That is cheap when you win a few small disputes a year. It gets expensive fast once you win dozens a month, because the fee grows with every dollar you recover. Below is the full fee picture, a month priced at three store sizes and the point where a flat plan such as NoChargeback pricing costs less.
What Stripe charges for a dispute in the US
Smart Disputes sits on top of the fees every Stripe dispute already carries. Since June 17, 2025, Stripe charges two separate fees in the US, according to its support article on the change.
| Fee | Amount in the US | When it is charged | Refunded? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dispute received fee | 15 USD | Every dispute you receive | Depends on your pricing terms |
| Counter fee | 15 USD | When you counter a dispute yourself or through another tool | Yes, if you win |
| Smart Disputes fee | 30 percent of the disputed amount | Only when a Smart Disputes response wins | No fee on losses |
| Counter fee with Smart Disputes | Waived | Disputes countered through Smart Disputes | Not charged |
So Smart Disputes trades a fixed 15 USD risk on each loss for a 30 percent share of each win. Which one costs more depends on your win rate and your average order value.
What Smart Disputes does for the fee
Smart Disputes is still labeled public preview in Stripe's documentation. When an eligible dispute arrives, Stripe builds an evidence packet from its own records, your transaction data and cardholder data, tailors it to the dispute reason and submits it just before the deadline unless you turn auto submit off.
Two limits matter when you compare it with a dedicated tool. First, Stripe decides which disputes are eligible, using the reason code, payment method, evidence available, relevance and cost, so some disputes still land on your desk. Second, the packet only contains what Stripe can see. Delivery scans from your carrier, login and usage logs from your app, support tickets and signed terms live outside Stripe unless you send them in. For "product not received" and subscription disputes, that missing evidence is usually what wins the case.
What Smart Disputes costs at three store sizes
This is list price math, not a result. Each row assumes the store already wins at the rate shown, and counts only fees that differ between the two options. The 15 USD received fee is the same either way, so it is left out.
| Store | Disputes countered a month | Won, at average amount | Smart Disputes fee (30 percent) | Flat plan plus counter fees on losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small SaaS on Stripe | 7 | 4 at 60 USD | 72 USD | Starter 24 USD plus 3 losses x 15 USD = 69 USD |
| Mid sized store | 35 | 20 at 120 USD | 720 USD | Growth 149 USD plus 15 losses x 15 USD = 374 USD |
| Large store | 140 | 80 at 180 USD | 4,320 USD | Scale 399 USD plus 60 losses x 15 USD = 1,299 USD |
Plan prices are NoChargeback list prices billed yearly. The small store is close to even, and Smart Disputes is the simpler choice there. At 20 wins a month the flat plan costs about half. At 80 wins a month it saves about 3,000 USD a month, or 36,000 USD a year.
The break even in one line
Smart Disputes costs more than a flat plan when 30 percent of your monthly won amount is larger than the plan price plus 15 USD for every dispute you counter and lose. With Growth at 149 USD billed yearly and a 60 percent win rate, that happens at roughly 700 to 800 USD recovered a month, about six wins on a 120 USD order.
Higher order values move the line down quickly. A merchant selling 400 USD orders passes it with two wins a month, because each win hands Stripe 120 USD.
A flat price instead of a share of every win
NoChargeback connects to Stripe with read access plus dispute write only, drafts evidence by reason code and submits through Stripe's own dispute API. You keep everything you win. Annual billing saves 50 percent.
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Starter at 49 USD a month, or 24 USD a month billed yearly. One connected account, 15 disputes and 100 alerts a month, evidence packs with drafted letters, manual submit.
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Growth at 299 USD a month, or 149 USD a month billed yearly. Five accounts across Stripe, Shopify, PayPal and Braintree, 100 disputes, 1,000 alerts, automatic submission and prevention rules.
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Scale at 799 USD a month, or 399 USD a month billed yearly. Twenty accounts, 400 disputes, 5,000 alerts, Mastercard Ethoca and Verifi CDRN alerts and Visa RDR rules.
The evidence pack pulls in what Stripe cannot see, such as carrier tracking, product usage and support history, and it drafts the rebuttal letter for the exact reason code, including Compelling Evidence 3.0 for Visa fraud claims. Rules for which reason codes submit on their own are set in dispute automation. If you are also weighing Stripe's insurance product, the 0.4 percent fee math is on the Stripe Chargeback Protection alternative page.
When Smart Disputes is the better buy
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You win only a few disputes a month, and your orders are small, so 30 percent of the wins stays under the cheapest plan.
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Your disputes are mostly fraud claims on card payments, where Stripe's own data such as 3D Secure results and device signals is most of the evidence.
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You want nothing outside Stripe and accept that some disputes will not be eligible.
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You are not ready to read and edit evidence before it goes out.
How to compare Smart Disputes with a flat plan
- 1 Open Payments, then Disputes in the Stripe dashboard and filter the last three months.
- 2 Count disputes countered, disputes won and the total amount recovered per month.
- 3 Multiply the recovered amount by 0.3. That is your Smart Disputes bill.
- 4 Add 15 USD for each dispute you would counter and lose, then add the plan price that fits your volume on the pricing page.
- 5 Compare the two numbers, and check that your monthly disputes fit inside the plan limit.
Stripe fees land in your books as a line on each payout, so it helps to convert the bank statement into a spreadsheet and match payouts to the dispute fees month by month. The fee rules for every dispute outcome are broken down in the Stripe dispute fee guide.
Keep the 30 percent
Connect Stripe, get drafted evidence for every dispute and pay one flat price, with no share of recovered chargebacks.
How much does Stripe Smart Disputes cost?
Stripe Smart Disputes costs 30 percent of the disputed amount for each dispute it wins. There is no Smart Disputes fee on lost disputes. The 15 USD fee for receiving a dispute still applies in the US, while the 15 USD counter fee is waived for disputes countered through Smart Disputes.
Is Stripe Smart Disputes worth it?
It is worth it for merchants who win a few small disputes a month and want no extra tool. Once 30 percent of your monthly wins passes the price of a flat dispute tool plus 15 USD per lost counter, usually around 700 to 800 USD recovered a month, a flat plan costs less and keeps the full amount.
Does Stripe charge a fee to counter a dispute?
Yes. Since June 17, 2025, Stripe charges a 15 USD counter fee in the US when you counter a dispute, on top of the 15 USD fee for receiving it. The counter fee is returned if you win and kept if you lose. It is waived when Smart Disputes submits the response.
Can I turn off Smart Disputes auto submit?
Yes. Stripe's documentation says you can turn off auto submit in your dashboard settings. Eligible disputes then wait for you to counter manually or accept them before the deadline. If you leave it on and do nothing, Stripe submits the prefilled packet just before the dispute times out.
What is a cheaper alternative to Stripe Smart Disputes?
For merchants who win more than a handful of disputes a month, a flat priced tool. NoChargeback Growth covers 100 disputes and 1,000 alerts on up to five accounts for 149 USD a month billed yearly, with no share of what you recover.
