Stripe Invoicing: What It Costs, How to Send One and What It Won't Do

That last part is the bit people miss. Stripe's pricing page says Invoicing has no fixed fees or setup costs, but Stripe Payments pricing will apply. So every paid invoice carries two charges: the Invoicing percentage and the processing fee on the payment itself. If you're weighing it against a flat-fee invoicing app, add both together before you decide.

Starter or Plus: what the two Invoicing plans include

Both plans come from Stripe's US page, in US dollars, as of October 2026. Large invoice amounts can get custom pricing through Stripe's sales team.

	Starter	Plus
Fee	0.4% per paid invoice	0.5% per paid invoice
Hosted invoice page	Included	Included
Insights and analytics	Included	Included
Customer portal	Included	Included
Automatic collection	Included	Included
Invoice auto-reconciliation	Included	Included
Quotes	Not included	Included

Quotes are the only difference in that list, and they matter for anyone who sends an estimate first. A quote lets you send a price for approval and turn it into an invoice once the client says yes. If that's how you win work, you're on Plus whether you like it or not.

How an invoice moves from draft to paid

You don't need a developer for any of this. Here's the flow from the Dashboard, start to finish:

1. Go to Invoices in your Dashboard and select Create invoice.
2. Choose an existing customer or add a new one.
3. Add the items, quantity and price, plus a tax rate or coupon if you need one.
4. Add a memo and pick how the invoice will be delivered.
5. If you'd rather not send it now, schedule a send date.
6. Review it, send it, then watch its status on the Invoices page.

Whenever you leave the invoice editor, Stripe saves a draft, so you won't lose a half-finished invoice if you get pulled away. You can also schedule a charge date or a finalisation date rather than only a send date.

The four ways to deliver a Stripe invoice

This is where Stripe Invoicing is more flexible than people expect. Stripe lists four delivery options when you send from the Dashboard:

• Charge a payment method on file. Good for repeat clients who've already given you their card details.
• Send the link yourself. Copy the invoice or payment page link and share it however you like, including by text message.
• Email it with a link. The customer gets the payment page plus the invoice PDF.
• Email it without a link. They get the PDF only, which suits clients who pay by bank transfer outside Stripe.

Invoice or payment link: Stripe's own comparison

Stripe sells both, and they do different jobs. Here's the short version from Stripe's own comparison:

	Invoice	Payment Link
Who pays	A specific customer	Anyone with the link
Reuse	No, duplicate and edit	Yes, or cap the number of purchases
Quotes or estimates	Yes (Plus plan)	No
Recurring	Needs Stripe Billing	Subscription links available
Customisation	Editable template	Limited (20 preset fonts)
Collection tools	Smart Retries, reminders	Retries and reminders for subscription links

Both let customers choose from over 40 payment methods and both support over 30 languages. The invoice template lets you change icons, brand colours, payment terms, page sizes, the memo and the footer. If you're selling the same thing to lots of people, a payment link is simpler. If you're billing one client for one piece of work, the invoice is the right tool.

Why you can't reuse an invoice, and what to do instead

An invoice belongs to one customer and can't be reused. What you can do is duplicate it and edit the copy. Stripe copies everything except credit notes and any deleted or archived products, prices, coupons, discounts and tax rates.

The same trick fixes mistakes. If you've sent an invoice with the wrong amount, Stripe's advice is to duplicate it, correct the copy, send the new one and void the incorrect invoice. Don't try to edit around it; void it so your records stay clean.

Chasing late payers without writing the emails

Automatic collection is where Invoicing earns its fee. On card payments, Smart Retries uses AI to choose when to try a failed payment again. Stripe's recommended default is 8 tries within 2 weeks, and you can set the window anywhere from 1 week to 2 months. By default Stripe doesn't retry failed non-card and Direct Debit payments, except ACH Direct Debit.

You can schedule reminder emails before, on or after the due date, and mark a past-due invoice as uncollectible after 30, 60 or 90 days. There's also a setting that marks an invoice paid when a partial payment comes within a set amount of the total; Stripe's example is within 20 dollars, which saves you chasing a client over a bank charge. If you want more chasing than Stripe gives you, see my roundup of late payment reminder tools.

Stripe also makes two claims of its own on its Invoicing page: that 87% of Stripe invoices are paid within 24 hours, and that Smart Retries recover 38% of failed payments on average. Those are Stripe's figures, not independent ones, so treat them as a sales pitch rather than a promise.

What your customer sees on the hosted invoice page

The hosted page shows the payment methods you've allowed, and Stripe handles authentication such as 3D Secure under Europe's Strong Customer Authentication rules. It's mobile responsive, it offers Apple Pay and Google Pay, and customers can download a PDF of the invoice.

One setting is worth checking. For accounts created after 30 May 2025, saving a customer's payment method on a one-time invoice defaults to Offer, which is a checkbox the customer ticks. The Always option can breach privacy rules, and Stripe tells you to check local law before you switch to it.

Once the invoice is paid, Stripe creates an itemised receipt. Automatic receipts only go out if the Successful payments email setting is on and the customer's email is on file; otherwise use the Send receipt button.

If you charge on a schedule rather than per invoice, Stripe Billing covers subscriptions and usage-based pricing.

Is Stripe Invoicing worth it? The verdict

If you're a freelancer or a small firm already taking payments through Stripe, Invoicing is an easy win: a branded pay page, automatic chasing and reconciliation with no code at all. Before you move off a flat-fee invoicing tool, though, work out what the per-paid-invoice percentage plus processing adds up to on your typical invoice, because on large invoices that stack can add up fast. The processing side is broken down in this guide to Stripe fees. And if you bill the same clients every month, this isn't the product you want; that's Stripe Billing. For the basics of what goes on any invoice, see invoice payment terms explained.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Stripe Invoicing cost?

On Stripe's US pricing page, as of October 2026, Starter is 0.4% per paid invoice and Plus is 0.5% per paid invoice. There are no fixed fees or setup costs, but normal Stripe payment fees still apply on top.

Can I create a Stripe invoice without coding?

Yes. Stripe says you can create, customise and send a Stripe-hosted invoice from the Dashboard with no code required.

Can I reuse a Stripe invoice?

No. An invoice is for one specific customer and can't be reused, but you can duplicate it and edit the copy.

How do I fix a mistake on a Stripe invoice I've already sent?

Stripe's advice is to duplicate the invoice, correct the copy, send the new one and void the incorrect invoice.

Does Stripe Invoicing include quotes?

Only on the Plus plan. Starter doesn't include Quotes, which let you send an estimate and turn it into an invoice.