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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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Stripe Has a Free API — Accept Payments, Manage Subscriptions, and Build Checkout in Minutes

#webdev #api #programming #beginners

Stripe's API is free to integrate — you only pay when you process real transactions (2.9% + 30 cents per charge). The test mode gives you unlimited API calls with fake credit cards, so you can build and test your entire payment system without spending a cent.

Here's how to start building with it.

Get Your Free API Keys

  1. Create a free account at dashboard.stripe.com
  2. Go to Developers → API keys
  3. Copy your test mode keys (start with sk_test_ and pk_test_)

Test mode = unlimited free API calls with test card numbers.

1. Create a Payment Intent 

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/payment_intents \
  -u sk_test_YOUR_KEY: \
  -d amount=2000 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d "payment_method_types[]"=card
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This creates a $20.00 payment intent. The client_secret in the response is used by your frontend to complete the payment.

2. Create a Customer 

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/customers \
  -u sk_test_YOUR_KEY: \
  -d email="customer@example.com" \
  -d name="Jane Doe"
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3. Create a Subscription 

# First create a product and price
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/products \
  -u sk_test_YOUR_KEY: \
  -d name="Pro Plan"

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/prices \
  -u sk_test_YOUR_KEY: \
  -d product=prod_XXXXX \
  -d unit_amount=1999 \
  -d currency=usd \
  -d "recurring[interval]"=month

# Then create the subscription
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/subscriptions \
  -u sk_test_YOUR_KEY: \
  -d customer=cus_XXXXX \
  -d "items[0][price]"=price_XXXXX
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4. Python — Payment Processing 

import stripe

stripe.api_key = "sk_test_YOUR_KEY"

def create_checkout_session(price_cents, product_name):
    session = stripe.checkout.Session.create(
        payment_method_types=["card"],
        line_items=[{
            "price_data": {
                "currency": "usd",
                "product_data": {"name": product_name},
                "unit_amount": price_cents,
            },
            "quantity": 1,
        }],
        mode="payment",
        success_url="https://yoursite.com/success",
        cancel_url="https://yoursite.com/cancel",
    )
    return session.url

# Create a $29.99 checkout link
url = create_checkout_session(2999, "Premium Report")
print(f"Pay here: {url}")
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5. Node.js — Webhook Handler 

const stripe = require("stripe")("sk_test_YOUR_KEY");

// Express webhook endpoint
app.post("/webhook", express.raw({ type: "application/json" }), (req, res) => {
  const event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(
    req.body,
    req.headers["stripe-signature"],
    "whsec_YOUR_WEBHOOK_SECRET"
  );

  switch (event.type) {
    case "payment_intent.succeeded":
      console.log(`Payment received: $${event.data.object.amount / 100}`);
      break;
    case "customer.subscription.created":
      console.log("New subscriber!");
      break;
    case "invoice.payment_failed":
      console.log("Payment failed — send reminder email");
      break;
  }
  res.json({ received: true });
});
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Test Card Numbers

Card Number Result
4242 4242 4242 4242 Success
4000 0000 0000 0002 Decline
4000 0000 0000 3220 3D Secure required

Use any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC.

Rate Limits

Mode Limit
Test mode 100 requests/second
Live mode 100 requests/second
Read operations Higher limits

What You Can Build

  • SaaS billing — subscriptions, usage-based pricing, free trials
  • Marketplace payments — Stripe Connect for multi-party payouts
  • One-time purchases — digital products, courses, reports
  • Donation page — accept one-time or recurring donations
  • Invoice system — auto-generate and send invoices
  • Usage metering — charge customers based on API calls or data usage

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