Stripe is programmable payments: checkout, subscriptions, invoicing, tax and fraud tooling behind APIs that developers genuinely like. There is no monthly fee — you pay per transaction — and the product surface now stretches from a no-code payment link to full marketplace infrastructure.
It suits products that need payments as a capability, not just a checkout button. You are the merchant of record, so global sales tax compliance stays your problem — the job Paddle and Lemon Squeezy take on in exchange for a higher cut.