Comparison · Updated September 1, 2026
Paddle vs FastSpring
Paddle
B
A London merchant of record for software, SaaS and AI companies, founded in 2012 and used by more than 6,000 digital product businesses by its own July 2025 count. It publishes one flat price — 5% + 50¢ — and in exchange becomes the legal seller of your product, taking on global sales tax and VAT registration, filing and liability. That is a real transfer of risk, and it is expensive: roughly double a card processor's rate, paid out once a month rather than daily.
FastSpring
B+
FastSpring is a merchant of record for software, SaaS, games and digital products, founded in Santa Barbara in 2005 and trading as Bright Market, LLC. It becomes the legal seller of your product, which means it — not you — owns the payment relationship, the sales tax and VAT obligation, the fraud loss and the chargeback. Its own site claims more than 3,200 customers, over $2 billion in transactions a year, 200-plus regions, 35-plus currencies and 21-plus languages. It holds a BBB A- and is twenty-one years old, both unusual in this category. It publishes no rates.
VS
Overview
Both are merchants of record for software and digital products: they become the legal seller, collect and remit sales tax and VAT worldwide, run subscriptions and handle fraud, and pay you the net. The differences are commercial. Paddle publishes its price, 5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction, and runs on 30 days' notice; FastSpring publishes no rate, quotes a volume-based revenue share and signs you to a one-year auto-renewing term. FastSpring pays out twice a month against Paddle's once, converts currency at 2.5% against Paddle's up to 1.5%, and holds an A- at the BBB against Paddle's F and a 2025 FTC settlement.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Published rate — Paddle: 5% + $0.50 per transaction (vs a volume-based revenue share FastSpring quotes by sales)
- ✓Contract — Paddle: no fixed term, 30 days' notice (vs one-year auto-renewing term)
- ✓Payout frequency — FastSpring: twice monthly by default, weekly available (vs once a month)
- ✓Currency conversion — Paddle: up to 1.5% (vs 2.5% when store and payout currency differ)
- ✓BBB — FastSpring: A- (vs F with 101 unanswered complaints and a $5M FTC settlement in 2025)
Paddle
Better for SaaS and app companies that want a price they can read, no term commitment, ProfitWell metrics and churn tooling bundled in, and payouts in 13 currencies.
FastSpring
Better for established software, game and B2B vendors that want faster payouts, quoting and invoicing, licensing integrations and a negotiated rate from a company with a cleaner regulatory record.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
Paddle if you want to know the price before you talk to anyone. FastSpring if you want your money sooner and a counterparty with a cleaner record. The tables split along commercial lines. Paddle wins on transparency and flexibility: a published 5% + $0.50, no minimum, no term, 30 days' notice, 13 payout currencies and a conversion margin capped at 1.5%. FastSpring will not tell you its rate until sales has sized you, adds a $150 annual fee to accounts under $5,000 a year, signs you to a one-year auto-renewing term and converts currency at 2.5%. FastSpring wins on operations and standing. It pays twice a month or weekly against Paddle's once, sells B2B quoting and invoicing as standard, integrates with the software-licensing tools a desktop or games vendor already uses, and carries an A- at the BBB. Paddle carries an F, 101 unanswered complaints and a June 2025 FTC settlement over payments it processed for tech-support scams, which is the kind of history a merchant of record, whose name is on your customers' card statements, should not have. Our grades lean FastSpring, a B+ to Paddle's B, on features, support and reputation, and lean Paddle on pricing transparency and contract terms. A SaaS company that values a published price and can live with monthly payouts should choose Paddle; an established vendor that will negotiate anyway and wants faster cash and a quieter counterparty should choose FastSpring.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Pricing
| Feature | Paddle | FastSpring |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Merchant of record | Merchant of record |
| Both take legal responsibility for the sale, global sales tax and VAT, fraud and chargebacks, and bundle subscription billing. Neither is a plain payment gateway; compare either against Stripe plus a tax service, not against a card processor's rate. | ||
| Published rate | 5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction Winner | Not published; volume-based revenue share |
| FastSpring's pricing page says its team will "work with you to determine simple, flat-rate pricing based on transaction type and your volume of business". Paddle's rate is the standard tier; larger sellers and products under $10 get custom pricing. | ||
| Monthly fee and minimums | $0; no minimum Winner | $0; no minimum volume; $150/year risk-verification fee under $5,000 annual volume |
| FastSpring's seller terms add a Vendor Risk Verification Fee of $150 a year to accounts generating less than $5,000 in annual transaction volume. | ||
| Chargeback fee | $20 (USD, GBP, EUR) or $40 (CAD, AUD); not refunded on a win | Not disclosed |
| Paddle's help centre and seller handbook both give $20/$40 and state the fee is kept even when Paddle wins the dispute; the same fee applies to a pre-chargeback alert that is refunded proactively. FastSpring's documentation describes chargeback handling but publishes no fee. | ||
| Currency conversion on payout | Up to 1.5% margin if paid in a currency other than your balance currency Winner | 2.5% if store and payout currency differ |
| Wire fee | $15 SWIFT fee only when payout currency differs from your bank's country | Not disclosed |
Model
Paddle
Merchant of record
FastSpring
Merchant of record
Both take legal responsibility for the sale, global sales tax and VAT, fraud and chargebacks, and bundle subscription billing. Neither is a plain payment gateway; compare either against Stripe plus a tax service, not against a card processor's rate.
