Best Dunning and Failed Payment Recovery Tools for Stripe (2026).
Stripe's built-in recovery and the tools people add to it, with dated prices and what each one is best at.
Start with what Stripe includes: Smart Retries, emails for failed payments and expiring cards, and automatic card updates. Add Churn Buster for a hands-on dunning program, Churnkey for cancel flows and SMS in one tool, Baremetrics Recover if you already use Baremetrics, Paddle Retain if you bill on Paddle, or North Metric for a personal follow-up after Stripe's retries end.
If you bill through Stripe, start with what Stripe already includes: Smart Retries, emails for failed payments and expiring cards, and automatic card updates. Add a dedicated tool when you want more than that, such as SMS and in-app reminders, a team that builds the sequence with you, or a personal follow-up after the retries end. This list compares the main options with prices checked in October and November 2026.
Written by North Metric, which is one of the tools below. Where another tool is ahead, we say so. Every price and feature comes from the vendor's own pages on the date shown.
The tools at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Smart Retries and emails | Every Stripe account, as the base layer | Included in Stripe Billing (0.7% of Billing volume on pay-as-you-go) | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Churn Buster | A dunning program built and tested with you | $269/mo for dunning; $430/mo with cancel flows | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Churnkey | Dunning and cancel flows in one tool, with SMS | $250/mo billed yearly ($300 monthly) | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Baremetrics Recover | Teams already on Baremetrics | $129/mo add-on to a Baremetrics plan (from $75/mo) | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Paddle Retain | Teams on Paddle, or Stripe teams happy to price through a demo | Included with Paddle Billing; on Stripe, priced on a demo | Nov 14, 2026 |
| North Metric | A personal follow-up after Stripe's retries, ranked by revenue at risk | $199/mo after a free churn report | Nov 14, 2026 |
1. Stripe Smart Retries and customer emails
Smart Retries retries a failed subscription payment at the times Stripe's model judges most likely to work. New accounts have it on by default, set to up to 8 retries within 2 weeks. Stripe can email the customer after each failed payment and 1 month before a card expires, with a link to update the card, and it updates many reissued cards through the card networks. By Stripe's own figures, businesses recover 55% of failed payments on average (stripe.com/billing, checked Oct 18, 2026).
Where it stops:Stripe doesn't retry hard declines such as lost_card or stolen_card, or invoices with no payment method, until the customer adds a new card, and it makes no attempts after the last retry. Our step-by-step guide covers each setting.
2. Churn Buster
Churn Buster runs dunning for failed payments and cancel flows with save offers. Its team builds the first version with you and keeps testing offers. It counts a recovery only once a payment clears, and its free Measure plan records a baseline to compare later changes against. Pricing is by MRR tier, month to month: from $269 a month for dunning or cancel flows, $430 for both. It also works with Braintree, Recurly, Shopify and other subscription platforms (churnbuster.io, checked Oct 18, 2026).
Best for: teams that want a dedicated, hands-on dunning program and may bill outside Stripe.
3. Churnkey
Churnkey's core is the cancel flow, with failed-payment recovery and customer health around it. Its recovery includes SMS, and it lists Stripe, Chargebee, Maxio, Paddle and Braintree. Pricing is by monthly churned revenue: Starter is $250 a month billed yearly, or $300 monthly, for under $5K a month of churned revenue, with a 14-day trial (churnkey.co, checked Oct 18, 2026).
Best for: teams that want cancel flows and payment recovery from one vendor, with SMS.
4. Baremetrics Recover
Recover is Baremetrics' failed-payment add-on at $129 a month: a 7-email sequence by default, SMS alongside, an in-app banner that turns into a paywall after a grace period, and a branded card-update form. Baremetrics guarantees it recovers more than your Baremetrics cost, or your next month is free. It sits on top of a Baremetrics plan, which starts at $75 a month (baremetrics.com, checked Oct 18, 2026).
Best for: teams already using Baremetrics for subscription analytics.
5. Paddle Retain
Paddle Retain's Payment Recovery is automated dunning with in-app reminders, and its emails are designed to look like they come from you. It is included with Paddle Billing. On Stripe it connects with read access granted by a Stripe admin and is priced through a demo, with no published price (Paddle docs and help center, checked Nov 14, 2026).
Best for: teams on Paddle Billing, or Stripe teams comfortable with a sales-led price.
6. North Metric
North Metric doesn't retry cards or run a dunning sequence; it works alongside Stripe's. It drafts a personal note, in your name, for hard declines and missing cards on day 0, and for invoices still unpaid when Stripe's retries end, ranked by revenue at risk. You approve each note. A payment counts as recovered only if it is paid within 30 days of that note. The same plan also ranks the paying customers likely to cancel. One plan is $199 a month up to $150K MRR, after a free churn report. It reads Stripe only and sends email only.
Best for:Stripe teams without a CS team who want the follow-up Stripe can't do, without replacing Stripe's retries.
See money at risk in your own Stripe, and the first five customers to act on.
How to choose
- Turn on everything Stripe includes first. Smart Retries, both emails and card updates cost nothing extra on Stripe Billing.
- Look at which declines you lose. If most losses are soft declines that retries eventually clear, a richer sequence (SMS, in-app) helps. If they are hard declines and missing cards, you need a fast, personal ask for a new card.
- Check what counts as a recovery.Ask each vendor whether payments recovered during Stripe's own retries are counted as theirs.
- Avoid double messages.Whatever you add, don't let it email customers while Stripe is still sending its own.
Other tools you'll see
AI answers about dunning also name Stunning, Butter Payments and Gravy. We haven't checked their current pricing and features for this guide, so they aren't compared here.
Sources
- Stripe docs: Automate payment retries, checked Nov 14, 2026.
- Stripe Billing, checked Oct 18, 2026.
- Churn Buster pricing, checked Oct 18, 2026.
- Churnkey pricing, checked Oct 18, 2026.
- Baremetrics pricing, checked Oct 18, 2026.
- Paddle Retain, checked Nov 14, 2026.
Side-by-side comparisons: North Metric vs Stripe, vs Churn Buster, vs Churnkey, vs Baremetrics and vs ProfitWell.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dunning software for Stripe?
Start with Stripe's own Smart Retries and emails, which are included in Stripe Billing. For more, Churn Buster suits a hands-on dunning program, Churnkey combines dunning with cancel flows and SMS, and Baremetrics Recover suits teams already on Baremetrics. North Metric adds a personal follow-up after Stripe's retries end.
How much does dunning software cost?
As checked in October 2026: Churn Buster from $269 a month, Churnkey from $250 a month billed yearly, and Baremetrics Recover $129 a month on top of a Baremetrics plan. Stripe's retries and emails are included in Stripe Billing, and North Metric is $199 a month after a free churn report.
Is Stripe Smart Retries enough, or do I need a dunning tool?
Smart Retries handles soft declines well. It doesn't retry hard declines or invoices with no payment method until the customer adds a card, and it stops after the last retry. A tool helps if you want more channels or a personal follow-up for those cases.
How is churn management software different from dunning software?
Dunning software recovers failed payments. Churn management, or churn prevention, software also works on customers who might cancel on purpose, for example by ranking them by risk or running cancel flows.