Recurring payments

If you have a business model where your customers pay you on a regular basis, you typically want to offer them subscriptions. Stripe offers several ways to create and manage subscriptions.

If you use Organizations, you can view a list of your subscriptions across all of your accounts. You can also filter this list by account. However, you can create and analyze subscriptions only from the Subscriptions page at the account level.

Create subscriptions from the Dashboard

To create a subscription:

1. In the Stripe Dashboard, go to the subscriptions page.

2. Click +Create subscription.

3. Find or add a customer.

4. Enter the pricing and product information. You can add multiple products.

5. Set the start and end date of the subscription.

6. Set the starting date for the billing cycle. This defines when the next invoice is generated. Depending on your settings, the saved payment method on file might also be charged automatically on the billing cycle date. Learn more about the billing cycle date.

7. (Recommended) Configure email reminders and notifications for subscribers.

8. (Optional) Add the default tax behavior, a coupon, a free trial, or metadata.

9. (Optional) Enable revenue recovery features in the Dashboard, which can help you reduce and recover failed subscription payments. You can automatically retry failed payments, build custom automations, configure customer emails, and so on.

Create subscriptions with Payment Links

To create subscriptions with Payment Links, select Sell a subscription when you create the payment link. Then, share the link with your customers. Learn more about creating and sharing payment links.

Create subscriptions with Checkout

If you’re using Checkout as your payment UI, create subscriptions with the Checkout Sessions API. In typical integrations, you add a button to your site that calls the backend of your application to create the checkout session. Read the subscriptions integration guide to learn more.

After a payment succeeds, the subscription becomes active and the Checkout Session object contains references to the Customer and Subscription objects.

To create a subscription with this API, pass mode=subscription:

# Set your secret key. Remember to switch to your live secret key in production.
# See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/apikeys
Stripe.api_key = 
'sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2'

# The price ID passed from the front end.
#   price_id = params['priceId']
price_id = '{{PRICE_ID}}'

session = Stripe::Checkout::Session.create({
  success_url: 'https://example.com/success.html?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}',
  cancel_url: 'https://example.com/canceled.html',
  mode: 'subscription',
  line_items: [{
    # For usage-based billing, don't pass quantity
    quantity: 1,
    price: price_id,
  }],
  subscription_data: {
    billing_mode: { type: 'flexible' }
  }
})

# Redirect to the URL returned on the session
#   redirect session.url, 303

Create subscriptions with Elements

If you’re using Elements as your payment UI, create subscriptions with the Subscriptions API.

Pass the selected price ID and the ID of the customer record to the backend. Then, on the backend, create the subscription with status incomplete using payment_behavior=default_incomplete. Then return the client_secret from the subscription’s first PaymentIntent to the frontend to complete payment. Learn how to build a subscriptions integration with Elements.

# Set your secret key. Remember to switch to your live secret key in production.
# See your keys here: https://dashboard.stripe.com/apikeys
Stripe.api_key = 
'sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2'

post '/create-subscription' do
  content_type 'application/json'
  data = JSON.parse(request.body.read)
  customer_id = cookies[:customer]
  price_id = data['priceId']

  # Create the subscription. Note we're expanding the Subscription's
  # latest invoice and that invoice's confirmation_secret
  # so we can pass it to the front end to confirm the payment
  subscription = Stripe::Subscription.create(
    customer: customer_id,
    items: [{
      price: price_id,
    }],
    payment_behavior: 'default_incomplete',
    payment_settings: {save_default_payment_method: 'on_subscription'},
    billing_mode: {type: 'flexible'},
    expand: ['latest_invoice.confirmation_secret']
  )

  { subscriptionId: subscription.id, clientSecret: subscription.latest_invoice.confirmation_secret.client_secret }.to_json
end

At this point, the subscription is inactive and awaiting payment. In the following example response, the minimum fields you must store are highlighted. We recommend that you also store any field that your application frequently accesses.

{
  "id": "sub_JgRjFjhKbtD2qz",
  "object": "subscription",
  "application_fee_percent": null,
  "automatic_tax": {
    "disabled_reason": null,
    "enabled": false,
    "liability": "null"
  },
  "billing_cycle_anchor": 1623873347,

Create subscriptions through the Subscriptions API

Use the Subscriptions API to create basic subscriptions for recurring prices. Learn how to build an end-to-end subscriptions integration or use the immersive quickstart.

Here’s how to create a subscription where the initial payment also includes a one-time purchase (like a service fee):

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/subscriptions \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:" \
  -d customer=
"{{CUSTOMER_ID}}" \
  -d "items[0][price]"={{RECURRING_PRICE_ID}} \
  -d "add_invoice_items[0][price]"={{ONE_TIME_PRICE_ID}}

Create subscriptions with the Subscription Schedules API

For more complex subscription scenarios, use the Subscription Schedules API. Learn more about subscription schedules and their use cases.

