How to Integrate Stripe with Laravel: Complete Developer Guide

Why Stripe + Laravel?

Stripe is the most popular payment processor for modern web applications, and Laravel provides excellent tools for building robust payment systems. This combination offers:

• Built-in Laravel Cashier package for subscription billing
• Excellent documentation and developer experience
• PCI compliance out of the box
• Support for global payments and currencies
• Advanced features like marketplace payments and Connect

Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure you have:

• Laravel 10+ application set up
• Stripe account (free to create)
• Basic knowledge of Laravel and PHP
• Composer installed

Step 1: Install Laravel Cashier

Laravel Cashier is the official package for Stripe integration. Install it using Composer:

composer require laravel/cashier

Publish the migration files:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag="cashier-migrations"

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

Add your Stripe keys to your .env file. You can find these in your Stripe Dashboard:

STRIPE_KEY=pk_test_your_publishable_key
STRIPE_SECRET=sk_test_your_secret_key
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_your_webhook_secret

Step 3: Set Up the User Model

Add the Billable trait to your User model to enable Stripe functionality:

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Laravel\Cashier\Billable;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;

class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use Billable;

    // Your existing User model code...
}

Step 4: Create Payment Controller

Create a controller to handle payment processing:

php artisan make:controller PaymentController

Step 5: Implement One-Time Payment

Here's how to process a one-time payment:

public function processPayment(Request $request)
{
    $request->validate([
        'payment_method' => 'required|string',
        'amount' => 'required|integer|min:50', // $0.50 minimum
    ]);

    try {
        $user = auth()->user();

        $payment = $user->charge(
            $request->amount,
            $request->payment_method,
            [
                'return_url' => route('payment.success'),
            ]
        );

        return response()->json([
            'success' => true,
            'payment_intent' => $payment->id,
        ]);

    } catch (\Exception $e) {
        return response()->json([
            'success' => false,
            'error' => $e->getMessage(),
        ], 400);
    }
}

Step 6: Handle Subscription Billing

For recurring payments, you'll need to create subscription plans in Stripe and then subscribe users:

public function subscribe(Request $request)
{
    $user = auth()->user();

    $subscription = $user->newSubscription('default', 'price_premium_monthly')
        ->create($request->payment_method);

    return redirect()->route('dashboard')
        ->with('success', 'Subscription created successfully!');
}

Step 7: Set Up Webhooks

Webhooks are crucial for handling subscription updates, failed payments, and other events. Laravel Cashier provides built-in webhook handling:

php artisan cashier:webhook

Add the webhook route to your routes/web.php file:

Route::post('/stripe/webhook', [WebhookController::class, 'handleWebhook']);

Security Best Practices

Important Security Considerations

• Never store credit card information in your database
• Always validate webhook signatures
• Use HTTPS in production
• Implement proper error handling
• Log all payment activities for auditing

Testing Your Integration

Stripe provides test card numbers for development:

• 4242424242424242 - Successful payment
• 4000000000000002 - Declined payment
• 4000000000003220 - 3D Secure authentication

Next Steps

Now that you have a basic Stripe integration working, consider implementing:

• Customer portal for subscription management
• Proration handling for plan changes
• Failed payment retry logic
• Invoice PDF generation
• Usage-based billing for metered subscriptions

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