Comparison

Pay for Stripe vs Stripe Express

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Pay for Stripe

Accept credit card payments instantly from your iPhone. Ideal for small businesses and individuals selling at markets or events. Secure transactions with bank-grade encryption and responsive support.

Highlights
  • Accept contactless payments on iPhone
  • Bank-grade encryption for secure transactions
  • Global payment acceptance
  • Responsive in-app support
  • Instant payment processing
Features
Read full description

Use the Pay for Stripe app to accept payments in seconds. Whether you're selling at a garage sale, wedding boutique, or farmer's market, the Pay App allows you to accept payments on the fly. Sell anything. Anytime. Anywhere. Some of our features: TAP TO PAY ON IPHONE Accept contactless payments with only an iPhone. Available in the United States. BANK-GRADE ENCRYPTION When accepting payments, you must do so in a PCI compliant manner. 1000'S OF CUSTOMERS Users from all around the world make payments every day. RESPONSIVE SUPPORT Simply contact us inside the app if you have any question. We reply very quickly. INSTANT PAYMENT IN SECONDS When you start processing live payments from your customers, you will not receive your first payout until 7–10 days after your first successful payment is received. Please note there is a 1.5% fee when using the Pay App (in addition to Stripe fees). COUNTRIES Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, German, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and more. PRIVACY Your privacy is important to us. It is our policy to respect your privacy regarding any information we may collect from you across our website and other apps/sites we own and operate. We only ask for personal information when we truly need it to provide a service to you. We collect it by fair and lawful means, with your knowledge and consent. We also let you know why we’re collecting it and how it will be used. We only retain collected information for as long as necessary to provide you with your requested service. What data we store, we’ll protect within commercially acceptable means to prevent loss and theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. We don’t share any personally identifying information publicly or with third-parties, except when required to by law. Our website/app may link to external sites that are not operated by us. Please be aware that we have no control over the content and practices of these sites, and cannot accept responsibility or liability for their respective privacy policies. You are free to refuse our request for your personal information, with the understanding that we may be unable to provide you with some of your desired services. Your continued use of our website/app will be regarded as acceptance of our practices around privacy and personal information. If you have any questions about how we handle user data and personal information, feel free to contact us. This policy is effective as of January 2026.

About

Stripe Express

Monitor your income from platforms that use Stripe for payouts. View your real-time balance, upcoming payments, and analyze your cash flow. Update your account details and access tax forms directly from your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Track earnings on the go
  • View available balance in real-time
  • See upcoming payouts
  • Update bank account information
  • Analyze cash flow and earnings by platform
  • Access and edit tax forms
Features
Read full description

Track the money you earn from creator or gig platforms that partner with Stripe. View your available balance, see upcoming payouts, update bank account information, and analyze cash flow. CHECK YOUR BALANCE ON THE GO Get notified about incoming payments, check your available balance in real time, and see your earnings at a glance. UPDATE ACCOUNT INFORMATION Edit your business details, change your email and phone number, and edit your bank account information. ANALYZE YOUR EARNINGS Drill down into earnings by platform to identify trends and see how much you’re making over time. ACCESS AND EDIT TAX FORMS If you work with a platform that uses Stripe for tax form delivery, you’ll be able to update and download 1099, W-8 and W-9 documents. Stripe partners with thousands of platforms such as Twitter, Medium, and DoorDash to pay out creators and gig workers. Use Stripe for your business? Try the Stripe Dashboard mobile app. Having trouble? Visit https://support.stripe.com/express and get in touch.

Screenshots

Pay for Stripe4 screens
Stripe Express4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Stripe Express at free against Pay for Stripe's free with in-app purchases. Stripe Express also leads on ratings volume (30K vs 1.5K). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Pay for Stripe against 4.7 for Stripe Express. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stripe Express has 30K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of Pay for Stripe's written reviews are positive against 31% of Stripe Express's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pay for Stripe ships an update every 3 weeks, Stripe Express every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Pay for Stripe versus Stripe Express: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPay for StripeStripe Express
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.5K ratings)4.7 (30K ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews — better31.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.5K30K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size98 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperACCEPT PAYMENT COMPANYStripe, LLC

Customer experience

Pay for Stripe

All ratings1,459 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.3%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative61.1%

Stripe Express

All ratings30,280 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral1.9%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews195 reviews
Positive31.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative63.1%

User reviews

Pay for Stripe

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Innovative features
  • 🚀 Fast payouts
  • 😊 Satisfied customers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable app performance
  • 🔒 Lack of security and customer support
  • ⏱️ Delayed payouts
  • 💸 Potential scam concerns

Stripe Express

From 30K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient payment processing
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 💡 Helpful for tracking earnings from multiple sources

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and connection issues
  • 🕰️ Slow payouts and delayed fund transfers
  • 💤 Lack of responsive customer support
  • 🔒 Concerns about account security and access

Bugs and requests

Pay for Stripe

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login issues for some users
  • Errors when submitting applications

Requested features

3 requests
  • Improve customer support channels
  • Provide more transparency on payouts
  • Expand availability to more regions

Stripe Express

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes and errors
  • Inability to delete or deactivate accounts
  • Inconsistent transaction tracking and payout information

Requested features

3 requests
  • Easier method to update payment information
  • Improved tax reporting and 1099 form access
  • Live customer support via phone or chat

In-app purchases

None

Pay for Stripe

No in-app purchases

None

Stripe Express

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pay for Stripe free?
Pay for Stripe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stripe Express free?
Stripe Express is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pay for Stripe or Stripe Express?
Pay for Stripe and Stripe Express are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.5K and 30K ratings respectively.
Do Pay for Stripe or Stripe Express have ads?
Neither Pay for Stripe nor Stripe Express shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pay for Stripe or Stripe Express?
Pay for Stripe ships an update every 3 weeks, and Stripe Express every 2 weeks. Most recently, Pay for Stripe was updated on September 23, 2026 and Stripe Express on September 25, 2026.

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