Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Cledara vs Stripe

Cledara logo

Cledara

Accounting

Software subscription management with a virtual card per application, priced from £100 a month

From
£100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Stripe logo

Stripe

E-Commerce

Financial infrastructure for the internet

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Stripe has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cledara control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.; Stripe requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases
  • They diverge on capability: Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Stripe covers Payment processing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cledara and Stripe actually diverge.

Attributes where Cledara and Stripe differ
AttributeCledaraStripe
Starting price£100/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by number of applicationsUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryAccountingE-Commerce
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cledara

  • Virtual card per subscription
  • Cancel by card
  • Application inventory
  • Approval workflow
  • Invoice collection
  • Accounting export
  • Spend optimisation module
  • IT management and compliance modules

Only in Stripe

  • Payment processing
  • Subscription billing
  • Invoicing
  • Terminal (in-person payments)
  • Fraud prevention
  • 3D Secure
  • Global payouts
  • Financial reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cledara

  • A finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cardsnot Stripe
  • A company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellationnot Stripe
  • A startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the auditnot Stripe
  • A finance function that spends days each month chasing SaaS invoices for the accountantnot Stripe

Stripe

  • Online paymentsnot Cledara
  • Subscription managementnot Cledara
  • Marketplace paymentsnot Cledara
  • Global expansionnot Cledara
  • Platform monetizationnot Cledara

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cledara

  • Control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.
  • Tier limits are set by number of applications rather than headcount, and twenty applications on the Basic plan is fewer than most companies of fifty actually run, so buyers often land on a higher tier than the entry price suggests.
  • The modules that turn it from a payment layer into a management platform, spend optimisation, IT management and compliance, are each priced at £150 to £200 a month, comparable to the base plan itself.
  • Usage data is inferred from payment and integration signals rather than deep application telemetry, so its judgement of whether a tool is underused is weaker than a discovery product built on single sign-on and API usage.
  • It is a card issuer as well as a software vendor, which adds financial counterparty considerations and means a change in its banking arrangements would affect how the company pays every one of its suppliers.

Stripe

  • Requires developer setup and API integration for most use cases
  • Dispute fee of $15 per chargeback is standard industry cost
  • Limited offline payment capabilities

Pricing, plan by plan

Cledara

£100/month
  • Basic$100/month
    • Up to 20 software applications
    • Virtual card per subscription
    • Application inventory and approvals
  • Premium$undefined/month
    • Up to 75 software applications
    • Typically 51 to 150 staff
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at the subscription cost
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • For organisations above roughly 150 staff
    • Scoped individually
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at plan cost
  • Add-on modules$200/month
    • Spend Optimization £200 a month or £1,500 a year
    • IT Management £150 a month or £1,500 a year
    • Software Compliance £150 a month or £1,500 a year

Stripe

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Stripe review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cledara if

  • You need virtual card per subscription.
  • You also want cancel by card.
Cledara review

Choose Stripe if

  • You need payment processing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want subscription billing.
Stripe review

Questions people ask

Is Cledara or Stripe better?
Neither clearly leads. Cledara starts at £100/month and Stripe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cledara or Stripe?
Stripe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £100/month for Cledara and Free for Stripe.
Does Cledara or Stripe run on more platforms?
Cledara runs on Web. Stripe runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Stripe for free?
Yes. Stripe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cledara starts at £100/month.
What is Cledara best used for?
Cledara is most often used for a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards, a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation, a startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the audit, a finance function that spends days each month chasing saas invoices for the accountant. Of those, a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards and a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation are not what Stripe is typically brought in for.
What can Cledara do that Stripe cannot?
Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Cancel by card, Application inventory, Approval workflow. Stripe covers Payment processing, Subscription billing, Invoicing, Terminal (in-person payments).

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cledara: What does it cost?

Basic is £100 a month for up to 20 applications, with Premium covering up to 75 and Pro above that. Add-on modules are £150 to £200 a month each, and annual payment saves 16%.

Stripe: What are Stripe's transaction fees?

Standard US rates are 2.9% plus 30 cents for online card payments, 2.7% plus 5 cents for in-person, 3.4% plus 30 cents for keyed/phone transactions, and 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH payments.

Source
Cledara: Does it find software we did not tell it about?

Only what passes through its cards or connected integrations. Subscriptions paid by invoice or another card stay hidden, which is the main limitation of the model.

Stripe: How many currencies and countries does it support?

Stripe accepts 135+ currencies and supports payment acceptance in 40+ countries through Stripe Connect, enabling sellers to onboard and receive payouts in minutes.

Source
Cledara: How does cancelling work?

You cancel the virtual card for that subscription, which stops the payment. It does not remove your contractual obligation, so check notice periods.

Stripe: What payment methods are supported?

Stripe supports dozens of payment methods including credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, and local payment options, with additional support through partnerships with Meta and Google.

Source
Cledara: Is the application limit by users or by tools?

By tools. Twenty on Basic, seventy-five on Premium. Count your actual subscriptions before assuming the entry price applies to you.

Stripe: Are there monthly fees or contracts?

No. Stripe charges no monthly fees or contracts, only per-transaction fees and dispute fees, making costs fully transparent and variable.

Source
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