Stunning
Dunning-first failed-payment recovery for Stripe
Custom pricing.
Backstop
Recovery + cancel flow, flat-fee
$79 / mo Pro · $759 / yr annual (−20%) · 0% rev share · 14-day Pro trial, then 10/mo free.
Recovery loop
Smart retries (Stripe-aware schedule)
Stunning's Smart Retries extend Stripe's window to a 21-day maximum.
Decline-code-aware retry timing
Stunning markets "strategic retries" and varies email content by attempt; per-decline-code timing isn't documented.
4-touch dunning email sequence
Stunning ships a dunning sequence plus an unpaid/reactivation sequence; exact touch count isn't published.
Hosted card-update pages (PCI SAQ-A)
Payment Update Pages support Apple Pay / Google Pay and can run on your own domain.
Pre-dunning card-expiry warnings
Stunning ships pre-dunning emails plus an in-app notification bar for expiring cards.
Manual + bulk campaign override
No manual/bulk campaign override surfaced on their site.
Auto-close stale campaigns
Stunning auto-reactivates on card update, but auto-closing stale campaigns isn't documented.
Per-decline-code recovery forecast
Stunning reports recovery stats; no per-decline-code revenue forecast documented.
Cancel flow + customer portal
Full hosted portal that replaces Stripe billing portal
Stunning has basic subscription management (plan switch / self-cancel) but no white-labeled portal that replaces Stripe's.
Visual cancel-flow builder
Cancelling triggers a confirmation email — there is no interactive pre-cancel save flow.
Discount + pause + downgrade + schedule-call offers
No retention/save offers documented on their site.
Conditional offers by survey answer
Save-rate analytics with funnel
Recovery stats only; no cancel-flow save-rate funnel, since there is no cancel flow.
A/B testing per cancel-flow version
Embed on your site (drop-in JS, hosted redirect, or AI install)
Payment-update pages run on your own domain, but there is no embeddable cancel/portal widget.
Pricing & reach
Flat monthly price (entry tier)
Stunning's public slider starts at $40k MRR showing $120/mo and never drops below it; no entry price is exposed for smaller SaaS.
Revenue share on recovered revenue
Stunning: "We don't take a percentage of your recoveries."
Free tier
Stunning offers a 15-day free trial, not a permanent free tier.
Dunning SMS
Stunning ships Dunning SMS; Backstop is email-only by design.
Processors beyond Stripe (Foxy, Subbly)
Stunning integrates with Stripe, Foxy and Subbly; Backstop is Stripe-only.
Migration takes 15 minutes.
Most Stunning customers are already using Stripe Connect, which means our setup is already done. Here's the rest:
Step 1
Keep Stunning running while you wire up Backstop
Backstop connects to the same Stripe account read-only first, so you can run both in parallel and compare recovered revenue before cutting over. No checkout code change is required to start.
Step 2
Point recovery + dunning at Backstop
Enable Stripe-aware Smart Retries and the 4-touch dunning sequence, then host the card-update page on your own domain. Once recovery numbers match or beat Stunning, disable Stunning's retries to avoid double-emailing customers.
Step 3
Add the cancel flow Stunning never had
Drop Backstop's visual cancel flow in front of Stripe's cancel action (drop-in JS, hosted redirect, or AI-assisted install) and turn on discount/pause/downgrade/schedule-call offers — the voluntary-churn layer Stunning doesn't ship.
Step 4
Move billing self-service to the hosted portal
Replace Stripe's billing portal with Backstop's hosted portal so customers update cards, switch plans, and hit the save flow on cancel — all under your own verified email domain.
Where Stunning wins
Stunning has well over a decade of head start on the recovery problem and it shows. Their retry models are tuned on years of Stripe data, and they ship recovery touches Backstop deliberately keeps lean on: dunning SMS, an in-app notification bar for expiring cards, abandonment emails on the payment page, and self-serve receipts/billing-history with downloadable PDF invoices. They also support processors beyond Stripe — Foxy and Subbly — where Backstop is Stripe-only. Their flat-fee, 0%-revenue-share model is genuinely fair for high-MRR businesses: you keep 100% of recovered revenue. If your churn problem is purely involuntary (failed payments, not cancellations), you want SMS in the dunning mix, or you bill on Foxy/Subbly, Stunning is a mature, focused tool and we won't pretend otherwise. Use Backstop if you also need to fight voluntary churn — a real cancel/save flow with offers, a hosted portal that replaces Stripe's, send-from-your-domain email — at a transparent $79 flat with a free tier to start on.
Switch when you're sure
Test-drive on free, switch when you're sure.
Run Backstop alongside Stunningfor two weeks on the free tier. Compare recovery rates side by side, then move when you're convinced. We export your data on the way out — no lock-in either direction.
Zrionix Technology · founder-led · we read every reply