Comparison · Updated September 9, 2026
Paddle vs Stripe for SaaS
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.
Stripe
A
Stripe is a leading payment processor known for its developer-friendly API, transparent pricing, and comprehensive suite of payment solutions for businesses of all sizes.
VS
Overview
This is not two processors competing on rate. Paddle is a merchant of record: it becomes the legal seller of your software, so the tax registration, the filing and the liability in every jurisdiction are Paddle's rather than yours, and one 5% + 50c fee covers processing, subscription billing, tax and customer billing support. Stripe is a payment processor at 2.9% + 30c, and you remain the seller - which means you own global tax compliance, and Stripe Tax calculates it for you but does not carry it. Stripe is far cheaper on a domestic sale and far more capable everywhere outside digital goods. Paddle is narrower by design: software and digital products only, no physical goods, and it pays out once a month. Payment Review grades Stripe A and Paddle B.
Key Takeaways
- ✓Stripe is cheaper on the headline: 2.9% + 30c against Paddle's 5% + 50c on a domestic online card sale.
- ✓The gap narrows on a global SaaS once Stripe Billing at 0.7%, Stripe Tax at 0.5%, +1.5% on international cards and +1% currency conversion are added - all included in Paddle's single fee.
- ✓Paddle carries the tax liability as merchant of record and remits in the 95+ jurisdictions listed in its help centre; Stripe Tax calculates and files through third parties, and you stay legally liable.
- ✓Payouts are not close: Stripe settles on a rolling basis about two business days out, Paddle creates a payout on the 1st and sends it by the 15th.
- ✓Paddle cannot be used for physical goods or for consulting and other human services - its acceptable use policy excludes both.
Paddle
Paddle suits software and digital-product businesses selling internationally that would rather pay a premium than register for VAT and sales tax across dozens of jurisdictions and carry the liability for getting it wrong.
Stripe
Stripe suits almost everyone else: anyone selling domestically, anyone selling anything physical or service-based, anyone needing fast rolling settlement, and any business with the appetite to run its own tax compliance.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
Stripe is the better default and the higher-graded platform, and for most businesses the comparison never gets past Paddle's acceptable use policy - no physical goods, no consulting or other human services detached from software. Where both are eligible, the honest split is this. Selling software domestically, Stripe wins on cost outright: 2.9% + 30c against 5% + 50c, with rolling settlement about two business days out rather than a payout created on the 1st and sent by the 15th. Selling software internationally, the headline gap closes fast - Stripe Billing at 0.7%, Stripe Tax at 0.5%, 1.5% on international cards and 1% on conversion all sit inside Paddle's single fee - and the decision stops being about price at all. It becomes a question of who carries the tax liability. Stripe Tax calculates and files through partners, but the obligation stays yours in every jurisdiction you have nexus in. Paddle becomes the seller and takes it, remitting across the 95+ jurisdictions its help centre lists. Buy Paddle when that liability is the thing you actually want off your books, and price in the monthly payout cycle and the 2-3% conversion margin as the cost of it. Buy Stripe for everything else.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Headline cost
| Feature | Paddle | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic online card sale | 5% + 50c per checkout transaction | 2.9% + 30c per successful charge Winner |
| Like for like, on a domestic card payment taken online, with no add-ons on either side. This is the only row where the two are directly comparable without qualification, and Stripe wins it by a wide margin. | ||
| Monthly or setup fee | None | None |
| Minimum ticket | Products under $10 require custom pricing | None Winner |
| Paddle's own pricing page routes sub-$10 products to a sales conversation, which matters for anyone selling a cheap app or a low-priced monthly tier. | ||
Domestic online card sale
Paddle
5% + 50c per checkout transaction
Stripe
2.9% + 30c per successful charge
Winner
Like for like, on a domestic card payment taken online, with no add-ons on either side. This is the only row where the two are directly comparable without qualification, and Stripe wins it by a wide margin.
Monthly or setup fee
Paddle
None
Stripe
None
Minimum ticket
Paddle
Products under $10 require custom pricing
Stripe
None
Winner
Paddle's own pricing page routes sub-$10 products to a sales conversation, which matters for anyone selling a cheap app or a low-priced monthly tier.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Global B2B or B2C SaaS selling into the EU and UK
Recommended
Paddle
This is the case Paddle is built for. VAT registration across the EU, the UK and a long tail of other jurisdictions is a real compliance programme, and Paddle takes both the work and the liability as seller of record. Stripe Tax will calculate the same obligations accurately, but the returns are filed by third parties and the legal exposure stays with you.
