Stripe vs Pesapal
Stripe or Pesapal for your paid community?
Both work with Ubunya: members who pay are let in automatically, and lose access when their membership ends. Here's how they differ on fees, payment methods, tax and payouts.
The short answer
Choose Stripe if
- Communities with a business in a Stripe country that want full control and are ready to handle their own sales tax.
- Members should manage their own card and cancel without asking you.
Choose Pesapal if
- East African businesses that want card and M-Pesa payments from a local provider.
- Your members pay with M-Pesa.
- Members are happy to pay again each month or year rather than save a card.
Side by side
| Stripe | Pesapal | |
|---|---|---|
| Handles sales tax and VAT (merchant of record) | No, you do | No, you do |
| Card fee | 2.9% + 30¢ (US cards). Plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% if currency conversion is needed. Billing adds 0.7% on subscriptions. Optional Managed Payments (merchant of record) adds 3.5%. | Not published. Pesapal charges a per-transaction fee but publishes no rates; ask their sales team. |
| Members can pay with | cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, Klarna, ACH Direct Debit, UPI, Pix, bank payments, stablecoins | cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), M-Pesa, mobile money, mobile banking |
| Recurring billing | Subscriptions through Stripe Billing, mainly by card, wallet or bank debit. | Recurring payments by Visa or Mastercard only; the payer approves the schedule on Pesapal's page. |
| Who can sign up as a seller | About 44 countries self-serve; Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire are served through Paystack instead | Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Payouts | Bank account in the seller's country | Bank account in the country you registered in, within about 3 working days |
| Free test mode | Yes | Yes |
| Connecting it to Ubunya | Paste a secret or restricted key. We add the webhook for you. | Paste your consumer key and secret. We register the payment notification URL for you. |
| Prices on your community | Your Stripe monthly, yearly and one-time prices. | You type the prices in: monthly, yearly or one-time. |
| Renewals in Ubunya | Cards renew automatically every month or year. | Each payment buys one month or year; members pay again by M-Pesa, Airtel Money or card when it ends. |
| Members' billing page | Stripe's customer portal: card, invoices, cancel. | None: members pay again from your community page. |
From Stripe's and Pesapal's own websites, checked November 2026. Prices change; check theirs before you sign up. Compare all 11 providers.
Questions
Which handles tax, Stripe or Pesapal?+
Neither is a merchant of record: you're the seller, so sales tax and VAT are yours to handle.
Can members pay with M-Pesa on Stripe or Pesapal?+
Stripe: not that we could find on its website. Pesapal: yes.
Can I use Stripe or Pesapal with Ubunya?+
Yes, both. Connect your own account under Manage → Payments. Stripe: Paste a secret or restricted key. We add the webhook for you. Pesapal: Paste your consumer key and secret. We register the payment notification URL for you.
What happens when a member stops paying?+
Their access stays until the end of what they paid for, plus the grace days you set (three by default). Then the community closes to them. Staff never lose access.
More comparisons
Charge for your community with the account you already have
Connect it under Manage → Payments. Paying members are let in automatically.