.

Do I need both?

Not necessarily. If every client pays by transfer, Wise alone is enough. If some pay by card, a processor such as Stripe covers them, and the transfer clients still go to Wise.

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