For SaaS, digital-goods, subscription, and marketplace teams using Stripe Checkout.

Stripe Radar Alternative for Pre-Checkout Fraud Checks

Use RequestGuard before creating a Stripe Checkout Session to score risky IPs, emails, domains, devices, and behavior signals, so you can allow, challenge, review, or block suspicious checkout attempts before payment.

Stripe Radar protects the payment. RequestGuard protects the path to payment.

  • Block obvious abuse before it reaches Stripe
  • Challenge suspicious sessions before payment
  • Protect checkouts, trials, coupons, and digital fulfillment
  • EU-made, SDK-first, with transparent monthly plans
Compare pricing Read SDK docs

Quick verdict

Choose based on when the fraud decision needs to happen.

Choose RequestGuard when you want to make a fraud decision before checkout starts.

Choose Stripe Radar when you want fraud detection inside Stripe's payment flow.

RequestGuard is not a replacement for Stripe's payment-risk layer. It is a pre-checkout fraud layer that helps you decide whether a user should reach payment in the first place.

Decision comparison

Stripe Radar protects the payment. RequestGuard protects the path to payment.

Category
RequestGuard
Stripe Radar
Best for
Blocking abuse before payment
Managing payment fraud inside Stripe
When it runs
Before signup, checkout, form submission, or API access continues
During Stripe payment authorization
Main signals
IP, email, domain, device, user, behavior, WHOIS, DNS, and CAPTCHA context
Stripe payment and payment-network signals
Decision output
allow, challenge, review, or block with score, reasons, confidence, and request ID
Stripe payment-risk decisions and dispute workflows
Developer setup
REST API, JavaScript SDK, dashboard lookups, and server-side policy logic
Stripe-native setup
Pricing model
Monthly protected requests with public self-serve tiers
Screened transactions, add-ons, and dispute tools
Best buyer type
SaaS, digital-goods, subscription, and marketplace teams using Stripe Checkout.
Teams standardized around Stripe Radar workflows

Want the decision before the downstream tool gets involved?

Start with the assessment API and keep Stripe Radar where it already makes sense.

Read assessment docs

RequestGuard is best for

  • Pre-checkout risk scoring
  • Fake signup prevention
  • Trial and coupon abuse prevention
  • Card testing reduction before Checkout Session creation
  • Digital goods and subscription protection

Stripe Radar may be better if

  • You only need fraud detection inside Stripe's native payment flow
  • You already rely on Stripe's full payment and dispute-management workflows
  • You prefer payment-provider tooling over a separate pre-checkout risk gate

Pricing comparison

Compare the billing unit, not just the price.

RequestGuard bills protected requests. Stripe Radar bills screened transactions, add-ons, and dispute tools. Compare what event gets charged before comparing headline prices.

RequestGuard public plans

All core fraud signals included.

Free

$0/mo

25 reports / month

Hard-capped at 25 reports

Starter

$19/mo

500 reports / month

Buy report packs when you need more

Stripe Radar public prices

Last checked May 15, 2026.

Radar machine learning

5¢ per screened transaction

Waived for accounts with standard Stripe pricing

Real-time payment fraud scoring inside the Stripe payment flow.

Radar for Fraud Teams

7¢ per screened transaction

2¢ with standard Stripe pricing

Adds rules, lists, risk scores, analytics, and fraud-team workflows.

Dispute deflection lookups

Included

Dispute management

Provides transaction details to help cardholders recognize legitimate purchases.

Visa CE 3.0 block

$15 per dispute blocked

Dispute prevention

Blocks eligible Visa disputes using compelling evidence history.

Visa dispute resolution

$15 per dispute resolved

Dispute prevention

Automatically resolves matching Visa disputes.

Mastercard dispute resolution

$29 per dispute resolved

Dispute prevention

Automatically resolves matching Mastercard disputes.

Smart Disputes

30% of disputed amount

Charged only when eligible disputes are won

Stripe AI compiles and submits dispute evidence.

Source: Stripe Radar pricing page

50,000 checks/month

$29/mo Indie plan

Best for early checkout, signup, and trial-abuse gates.

250,000 checks/month

$99/mo Startup plan

Best for growing SaaS and subscription products.

1,000,000 checks/month

$249/mo Growth plan

Best when fraud checks run across multiple product flows.

Want predictable fraud pricing?

Compare RequestGuard's protected-request plans before adding another transaction-priced fraud layer.

Compare RequestGuard plans

Use cases

Turn signals into business outcomes.

The point is not to collect more risk data. The point is to decide faster, earlier, and with fewer gaps between tools.