Here’s how to create a recurring subscription:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/subscriptions \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:" \
  -d customer=cus_Gk0uVzT2M4xOKD \
  -d "items[0][price]"=price_F52b2UdntfQsfR \
  -d "expand[0]"="latest_invoice.payments" \
  -d "expand[1]"="latest_invoice.confirmation_secret" \
  -d off_session=true

Set up recurring payments by charging a customer’s saved payment information. Capture the payment details with a PaymentIntent or SetupIntent. Then use the client secret associated with those objects to charge the customer later. This approach is good if you don’t want to use Subscriptions or have implemented your own subscription logic. These steps only cover what’s needed to collect payment method information and to charge it. Read the guide for complete integration details to save and reuse payment details.

• Use PaymentIntents to capture payment information during a checkout flow. Charge the customer on-session for their immediate purchase, then charge them later. This flow is good for: charging customers for an initial payment in a series of recurring payments, or charging for a one-time setup fee for a subscription service.
• Use SetupIntents to capture payment information outside of a checkout flow. Collect the details from the customer and store them in a SetupIntent. This flow is good for: capturing payment information while you onboard a customer that you intend to charge later, or for setting up free trials.

You can use invoices to handle recurring payments. For example, the Powdur company has a monthly landscaping service. Each month, the landscapers send Powdur an invoice and automatically charge the payment method they have on file for Powdur.

The following sections describe your options for using invoices for recurring payments.

Create an invoice through the Dashboard

To create and send an invoice, complete the following steps:

1. In the Dashboard, go to the Invoices page, and click Create Invoice to open the invoice editor. Whenever you exit the invoice editor, Stripe saves a draft. (To delete a draft invoice, click the overflow menu () next to an invoice on the Invoices page.)

2. Select an existing customer or click Add new customer. For new customers, you have to enter a name. You can optionally add an email address or other details.

3. (Optional) Click the overflow menu () in the Items section to open the Items Options dialog. Choose the desired currency and tax rendering option for the invoice.

4. Select Add one-time item to create a single, one-time item. To save a product for future use, select Create new product.

5. Enter the Quantity and Price for your new item or product.

6. (Optional) Click the Item options under each item to add a tax rate, coupon, or supply date. You can also use the Dashboard to create a tax rate or coupon.

7. (Optional) Use the Memo box to provide more information to your customer. You can edit the memo on an invoice by clicking Edit memo on its details page.

8. Select one of the following invoice delivery options:

   • Automatically charge a payment method on file: Immediately charges the invoice amount to your customer’s payment method that you have on file.

   • Send invoice or payment page link manually: Provides a payment link for you to send to customers after you confirm the invoice.

   • Email invoice with link: Enables Stripe to send an email with a payment page and an invoice PDF.

   • Email invoice without link: Enables Stripe to send an invoice PDF only.

9. (Optional) To schedule this invoice to finalize automatically at some date in the future, select Schedule send date. Or, depending on what you selected in the previous step, Schedule charge date or Schedule finalization date.

10. (Optional) Expand Advanced options, and add custom fields. To learn more, see Net prices and taxes. Expand Advanced options, and add custom fields.

11. Click Review invoice and decide whether you want to include additional emails or continue editing. Send the invoice.

Create an invoice through the API

You can create an invoice through the Invoices API. You need to create product, price, and customer before you create the invoice because you specify those values for the invoice and invoice items. Read the guide to understand all the steps for integrating with the Invoicing API. Or see the quickstart for an immersive, code-first experience.

To create an invoice through the API, follow these steps:

Set the collection_method attribute to send_invoice. For Stripe to mark an invoice as past due, you must add the days_until_due parameter. When you send an invoice, Stripe emails the invoice to the customer with payment instructions.

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/invoices \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:" \
  -d customer=
"{{CUSTOMER_ID}}" \
  -d collection_method=send_invoice \
  -d days_until_due=30

Then, create an invoice item by passing in the customer id, product price, and invoice ID invoice.

The maximum number of invoice items is 250.

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/invoiceitems \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:" \
  -d customer=
"{{CUSTOMER_ID}}" \
  -d "pricing[price]"=
"{{PRICE_ID}}" \
  -d invoice=
"{{INVOICE_ID}}"

If you set auto_advance to false, you can continue to modify the invoice until you finalize it. To finalize a draft invoice, use the Dashboard, send it to the customer, or pay it. You can also use the Finalize API:

curl -X POST https://api.stripe.com/v1/invoices/
{{INVOICE_ID}}
/finalize \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:"

Schedule recurring invoices

If you want to set up a recurring invoice, create a subscription.

