The verdict
If you run a services firm and need to know whether a project is on budget, who has capacity and which client makes money, pick Productive. If you sell software or products online and need a payment layer that works every time, pick Stripe.
An agency that also sells a product could reasonably use both, since one plans and tracks the work and the other takes the payments. I would not expect Stripe to tell you project profit, and I would not expect Productive to be a developer-friendly payments platform with webhooks and a CLI. Each is strong where the other is not meant to compete.
Side by side
| 5 points compared | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $10/mo | |
| Free plan | No | |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | |
| Dunning & churn recovery | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
Productive
- Essential$12/mo/seat
- Professional$300/yr/seat
Stripe
Pricing not in our catalogue yet.
Who each is for
Choose Productive if…
Pick Productive if you run an agency, consultancy or IT services firm. It joins time tracking, budgets, resourcing and invoicing, so the profit on each project and client is a report you can open. It has an open API and connects to accounting, HR and chat tools.
It is priced per user, and the finance features such as forecasting, the scenario builder and webhooks sit on higher plans. There is no free plan, so use the trial on a real project. It is a specialist tool, so skip it if you only need simple task tracking or a way to take card payments.
Choose Stripe if…
Pick Stripe if you sell software or sell online and have a developer, or access to one. It has no plan fee for payments, and you pay per transaction. Its API-first design, webhooks, CLI and official MCP server make it easy to build on, and most tools in your stack already integrate with it.
Dutch businesses can take iDEAL alongside cards. Add-ons are priced separately, so decide which you need on day one. Custom checkout or usage billing needs engineering time. Stripe is not an accounting system or a project tool, so you still need those elsewhere.
Other options worth a look
Bills digital products as merchant of record, handling subscriptions, usage metering, tax compliance and payouts.
Handle global subscriptions, payments and tax compliance without managing VAT registration across 300+ markets.
Acts as merchant of record for software and digital product sales, handling global tax compliance.
Manages subscription billing, invoicing and revenue recognition for recurring businesses with your own payment gateways.
Send invoices, track expenses, reconcile banks and prepare VAT returns for Dutch small businesses.