US software company selling mainly to US customers
Recommended
Stripe
Stripe is close to half the headline rate at 2.9% + 30c against 5% + 50c, and a domestic-only footprint is the scenario where Paddle's tax coverage is worth least. Add Stripe Tax at 0.5% for state sales tax and the comparison is still not close.
Any business selling physical goods or in-person
Recommended
Stripe
Paddle's acceptable use policy excludes physical products and anything requiring physical delivery, so it is not an option regardless of cost. Stripe covers both, with in-person Terminal payments at 2.7% + 5c.
Consultancy, agency or coaching business
Recommended
Stripe
Paddle's policy excludes human services not attached to a software offering, naming consulting, coaching, legal advice and IT services. Stripe has no such restriction and its invoicing and billing products suit service businesses directly.
Early-stage business running close to its cash position
Recommended
Stripe
Paddle creates payouts on the 1st and sends them by the 15th, with up to three working days on top, so revenue can wait weeks. Stripe settles on a rolling schedule about two business days out and offers instant payouts at 1.5% for eligible accounts. For a business managing runway monthly, that difference outweighs the fee comparison.
Marketplace or platform paying out third-party sellers
Recommended
Stripe
Stripe Connect exists for exactly this and handles onboarding, split payments and payouts to other parties. Paddle's merchant-of-record model makes it the seller of your product, which is structurally the wrong shape for a business whose job is to settle money to someone else.
Paddle: Best for 1 use case
Stripe: Best for 5 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
It means Paddle is the legal seller of your software. Your buyer contracts with Paddle, Paddle's name appears on their statement, and Paddle registers for, collects, files and remits sales tax and VAT in the jurisdictions where the sale creates an obligation - 95+ of them by its own help centre's list. The premium over Stripe's rate buys the removal of that liability from your business, along with subscription billing, fraud screening, dispute handling and buyer billing support inside one fee. With Stripe you remain the seller, which is cheaper and leaves the compliance obligation with you.
On a domestic card sale, clearly yes - 5% + 50c against 2.9% + 30c. On a global SaaS the comparison is closer than the headline suggests, because a like-for-like Stripe stack adds Stripe Billing at 0.7% of billing volume, Stripe Tax at 0.5% per transaction, 1.5% on international cards and 1% on currency conversion, all of which sit inside Paddle's single fee. But Paddle is not free of conversion cost either: clause 7.1 of its master services agreement charges 2% on USD, EUR and GBP, 2.5% on four other currencies and 3% on the rest when a sale is converted, plus up to a further 1.5% if you take payout in another currency. Model both against your own currency and country mix rather than trusting either headline.
It can calculate it, and it can route filing to partners, but it cannot take the liability. Stripe Tax works out the correct rate at checkout for 0.5% per transaction where you are registered, or 50c per transaction through the API, and Stripe integrates with TaxJar and Taxually to automate returns in a large number of countries. What none of that changes is who is legally on the hook: you remain the merchant of record, so registration thresholds, filings and any assessment for getting it wrong are yours. That transfer of liability is the specific thing Paddle sells and Stripe does not.
Stripe, far faster. It settles on a rolling schedule of about two business days once an account is established, after a first payout that takes seven to fourteen days, and eligible accounts can take instant payouts in around thirty minutes for 1.5% with a 50c minimum. Paddle pays monthly: if your balance is above the threshold you set - a minimum of $100, adjustable up to $100,000 - the payout is created on the 1st and sent by the 15th, then takes up to three working days to arrive. Sales made early in a cycle can therefore wait around six weeks for cash.
No. Paddle's acceptable use policy excludes physical products and anything requiring physical delivery outright, and it also excludes human services not attached to a software offering, such as consulting, coaching, legal advice and IT services, along with donations, crowdfunding and sponsorship. Paddle is built for SaaS, games, digital goods, web hosting and ebooks. If you sell anything outside that list, the comparison is settled before you reach pricing - Stripe covers physical, digital, service and in-person sales alike.
Stripe charges $15 per dispute received and you argue it yourself using Stripe's evidence tooling. Paddle charges 20 USD, GBP or EUR, or 40 CAD or AUD depending on the transaction currency, and fights the dispute itself, because its name is the one on the buyer's statement. Neither returns the fee when you win - Paddle's help centre states that on a successful defence it returns the recovered transaction amount to your seller balance but not the chargeback fee. Paddle also monitors your chargeback rate and treats anything above 0.65% of transaction volume as needing remediation.
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