You can choose how to collect payment:

• Send an invoice to the customer. You can set the collection terms, including due date and accepted payment methods.
• Automatically charge a saved payment method. If the customer has a saved payment method, Stripe automatically charges that method.

In the Dashboard, you configure payment collection in the subscription editor. In the API, you configure payment collection with the collection_method parameter.

You can also configure Stripe to send customers reminder emails about unpaid recurring invoices.

Stripe automatically generates an invoice for each billing cycle in a subscription. Learn more about the invoice lifecycle for subscriptions.

Installment plans allow customers to make partial payments for a set amount of time until the total amount is paid. For example, when The Pacific buys new printing presses, they sell the used ones to other publications. Smaller publications rarely have enough funds to pay for a printing press upfront, so they pay using an installment plan instead.

For most presses, The Pacific charges 1,000 USD per month so a reusable price is created:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/prices \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:" \
  -d unit_amount=100000 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d product=prod_Hh99apo1OViyGW \
  -d "recurring[interval]"=month

Depending on the make, model, and age of the printing press, The Pacific charges different amounts. This example charges 1,000 USD each month for 6 months, for a total of 6,000 USD.

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/subscription_schedules \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:" \
  -d customer=
"{{CUSTOMER_ID}}" \
  -d start_date=now \
  -d end_behavior=cancel \
  -d "phases[0][items][0][price]"=
"{{PRICE_ID}}" \
  -d "phases[0][items][0][quantity]"=1 \
  -d "phases[0][iterations]"=6

The number of iterations is multiplied by the price’s interval—6 monthly payments in this example—to determine the number of times the customer is charged. end_behavior determines what happens to the subscription after the last iteration is complete. In an installment plan, the subscription isn’t needed anymore so end_behavior is set to cancel.

In rare cases, The Pacific charges less than the usual 1,000 USD per month. In these scenarios, they use price_data to create a single-use price. This example creates a 500 USD price, and charges monthly for 6 months:

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/subscription_schedules \
  -u "
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
:" \
  -d customer=
"{{CUSTOMER_ID}}" \
  -d start_date=now \
  -d end_behavior=cancel \
  -d "phases[0][items][0][price_data][currency]"=usd \
  -d "phases[0][items][0][price_data][product]"=prod_Hh99apo1OViyGW \
  -d "phases[0][items][0][price_data][recurring][interval]"=month \
  -d "phases[0][items][0][price_data][unit_amount]"=50000 \
  -d "phases[0][items][0][quantity]"=1 \
  -d "phases[0][iterations]"=6

Stripe supports several different buy now, pay later methods. These methods let customers pay in installments over time. You’re paid immediately and in full. Your customers pay nothing or only a portion of the total purchase. Buy now, pay later methods help retailers boost conversion, increase average cart size, and reach new customers who don’t have credit cards.

Learn more about buy now, pay later methods

If your business is based in Mexico, you can offer your customers installments for card payments, or meses sin intereses. Using this method adds an additional fee to the standard credit card transaction fee.

Accept installments with a Stripe-hosted checkout page (Stripe Checkout), prebuilt UI components (Stripe Elements), the Invoicing API, or through Payment Links with no code.

Some connectors and plugins also support installments.

Requirements for meses sin interes

There are restrictions on which transactions and cards can use meses sin intereses. You don’t need to implement these rules yourself. Stripe automatically determines meses sin intereses eligibility after you set up the payment method.

• Stripe only supports installments for Stripe Mexico accounts.
• The payment method must be a credit card issued in Mexico.
• The card must be a consumer card–installments don’t support corporate cards.
• The card must be issued by one of our supported issuers.
• The currency value must be MXN (pesos).
• The total payment amount must be above a minimum transaction amount. Stripe provides a minimum transaction amount based on the number of months in the plan selected. You can specify which installment plans you want to enable and define your own custom minimum and maximum transaction amounts by configuring custom installment settings in the Dashboard.

1. In the Stripe Dashboard, activate the customer portal link on the customer portal settings page.
2. On the same page, go through the configuration options for the customer portal. Set up the customer portal without writing any code. Learn more about all the configuration options.
3. Share the portal link with your customers.
4. Optional Customize the branding and prefill email addresses by adding the prefilled_email URL parameter to the portal link.

1. In the Stripe Dashboard, create a payment link.
2. Select Products or subscriptions.
3. Find or add a recurring product that represents the recurring donation.
4. Under Advanced options, toggle the call to action option to Donate.
5. Create the link and share it. You can share the link directly, embed it as a button on your site, or generate a QR code.
6. Track payments associated with the payment link in the payments overview in the Dashboard.

Learn more about creating and sharing payment links.