Published rate
Paddle
5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction
Winner
FastSpring
Not published; volume-based revenue share
FastSpring's pricing page says its team will "work with you to determine simple, flat-rate pricing based on transaction type and your volume of business". Paddle's rate is the standard tier; larger sellers and products under $10 get custom pricing.
Monthly fee and minimums
Paddle
$0; no minimum
Winner
FastSpring
$0; no minimum volume; $150/year risk-verification fee under $5,000 annual volume
FastSpring's seller terms add a Vendor Risk Verification Fee of $150 a year to accounts generating less than $5,000 in annual transaction volume.
Chargeback fee
Paddle
$20 (USD, GBP, EUR) or $40 (CAD, AUD); not refunded on a win
FastSpring
Not disclosed
Paddle's help centre and seller handbook both give $20/$40 and state the fee is kept even when Paddle wins the dispute; the same fee applies to a pre-chargeback alert that is refunded proactively. FastSpring's documentation describes chargeback handling but publishes no fee.
Currency conversion on payout
Paddle
Up to 1.5% margin if paid in a currency other than your balance currency
Winner
FastSpring
2.5% if store and payout currency differ
Wire fee
Paddle
$15 SWIFT fee only when payout currency differs from your bank's country
FastSpring
Not disclosed
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Early-stage SaaS companies
Recommended
Paddle
A published 5% + $0.50 with no minimum, no term and ProfitWell metrics bundled is the simplest way to sell globally without a tax project. FastSpring's $150 annual fee under $5,000 in volume and one-year term are aimed at larger sellers.
Established software and game vendors
Recommended
FastSpring
At volume you will negotiate either way, and FastSpring's revenue share is negotiable by design. Its licensing integrations, localised checkout in 200+ regions and twice-monthly or weekly payouts suit a mature catalogue better than Paddle's monthly cycle.
B2B software selling on quotes and invoices
Recommended
FastSpring
FastSpring's Interactive Quotes and B2B invoicing are standard products. Paddle routes invoicing needs to custom pricing.
Sellers who need cash flow
Recommended
FastSpring
Paddle creates one payout on the 1st and sends it by the 15th, with no on-demand withdrawal. FastSpring pays on the 15th and month-end by default, or weekly, after a 14-day settlement delay.
Sellers paid outside USD, EUR, GBP, AUD or CAD
Recommended
Paddle
Paddle pays out in 13 currencies including CHF, SEK, DKK, PLN, CZK, HUF, ZAR and CNY, with a conversion margin of up to 1.5%. FastSpring pays in five currencies and charges 2.5% when the store and payout currencies differ.
Physical goods, services or consulting
Neither. Both platforms are for digital products. Paddle's policy explicitly excludes physical goods and human services not tied to software, and FastSpring is built for software, SaaS and games. Use a conventional processor.
Paddle: Best for 2 use cases
FastSpring: Best for 3 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
Unknown until FastSpring quotes you, which is the point. Paddle publishes 5% + $0.50 per transaction; FastSpring publishes no rate and prices on a volume-based revenue share. On the fees both do publish, Paddle is cheaper on currency conversion (up to 1.5% against 2.5%) and has no annual fee for small accounts, while FastSpring does not disclose its chargeback fee against Paddle's $20.
It becomes the legal seller of your product. Paddle or FastSpring charges the customer, appears on the card statement, calculates and remits sales tax and VAT in every jurisdiction, absorbs fraud and chargeback liability, and pays you the net. That is why their fees are several times a card processor's: you are buying tax compliance and risk, not just processing.
Paddle pays once a month: if your balance is over your threshold (minimum $100) on the 1st, the payout is sent by the 15th and lands within about three working days. FastSpring pays twice a month on the 15th and month-end by default, or weekly or monthly if you choose, after a 14-day settlement delay on each transaction and a 45-day monitoring hold on new accounts.
FastSpring does, lightly: its seller terms run for one year and auto-renew, though either side can end the agreement on 30 days' written notice, and FastSpring can hold part of your balance for up to 180 days afterwards. Paddle's agreement has no fixed term and ends on 30 days' notice. Leaving either means migrating subscriptions and re-registering for tax yourself.
In June 2025 Paddle.com Market Ltd and its US subsidiary agreed to pay $5 million and accept a permanent ban on processing payments for tech-support telemarketers, settling FTC allegations that Paddle had processed payments for deceptive tech-support schemes aimed at US consumers. The order also requires stronger merchant screening and clearer subscription disclosures. It is why the BBB profile carries a government-action alert.
No. Paddle's acceptable-use policy prohibits physical products and services that need physical delivery, as well as consulting and other human services not tied to software. FastSpring is built for software, SaaS, games and digital products. Both are for things delivered over the internet.
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