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Subscrypts vs Stripe, Patreon, and PayPal

How does a blockchain-native subscription protocol compare with the most widely used traditional payment platforms? This page provides a factual, feature-by-feature breakdown so you can decide which solution fits your business.

Feature Comparison

Feature Subscrypts Stripe Patreon PayPal
Fee per payment 1% 2.9% + $0.30 5--12% 2.9% + $0.30
Settlement time Instant (on-chain, same transaction) 2--7 business days Monthly payout 1--3 business days
Chargebacks Not possible Common Rare (platform-mediated) Common
Personal data required None Name, email, card, address Name, email, card Name, email, card, address
Global access Anyone with a crypto wallet Requires bank account + supported country Requires bank account + supported country Requires bank account + supported country
On-chain transparency Full -- every transaction verifiable on Arbiscan None -- opaque billing systems None None
Regulatory compliance MiCAR-aligned (EU) PCI-DSS PCI-DSS PCI-DSS
Pricing flexibility USD-denominated or SUBS-denominated plans Fiat only Fiat only Fiat only
Discord integration Built-in bot with role gating Requires third-party integration Requires third-party integration No native integration
Custody model Non-custodial -- funds never held by protocol Custodial Custodial Custodial
Payment method SUBS token or USDC (auto-swapped) Credit/debit cards, bank transfers Credit/debit cards Credit/debit cards, bank balance

Fee Impact at Scale

Small percentage differences compound quickly as revenue grows.

Monthly Revenue Subscrypts (1%) Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) Patreon (8% avg) PayPal (2.9% + $0.30)
$1,000 $10 $29 + fees $80 $29 + fees
$10,000 $100 $290 + fees $800 $290 + fees
$50,000 $500 $1,450 + fees $4,000 $1,450 + fees
$100,000 $1,000 $2,900 + fees $8,000 $2,900 + fees

At $100,000/month in subscriptions, Subscrypts saves $1,900/month compared to Stripe and $7,000/month compared to Patreon.

Per-transaction fixed fees

Stripe and PayPal charge a flat $0.30 per transaction on top of the percentage fee. For low-value subscriptions (e.g., $5/month), this pushes effective fees to 8.9% or higher. Subscrypts charges a flat 1% regardless of transaction size.

Settlement

Subscrypts settles payments instantly. When a subscriber pays, the smart contract burns the SUBS from their wallet and mints 99% directly to the merchant wallet -- all in the same transaction. There is no holding period, no payout schedule, and no intermediary.

Stripe holds funds for 2--7 business days before releasing them to your bank account. New accounts may experience longer rolling reserves.

Patreon processes payouts once per month, typically on the 1st--5th of the following month.

PayPal releases funds within 1--3 business days, though new accounts may face 21-day holds.

Chargebacks and Disputes

Chargebacks cost merchants an estimated $125 billion annually across global e-commerce. Every traditional payment platform is subject to them.

With Subscrypts, chargebacks do not exist. Blockchain transactions are final. Once a subscriber's payment is processed on-chain, it cannot be reversed by a third party. This eliminates dispute fees, lost revenue, and the operational overhead of managing chargeback cases.

Privacy and Data Collection

Traditional platforms require merchants to collect and store personal data (name, email, payment card details, billing address). This creates liability under regulations such as GDPR and exposes both merchants and subscribers to data breach risks.

Subscrypts requires no personal data. Subscribers interact with the protocol using only a wallet address. No names, no emails, no card numbers. The protocol itself stores no personal information on-chain or off-chain.

Merchant obligations

While Subscrypts does not collect personal data, merchants in certain jurisdictions may have independent legal obligations (such as KYC/AML) depending on the nature of their services. Subscrypts provides the infrastructure; local compliance remains the merchant's responsibility.

Compliance

Subscrypts was designed from the ground up with regulatory alignment in mind. The project's whitepaper conforms to the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), and the SUBS token is classified as a utility token -- not a security or e-money token.

Traditional platforms comply with PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), which governs how card data is handled. This is a different regulatory domain entirely and does not address token classification, on-chain transparency, or decentralized governance.

When to Choose Subscrypts

Subscrypts is the stronger choice when:

  • Low fees matter. A 1% flat fee is significantly cheaper than Stripe or Patreon at any revenue level.
  • Instant settlement is valuable. No waiting days or weeks for payouts.
  • You want to monetize a Discord community. The built-in Discord bot handles subscription verification and role gating without third-party tools.
  • Privacy is a priority. No personal data collection means less liability and greater subscriber trust.
  • You serve a global audience. Anyone with a crypto wallet can subscribe, regardless of banking access or geography.
  • Transparency matters to your business. Every transaction is publicly verifiable on-chain.
  • You want MiCAR-aligned infrastructure. Regulatory readiness built into the protocol, not bolted on afterward.

When Traditional Platforms May Be Better

Traditional payment platforms remain the better fit in certain scenarios:

  • Your audience does not use crypto. If the majority of your customers do not hold crypto wallets or are unfamiliar with blockchain transactions, Stripe or PayPal provides a lower barrier to entry.
  • You need credit card acceptance. Some markets and customer segments expect to pay with credit or debit cards. Subscrypts accepts SUBS and USDC -- not traditional cards.
  • Mature dispute resolution is required. Industries with high return rates or regulatory requirements for refund mechanisms may benefit from Stripe's or PayPal's built-in dispute workflows.
  • You operate in a jurisdiction that restricts crypto payments. Some countries have regulations that limit or prohibit cryptocurrency transactions for commercial use.
  • You need integrated invoicing and tax tools. Stripe and PayPal offer built-in invoicing, tax calculation, and reporting integrations that Subscrypts does not currently provide.

Hybrid approach

Some merchants use Subscrypts alongside traditional payment platforms -- offering crypto subscriptions for their Web3 audience while keeping card-based options for everyone else.

Summary

Subscrypts Stripe Patreon PayPal
Best for Crypto-native subscriptions, Discord monetization, privacy-first billing General-purpose SaaS billing Creator patronage General-purpose online payments
Biggest advantage 1% fee, instant settlement, no chargebacks Wide adoption, mature ecosystem Creator-focused features Brand recognition, buyer protection
Biggest limitation Requires crypto wallet High fees, slow settlement High fees, monthly payouts High fees, chargeback risk