Stripe Terminal
Retail POS systems
POS software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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What is Stripe Terminal
Stripe Terminal is a set of APIs, SDKs, and compatible card readers that lets businesses accept in-person payments and connect them to Stripe’s online payments and billing workflows. It is primarily used by software platforms and businesses that want to embed card-present payments into a custom checkout experience rather than adopt a full retail POS suite. The product focuses on payment acceptance, reader management, and unified reporting through Stripe, with options for pre-certified hardware and mobile or countertop deployments.
Developer-first embedded payments
Stripe Terminal provides APIs and SDKs to build custom in-person checkout flows inside a business’s own app. This approach fits platforms and multi-location businesses that need tailored UX, custom business logic, or tight integration with existing systems. Compared with typical off-the-shelf POS products, it offers more control over the payment experience and integration patterns.
Unified online and in-person
Terminal is designed to link card-present transactions with Stripe’s broader payments stack, which can simplify reconciliation across channels. Businesses can centralize customer, payment method, and transaction data in Stripe for reporting and downstream workflows. This is useful for hybrid models that take both online and in-store payments and want consistent payment operations.
Reader fleet management tools
Stripe supports provisioning, updating, and monitoring compatible readers through its platform, which helps with multi-device rollouts. It also supports common deployment models such as mobile readers and countertop devices depending on region and hardware availability. These capabilities reduce the need to build custom device-management tooling from scratch.
Not a full POS suite
Stripe Terminal focuses on payment acceptance and device integration, not complete POS functionality such as inventory, product catalogs, employee management, or advanced retail workflows. Businesses often need to pair it with separate POS software or build those capabilities themselves. Organizations looking for an out-of-the-box retail POS may find the scope too narrow.
Requires technical implementation
Terminal typically requires engineering effort to integrate, certify flows, and maintain the in-person checkout experience. Ongoing changes (e.g., reader models, OS updates, or payment requirements) may require continued development and testing. This can be a barrier for small merchants that prefer a turnkey POS application.
Hardware and geography constraints
Terminal works with a defined set of Stripe-supported readers, and availability can vary by country and payment method. Hardware procurement, replacement logistics, and regional compliance requirements can add operational complexity. Businesses with existing non-supported hardware or specialized peripherals may face migration or integration limitations.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Pay-as-you-go Free tier/trial: Free plan: Unavailable. Free trial: Unavailable. Example costs:
- In-person card transactions (domestic): 2.7% + $0.05 per successful transaction.
- International card adjustment: +1.5% on top of the base rate for international cards.
- Tap to Pay on mobile devices: +$0.10 per authorization (in addition to the transaction fee).
- Optional point-to-point encryption (P2PE) authorization fee: +$0.05 per authorization (optional/industry-dependent).
- Hardware (US list prices shown on Stripe site):
- Stripe Reader M2 — $59.00.
- BBPOS WisePOS E — $249.00.
- Stripe Reader S700 — $349.00. Discount/options:
- Custom pricing available for large payment volumes or special requirements (contact sales).
- Hardware pricing varies by country; Stripe Dashboard shows country-specific prices and Stripe offers volume discounts on request.
Seller details
Stripe, Inc.
South San Francisco, California, USA
2010
Private
https://stripe.com
https://x.com/stripe
https://www.linkedin.com/company/stripe/
