vs
Stripe vs Paddle
Stripe is payments infrastructure you build on, and you stay the seller. Paddle is a merchant of record: it sells your software for you and takes on sales tax, fraud, chargebacks and buyer support.
Side by Side
| Stripe | Paddle | |
|---|---|---|
| What It Is | Payments infrastructure: checkout, subscriptions, invoicing and payment links. | Merchant of record payments platform for SaaS businesses. |
| Category | Payments | Payments |
| Who Is the Seller | You are. Tax and compliance are yours, with Stripe Tax as a separate product and Managed Payments as Stripe's merchant of record option. | Paddle is. It handles global sales tax and VAT, fraud protection, chargebacks and buyer support. |
| Tags | ||
| Pricing | 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card charge (US pricing). International cards add 1.5%. No setup or monthly fees. Billing and Tax are priced separately. | 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction, with payments, billing, tax compliance, fraud and buyer support included. No monthly fees. Custom pricing for high volume. |
| Website | stripe.com | paddle.com |
| On Digidle |
Pricing and plan details checked October 28, 2026 on each vendor's official pages: Stripe pricing, Paddle pricing. Plans change, so confirm before you buy.
Which One to Pick
Pick Stripe If
You want the lowest headline rate and full control of checkout and billing, and you're fine owning sales tax registration and filing.
More on StripePick Paddle If
You sell software worldwide and would rather pay a higher all-in rate than register for and file sales tax and VAT in every market.
More on PaddleBuilt a tool in Payments? Get it featured at the top of its category for 30 days.
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