Stripe Integration for Django Applications

dj-stripe syncs Stripe objects (customers, subscriptions, invoices) into your Django models automatically via webhooks, which is genuinely useful if you need to query Stripe data through Django's ORM — but it adds a meaningful abstraction layer that isn't worth it for simpler integrations that just need to create a Checkout Session and react to a handful of events.

Choosing Between dj-stripe and the Raw SDK

• dj-stripe fits when you need Stripe data joinable against your own models in Django queries and admin views
• The raw Python SDK fits when your Stripe usage is simpler, or when dj-stripe's sync model doesn't match a custom billing shape
• Webhook views need CSRF exemption (Django's CSRF protection doesn't apply to Stripe's server-to-server calls) with signature verification standing in as the actual security check
• Either path needs explicit handling for Stripe's event ordering — webhooks aren't guaranteed to arrive in the order they occurred

We make this call early based on how much of your app actually needs to query Stripe-derived data through the ORM versus just react to it — teams that adopt dj-stripe by default often end up fighting its sync model for use cases the raw SDK would have handled more directly.