Card testing starts before the payment attempt

Signal: IP, email, device, behavior, and checkout metadata

Action: Block or challenge suspicious sessions before creating a Checkout Session.

Trial and coupon abuse use clean-looking payment flows

Signal: Disposable email, domain age, repeated device context, and user metadata

Action: Review or challenge users before they can redeem promotions or start trials.

Digital fulfillment is instant and hard to recover

Signal: Risk score, country mismatch, ASN, and request ID

Action: Hold high-risk orders for review before payment and fulfillment.

Fraud rules get buried in payment-provider configuration

Signal: Explainable reasons and server-side decision payload

Action: Keep checkout policy in your backend and store the RequestGuard request ID on the order.

Card testing preventionTrial abuse reductionHigh-risk digital goods reviewCheckout country mismatch checks

Want to block abuse before the expensive step?

Use RequestGuard at the product boundary where the risky action begins.

Read the SDK docs

Implementation

How to add RequestGuard alongside Stripe Radar.

  1. 1 User reaches a sensitive flow such as signup, checkout, coupon redemption, form submission, or API access.
  2. 2 Your backend sends IP, email, domain, user agent, device, user ID, session ID, and event metadata to RequestGuard.
  3. 3 RequestGuard returns a risk score, confidence, reasons, request ID, normalized signals, and a decision.
  4. 4 If the decision is allow, continue the flow.
  5. 5 If the decision is challenge or review, require verification or route the session to manual review.
  6. 6 If the decision is block, stop the flow before the downstream system receives the risky request.

Server-side assessment

import RequestGuard from "@requestguard/js";

const requestguard = RequestGuard({
  apiKey: process.env.REQUESTGUARD_API_KEY,
});

const assessment = await requestguard.assess({
  ip,
  email,
  domain,
  userAgent,
  userId,
  sessionId,
  event: "checkout",
  metadata: {
    checkoutAmount,
    billingCountry,
    shippingCountry,
  },
});

if (assessment.decision === "allow") {
  // Continue the flow, for example create the checkout session.
}

if (assessment.decision === "challenge" || assessment.decision === "review") {
  // Require verification or send the request to review.
}

if (assessment.decision === "block") {
  // Stop the risky request before it reaches the downstream system.
}

Ready to test this in your flow?

Create the assessment first, then decide whether the downstream step should happen.

Create your first assessment

Technical proof

See the decision your backend can enforce.

Decision payload

One response returns decision, risk score, confidence, reasons, signals, and request ID.

Signal coverage

IP, VPN, proxy, Tor, datacenter, email, domain, device, WHOIS, DNS, CAPTCHA, and user-risk checks.

Developer proof

Public REST API, JavaScript SDK, OpenAPI specs, dashboard lookups, and code examples.

Pricing proof

Last checked May 15, 2026.

API docs SDK docs Pricing

Example response

{
  "request_id": "rg_req_01HZX...",
  "risk_score": 78,
  "decision": "review",
  "confidence": "high",
  "reasons": [
    "proxy_or_vpn",
    "disposable_email",
    "country_mismatch"
  ],
  "signals": {
    "ip": {
      "is_vpn": true,
      "is_proxy": true,
      "is_datacenter": true
    },
    "email": {
      "is_disposable": true,
      "domain_risk": "high"
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Questions buyers ask before switching.

Is RequestGuard a full Stripe Radar replacement?

RequestGuard is not a replacement for Stripe's payment-risk layer. It is a pre-checkout fraud layer that helps you decide whether a user should reach payment in the first place.

Can I use RequestGuard with Stripe Radar?

Yes. Many teams use RequestGuard before the sensitive action and keep Stripe Radar for its native workflow later in the flow.

When should I call RequestGuard?

Call RequestGuard before signup, checkout, coupon redemption, form submission, API access, or any event where you need a server-side risk decision.

What signals does RequestGuard check?

RequestGuard checks IP and connection risk, email and domain risk, device and user context, behavior metadata, WHOIS, DNS, CAPTCHA fallback, and normalized risk reasons.

How is RequestGuard priced?

RequestGuard uses public monthly plans based on protected requests, starting with a free tier and scaling through paid plans with transparent overages.

Is RequestGuard built in the EU?

Yes. RequestGuard is EU-made and designed for teams that want transparent, developer-first fraud infrastructure.

What happens when RequestGuard challenges or blocks a request?

Your backend decides the next step. You can require verification, route the request to review, show a CAPTCHA fallback, or stop the flow entirely.