--- title: "How to deliver a file after a Stripe Payment Link purchase" description: "Compare ways to deliver downloads after a Stripe Payment Link sale, or set up DeliveryKit with your existing Stripe product and a new checkout link." url: "https://deliverykit.app/guides/stripe-payment-link-file-delivery" updated: 2026-10-13 --- # How to deliver a file after a Stripe Payment Link purchase Compare ways to deliver downloads after a Stripe Payment Link sale, or set up DeliveryKit with your existing Stripe product and a new checkout link. A Stripe Payment Link lets you take payment for a PDF, template, or other download without building a checkout. File delivery needs a separate setup: Stripe can send a receipt and show a confirmation page, but it doesn't host and email the file you sold. You can keep your Payment Link and arrange delivery yourself, or use DeliveryKit with your existing Stripe product and a new checkout link. Below, we'll cover both options, then set up delivery for Northstar Studio's Studio Planner, an example digital product. ## What Stripe does after a Payment Link purchase In the Stripe Dashboard, open your Payment Link and look under **After the payment**. You can show a confirmation message or redirect buyers to a page on your website. You can also enable receipt emails. [Stripe's post-payment guide](https://docs.stripe.com/payment-links/post-payment) explains these settings. A receipt confirms the purchase; it doesn't give the buyer their download. To send files automatically, you need a service or your own code to respond to Stripe's payment events. For payment methods that take time to confirm, delivery should wait until the payment succeeds. ## Ways to deliver the file **Link to a download page.** Redirect buyers to a page with the file after checkout. A public page is simple to maintain, but anyone with its address can open it. If you need access tied to a purchase, the page needs to check the payment before showing a download. Set up an email too, so buyers can find the file again after closing the tab. **Email buyers yourself.** For occasional sales, you can enable Stripe's successful-payment notifications and send each buyer their files. Tell buyers when to expect the email, especially if you won't be available right after they pay. **Use an automation tool.** A tool such as Zapier can connect a successful Stripe payment to an email containing a download link. You'll need somewhere to host the file. Check what your chosen setup supports if you want links to expire, download limits, or a way to withdraw access after a refund. **Build a delivery integration.** If you need a custom workflow, follow [Stripe's fulfillment guide](https://docs.stripe.com/checkout/fulfillment). Your code needs to check payment status, identify the purchased items, and send the right files. It also needs to handle delayed payments and repeated events without sending duplicate emails. For delivery through DeliveryKit, follow the steps below. You'll keep your Stripe account and product, attach the files, and create a DeliveryKit checkout link to use in place of the Payment Link. ## 1. Connect Stripe and add your files In DeliveryKit, open [Products](https://deliverykit.app/dashboard/products) and choose **Connect Stripe account**. Connect the account that owns your Payment Link. If your workspace already has a different Stripe account connected, add this one from **Stripe accounts** in [Settings → Workspace](https://deliverykit.app/dashboard/settings/workspace) instead. Then open [Files → Create file](https://deliverykit.app/dashboard/files/create) and add what buyers should receive: **Upload file** for something DeliveryKit hosts, or **URL** for a resource you host elsewhere. Name each file the way you want it to appear in the buyer's email. The [guide to selling digital downloads with Stripe Checkout](https://deliverykit.app/guides/sell-digital-downloads-with-stripe) walks through these screens in detail. ## 2. Choose the files for the product you already sell Open the product your Payment Link sells in DeliveryKit's [Products](https://deliverykit.app/dashboard/products) list. Under **What buyers get**, choose **Choose files** and select the downloads included in the purchase. If files are already attached, the button is called **Change files**. For the Studio Planner, we'll attach the editable artwork and a getting-started guide. Choose **Save** in the bar at the bottom of the page; checkout links and email previews use the saved selection. Check the price's amount and currency against your current Payment Link. DeliveryKit checkout links need an active product, attached files, and an active one-time price with a fixed amount. Recurring prices aren't supported. ![Studio Planner in the DeliveryKit dashboard showing its two files under What buyers get, the delivery email, and its checkout link](https://deliverykit.app/images/guides/northstar-product-delivery.webp) The Studio Planner product delivers two files, and its checkout link is ready to copy. ## 3. Create your DeliveryKit checkout link On the product page, find the price your Payment Link uses in the **Checkout links** panel and choose **Create link**. You can then copy the link for that price. If you have several prices, check the amount and currency before copying. The link opens Stripe Checkout in your connected Stripe account. DeliveryKit uses the confirmed purchase to send the files you attached. Keep the new link ready while you check delivery in the next step. ## 4. Check the buyer's email and download page Under **Delivery email**, choose **Preview email**, or **Send test email** to receive a copy at your DeliveryKit account address. Check the file names, email text, and support address. This checks the email's appearance without making a purchase. To test checkout and delivery together, you'll need a sandbox setup. Stripe keeps live and sandbox products separate; your existing live product won't have a sandbox checkout link. - Open [Settings → Workspace](https://deliverykit.app/dashboard/settings/workspace). Under **Stripe accounts**, choose **Connect Stripe account** and connect your Stripe sandbox. - Create or select a product in that sandbox, give it a one-time price, attach the files you want to test, and choose **Save**. - In its **Checkout links** panel, choose **Create link** and open the sandbox link. - Complete checkout with a [Stripe test card](https://docs.stripe.com/testing) and an email address you can access. Open the delivery email and download every file. Use Stripe's test card details for this purchase. Stripe prohibits testing in live mode with a real card, even if you refund it afterward. Before you replace the Payment Link, open its settings in the Stripe Dashboard and compare them with the new checkout. A DeliveryKit checkout link sells one unit of one price, and it doesn't copy these Payment Link settings: automatic tax, promotion codes, billing or shipping address collection, custom fields, adjustable quantities, or extra items. It also doesn't offer bank debits that take days to confirm. If your Payment Link relies on any of these, keep it in place for now, because switching would remove them from your checkout. Check cost and currency too. Each sale through a DeliveryKit checkout link carries your plan's transaction fee on top of Stripe's own fees; the [pricing page](https://deliverykit.app/pricing) lists the rate for each plan. **Adaptive Pricing** is on by default, so buyers in other countries can pay in their local currency. If every buyer should pay in your Payment Link's currency, turn it off under **Checkout** on the product page and choose **Save**. After the test, return to your **Live** product and copy its checkout link. Replace the Payment Link in your buy button, profile, or other places you sell. Open each updated link and check the product, amount, and currency before announcing it. A successful sandbox purchase doesn't turn a sandbox link into a live one. You can deactivate the old Payment Link in Stripe once you've updated the places you control. Anyone opening it from an older email or post will then need the new link, so include it in your deactivation message. ![Northstar Studio delivery email displayed in a simulated inbox, showing both files and the download action](https://deliverykit.app/images/guides/northstar-delivery-email.webp) After Stripe confirms payment, the buyer gets an email listing their files. ## What the buyer gets after paying Once Stripe confirms the payment, the buyer receives a delivery email with a link to their own download page. Each file has its own **Download** button, and the buyer can return while their access remains valid. You can [limit downloads or set an access period](https://deliverykit.app/guides/limit-downloads-and-access-periods), [stamp PDFs with the buyer's details](https://deliverykit.app/guides/protect-pdfs-you-sell), and resend the delivery email from the order page if a buyer can't find it. ![Northstar Studio buyer portal showing the Studio Planner purchase and separate download buttons for editable artwork and the getting-started guide](https://deliverykit.app/images/guides/northstar-buyer-portal.webp) The buyer's download page keeps every file from the purchase together. Start selling your first download: [Get started](https://deliverykit.app/login?screen_hint=sign-up)