Stripe Pricing Tables

Create pricing tables and checkout sessions that let customers self-serve plan selection, upgrades, and downgrades. Covers both the embeddable Pricing Table component and the Checkout Session API for programmatic control.

Authentication

Stripe API key (publishable key for frontend, secret key for backend). Frontend embeds use STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY. Backend API calls use STRIPE_SECRET_KEY.

Create a Product and Prices

Before building pricing tables, define products and prices:

# Create a product
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/products \
  -u "$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:" \
  -d "name=Pro Plan" \
  -d "description=Unlimited projects, priority support"

# Create a flat-rate price
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/prices \
  -u "$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:" \
  -d "product=prod_xxx" \
  -d "unit_amount=4900" \
  -d "currency=usd" \
  -d "recurring[interval]=month"

# Create a tiered usage-based price
curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/prices \
  -u "$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:" \
  -d "product=prod_xxx" \
  -d "currency=usd" \
  -d "recurring[interval]=month" \
  -d "recurring[usage_type]=metered" \
  -d "billing_scheme=tiered" \
  -d "tiers_mode=graduated" \
  -d "tiers[0][up_to]=1000" \
  -d "tiers[0][unit_amount]=10" \
  -d "tiers[1][up_to]=10000" \
  -d "tiers[1][unit_amount]=8" \
  -d "tiers[2][up_to]=inf" \
  -d "tiers[2][unit_amount]=5" \
  -d "meter=mtr_xxx"

Create a Checkout Session (Programmatic)

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/checkout/sessions \
  -u "$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:" \
  -d "mode=subscription" \
  -d "customer=cus_xxx" \
  -d "line_items[0][price]=price_xxx" \
  -d "line_items[0][quantity]=1" \
  -d "success_url=https://app.example.com/billing?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}" \
  -d "cancel_url=https://app.example.com/pricing"

Returns a url field — redirect the customer there. On success, the subscription is created automatically.

Create a Customer Portal Session

Let customers manage their own subscriptions (upgrade, downgrade, cancel):

curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/billing_portal/sessions \
  -u "$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:" \
  -d "customer=cus_xxx" \
  -d "return_url=https://app.example.com/settings"

Configure allowed portal actions in Stripe Dashboard > Settings > Billing > Customer portal: enable plan switching, cancellation, payment method updates.

Retrieve Current Pricing

# List all active prices for a product
curl "https://api.stripe.com/v1/prices?product=prod_xxx&active=true&expand[]=data.tiers" \
  -u "$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:"

Error Handling

• 400 invalid_request_error: Check price exists and is active
• 402 card_error: Payment method problem during checkout
• Webhook: listen for checkout.session.completed to confirm subscription creation

Tool Options

| Tool | Approach | Notes | |------|----------|-------| | Stripe | Pricing Table embed + Checkout API | Most flexible | | Chargebee | Hosted checkout pages | Built-in plan comparison | | Paddle | Overlay checkout | Handles tax automatically | | LemonSqueezy | Hosted checkout | Simpler setup, fewer options | | Recurly | Hosted pages + API | Strong enterprise support |