Indie Alternatives

All alternatives › Stripe

Indie alternatives to Stripe

6 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Stripe does, 1 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
Hyperswitch	Free plan	Yes	Yes	Web, Self-hosted, API
Creem	Commission	–	–	Web, API
Dodo Payments	Commission	–	–	Web, API
Lemon Squeezy	Commission	–	–	Web, API
Paddle	Commission	–	–	Web, API
Polar	Commission	Yes	–	Web, API

The alternatives

1. Hyperswitch

Open-source payments switch for routing across processors

Hyperswitch, from Juspay, is an open-source payments orchestration layer that connects to many payment processors through one API.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, API · Website ↗

2. Creem

Merchant of record payments for SaaS and AI startups

Creem handles payments, subscriptions, tax compliance and revenue splits as a merchant of record for software founders.

Commission · Web, API · Website ↗

3. Dodo Payments

Global payments and billing for digital products

Dodo Payments is a merchant of record that handles payments, subscriptions, usage billing and tax for SaaS and digital businesses.

Commission · Web, API · Website ↗

4. Lemon Squeezy

Payments, tax and subscriptions for software sellers

Lemon Squeezy is a merchant of record for selling software, subscriptions and digital products with checkout, tax handling and licenses.

Commission · Web, API · Website ↗

5. Paddle

Merchant of record for SaaS payments and tax

Paddle processes subscription payments as merchant of record, handling global sales tax, invoicing and billing for software companies.

Commission · Web, API · Website ↗

6. Polar

Open-source merchant of record for developers

Polar lets developers sell subscriptions, digital products and license keys with usage billing, acting as merchant of record.

Commission · Web, API · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Stripe?

Yes. 1 of the 6 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Hyperswitch.

Is there an open-source alternative to Stripe?

Hyperswitch and Polar are open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to Stripe?

Yes: Hyperswitch can run on your own server.

What makes these alternatives to Stripe “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Stripe.

Ask your AI instead

Add Indie Alternatives to ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor and ask “a cheaper Stripe alternative that works on my Mac” in your own words, with your budget and platform. Set it up

Related

Browse: APIs · Developer Tools · Self-Hosted

Made one? List your product, it's free.