Critical reception A writer for BBC Radio 1 gave the song three stars, commenting on how it "continues the more grown-up, serious side of Hilary Duff"; he called the vocals "definitely more in the ballpark of 'husky' rather than 'impressive'" and said the Eastern sound owed much to songs such as the Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons". Although he stated he would prefer "Danger", another song on Dignity, to be a single, he said "Stranger" "[wouldn't] sound out of place on a Britney Spears album, which suggests to me that she's done a passable job of leaving behind her bubblegum past", and that it made him "[do] a fair bit of seat-dancing". A review from Music Focus called the track "unashamedly pop" and said that it was "one of the strongest cuts from Duff's latest album and pushes her into a maturer pop sound". They gave the song a positive review, adding that "Stranger" "need[ed] to be a success" and was "cool, confident slice of dance pop and some of Duff's best work to date". Gary Lancaster of TeenSpot gave the song four stars, calling it an "example of how a modern pop anthem really should sound". He also called it "sleek and sophisticated" and a "catchy, chart worthy track". The song was well received by Billboard reviewer Chuck Taylor, who called it "uptempo" and "dance-friendly", but said that "Top 40 is a tough call". Blender magazine included the song in the "Dangerously in Love" category on its year-end "Oh Yeah... 209 Songs We Like" list. Chart performance Due to the lack of promotion given to the song, it reached number ninety-seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 to become Duff's lowest peaking song on the chart, on which it spent one week. The single received frequent airplay in U.S. nightclubs, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart—it was Duff's third entry on the chart, and her second consecutive number-one single. On the year-end Hot Dance Club Play Tracks chart, "Stranger" was ranked thirty-ninth. It reached number eighty-six on the Canadian Hot 100, and is included on the MuchMusic compilation album MuchDance 2008. As of July 27, 2014, the song had sold 253,000 copies in the United States. The WaWa club mix of the song was premiered at the opening party of the Ibiza nightclub Space, which named it "Single of the Week" in its weekly podcast.