stripe

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Flat vector illustration of a person pressing a button on a tall black vending machine that pours glowing gold tokens into its tray, a gold price tag with a plus sign on the machine, on a saturated indigo-violet background

Stripe token billing for AI apps: how the markup works, what it costs, and what to use while it's in preview

Stripe will now keep your model price list and add your markup to every token, but it runs on Metronome, it's in public preview, and your app still has to report usage and stop users at zero. Here is the markup math for four models and the fees on top, from Stripe's own docs read on 2 Oct 2026.

Aliteq Team · Oct 2 · 11 min

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Payments

Usage-based billing for AI apps in 2026: Stripe, Metronome, Orb, Lago and Polar compared

Your AI app pays per token, so a flat $20 plan quietly loses money on its heaviest users. Here are the three ways to charge for usage, what each billing platform costs as of 2 Oct 2026, and the margin math at light, median and heavy usage.

Aliteq Team · Oct 2 · 12 min

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Payments

Stripe Managed Payments fees (2026): what the +3.5% buys, who can use it, and when Paddle is cheaper

Stripe's merchant of record looks like a flat 3.5% add-on. It isn't quite: the fee lands on the tax as well as the price, Billing charges its own 0.7% on subscriptions, and above about $9.52 a month Paddle keeps less. The full fee stack, the break-even formula, and the five checks you have to pass first.

Aliteq Team · Sep 27 · 11 min

Hand-drawn illustration of a young builder sitting on the floor with a laptop, looking up at two doors: one painted with bold stripes, one plain and ajar with warm gold light spilling out

Payments

Lovable asks "Stripe or Paddle?" Here's which to pick, and what each one does with your VAT

Lovable lets each project run one payment provider, and switching later leaves your subscribers behind. We read Lovable's payments docs on 27 September 2026 and worked out what each choice costs at $9, $29 and $99, who files your sales tax and VAT, and when to skip both and connect your own Stripe. Try your own price in the calculator.

Aliteq Team · Sep 27 · 10 min

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Payments

Stripe vs Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy for AI SaaS (2026): the fee at $9, $29 and $99, and who files your VAT

Lovable asks you to pick Stripe or Paddle, and every comparison quotes the same headline percentages. We worked the fees at the prices small apps actually charge, for US and EU sellers, and checked who ends up filing the tax, what Stripe's own merchant of record costs, and what's happening to Lemon Squeezy.

Aliteq Team · Sep 27 · 13 min

Editorial infographic of a safe checkout flow: browser to a server holding a locked key, then a verified webhook, near-black background with indigo-violet and a coral accent

Build

"Add a Stripe checkout button": the prompt that leaks your secret key

The naive way to vibe-code a Stripe button puts your secret key in every visitor's browser. Here's the same request three ways, with the real code — and the one rule that separates a demo from a safe checkout.

Aliteq Team · Sep 26 · 6 min