- What you can sell with a Stripe Payment Link
- How to create a Stripe Payment Link
- Stripe Payment Links vs invoices
- The catch most people miss: limit the number of payments
- How far you can customise the payment page
- Local currencies and payment methods
- What you can collect at checkout
- Handy limits and URL parameters
- Payment Links vs Stripe Checkout
- My verdict on Stripe Payment Links
- Frequently asked questions
A Stripe Payment Link is a no-code, shareable link to a Stripe-hosted payment page. You create it in the Stripe Dashboard and share it by email, on social or on your website, and customers pay in their local language and currency with their preferred payment method, without you writing a line of code.
For a freelancer, coach, creator or small shop, that's the fastest way I know to get paid online without touching your website. The useful bits most people don't find straight away are that one link can be reused with many customers, it can switch itself off after a set number of payments, and Stripe always shows local currency to buyers in more than 150 countries.
What you can sell with a Stripe Payment Link
- A product or service. A one-off sale, such as a workshop place, a digital download or a fixed-price service.
- A subscription. A recurring payment, such as a monthly membership.
- Tips or donations. Customers choose what to pay. Stripe notes that this model currently doesn't support recurring payments or recurring donations.
How to create a Stripe Payment Link
- In the Stripe Dashboard, open Payment Links and select New.
- Add the product or service, or choose a subscription or a tips and donations link.
- Set what you'd like to collect: addresses, phone number, tax IDs, terms of service acceptance or custom fields.
- If you're selling something limited, turn on Limit the number of payments.
- Copy the link, add URL parameters if you'd like tracking, and share it.
You can also create product and subscription links from the Stripe Dashboard iOS app, but Stripe says the app can't create customers choose how much to pay links, so do those on a computer.
Stripe Payment Links vs invoices
This is the question I get most. Stripe's own comparison makes it simple: an invoice is for one specific customer, a Payment Link is for anyone you share it with.
| Invoice | Payment Link | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | One specific customer | Selling to many people, or donations |
| Reusable | No, you duplicate and edit it | Yes, or limit the number of purchases |
| Recurring | Via Stripe Billing | A link for a subscription |
| Reconciliation | Auto-reconciles bank payments | Through URL parameters |
| Languages and methods | 30+ languages, 40+ payment methods | 30+ languages, 40+ payment methods |
| Setup | No code | No code |
The catch most people miss: limit the number of payments
Stripe lets you set Limit the number of payments on a link. When the limit is reached, the link deactivates itself and visitors see a deactivation message, which you can customise. Stripe counts a link as paid for when a Checkout Session completes. That makes Payment Links handy for limited stock, a capped number of workshop places or a one-time payment you don't want paid twice. Most people leave a link live forever and then find someone has paid for something that sold out weeks ago.
How far you can customise the payment page
Not very far, and that's the trade-off for no code. Stripe gives you 20 preset fonts, 3 border radius options and your own logo, background and button colours. You can also put the page on your own domain, such as pay.example.com instead of buy.stripe.com, but Stripe lists custom domains as a paid feature.
Local currencies and payment methods
Adaptive Pricing lets customers pay in their local currency in more than 150 countries, and Stripe says it's always enabled for Payment Links. If you'd rather control it, you can set manual prices per currency instead. Dynamic payment methods show each customer the most relevant options, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, and you can turn individual methods on or off in the Dashboard.
One practical warning from Stripe: bank debits and vouchers can take 2 to 14 days to confirm. Wait for confirmation, or use webhooks if you've got a developer, before you ship anything or grant access.
What you can collect at checkout
- Billing address, or billing plus shipping, with the shipping countries and rates you choose.
- Phone number, business and individual names, and tax IDs.
- Acceptance of your terms of service.
- Custom fields, including a dropdown with up to 10 options from the Dashboard. Stripe says not to collect sensitive personal data in custom fields.
- Tax through Stripe Tax, a paid product. Stripe says its fees only apply after you add a location where you're registered.
Handy limits and URL parameters
Through the API you can add up to 20 line items for flat-rate prices. URL parameters let you prefill a customer's email or a promo code, set the language, track which campaign a sale came from and make reconciliation easier. If you share the same link in a newsletter and on Instagram, a campaign parameter on each tells you which one sold.
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Payment Links vs Stripe Checkout
Checkout is Stripe's low-code integration: more than 100 payment methods including Link, embedded in your site or as a redirect, and driven by Checkout Sessions in code. Payment Links is the no-code route to the same kind of hosted page. If you need a mixed cart of a subscription plus one-time items, Stripe says that's possible in Checkout by setting the mode to subscription.
Need to split funds between several sellers? That is the job of Stripe Connect.
My verdict on Stripe Payment Links
If you want to be paid today and you don't want to touch your website, Payment Links are brilliant. Make one per offer, cap the ones that are limited and add a campaign parameter wherever you share them. Where they fall short is branding and flow: if you need a checkout that looks and behaves exactly like your site, that's a job for Checkout and a developer. Before you pick, check what Stripe charges and how it compares in my Stripe vs PayPal guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Stripe Payment Link?
It's a no-code, shareable link to a Stripe-hosted payment page. You create it in the Dashboard and share it by email, on social or on your website.
Can I reuse a Stripe Payment Link?
Yes. Unlike an invoice, a Payment Link can be reused with many customers, or you can limit the number of payments so it deactivates itself.
Can a Stripe Payment Link take subscriptions?
Yes. You can create a link for a subscription. The customers choose what to pay model for tips and donations currently doesn't support recurring payments.
Can I use my own domain for Stripe Payment Links?
Yes, you can use a custom domain such as pay.example.com instead of buy.stripe.com, but Stripe lists custom domains as a paid feature.
Do Stripe Payment Links show local currency?
Yes. Adaptive Pricing is always enabled for Payment Links and lets customers pay in their local currency in more than 150 countries.
