Print desk·2026-08-19.md·.md
Stripe vs Shopify: different books, same decade
A take-rate on payment volume. Billing, Treasury, and Issuing sit on the same pipe. Subscription on the store. Then a take-rate on GMV. Plus merchant solutions.
Stripe leads on Payments take-rate (82%). Shopify leads on Subscription (28%). The seat follows the slice that pays.
The mix
Hover a slice
Shopify- Payments take-rate82%—
- Billing / Treasury / Issuing14%—
- Other4%—
- Subscription—28%
- Merchant solutions—72%
- StripeShopify
A take-rate on payment volume. Billing, Treasury, and Issuing sit on the same pipe.
Pays: Merchants. Platforms. Marketplaces.
Builds: Payments engineering, risk, and the people who sell the API.
ShopifySubscription on the store. Then a take-rate on GMV. Plus merchant solutions.
Pays: Merchants.
Builds: Platform, payments, and the people who keep the theme live.
The seat
Do not treat Stripe and Shopify as one market. Payments engineering, risk, and the people who sell the API. That is not Platform, payments, and the people who keep the theme live. Name the book before the interview.