Stripe Connect is the standard infrastructure freelance agencies use to bill one client and pay multiple sub-contractors out of the proceeds. The core flows are documented well, but the decisions that matter — which account type, which charge model, what to do about taxes, when to file 1099s — sit in three or four different doc pages, and most agencies pick the wrong combination on first setup.
The three account types, and the right one for an agency
Stripe Connect ships three account types, documented under docs.stripe.com/connect/accounts:
- Standard. The connected account holds a direct relationship with Stripe and gets full Dashboard access. Best when your sub-contractors are independent businesses who want their own Stripe account anyway.
- Express. The connected account gets a simplified Stripe-hosted Dashboard and a streamlined onboarding flow you can brand. Stripe still handles KYC and compliance. This is the fit for most freelance agencies — your contractors don't want to manage their own Stripe relationship, but they do want to see their payouts.
- Custom. Your platform owns the entire experience. The connected account is invisible to Stripe; you handle the dashboard, the notifications, the support. Heavy lift, only worth it for marketplaces.
The Express tier is what an agency wants in 2026. Standard is overkill for a 5-person collective; Custom is a build project; Express does the right things by default.
The three charge models, and the only one that fits a multi-contractor agency
lists three patterns: