# Alternatives to Paddle

Merchant of record for SaaS and software

Paddle ranks #9 of 11 in Merchant of record, with an Alt Score of 86. It is proprietary and available on Web and iOS. 11 of 13 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/paddle/
Category: Merchant of record

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: SaaS, mobile app, and other digital-product businesses selling globally (10,000+ customers).
- **What you get**: Paddle acts as merchant of record, becoming the seller for your transactions and handling billing, subscriptions, localized checkout, fraud protection, and sales tax compliance across 300+ markets on your behalf.
- **How it works**: Businesses embed Paddle's checkout or integrate via its API, and Paddle processes payments, manages subscription billing, and calculates and remits applicable sales tax under its own merchant account.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Pricing model**: Usage-based (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Starts at**: 5% + $0.50 per transaction (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-12)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [2Checkout](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/2checkout.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web |
| 2 | [Dodo Payments](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/dodo-payments.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android, Windows |
| 3 | [Gumroad](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/gumroad.md) | 93 | MIT | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Lemon Squeezy](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lemon-squeezy.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web |
| 5 | [Polar](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/polar.md) | 93 | Apache-2.0 | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Cleverbridge](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cleverbridge.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web |
| 7 | [Creem](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/creem.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, Android |
| 8 | [FastSpring](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/fastspring.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web |
| 9 | [Payhip](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/payhip.md) | 79 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 10 | [Stripe Managed Payments](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/stripe-managed-payments.md) | 72 | Proprietary | Web, iOS |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Merchant of record checklist | Paddle | 2Checkout | Dodo Payments | Gumroad | Lemon Squeezy | Polar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Starts at | 5% + $0.50 per transaction | 3.5% + $0.35 per successful sale | 4% + $0.40 per transaction | 10% + $0.50 per transaction | 5% + $0.50 per transaction | 5% + $0.50 per transaction |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | MIT | Proprietary | Apache-2.0 |
| Platforms | Web, iOS | Web | Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web, iOS, Android |
| Acts as reseller / seller of record | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Global sales tax & VAT remitted | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Subscriptions & recurring billing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| One-time / digital product sales | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Usage-based billing | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes |
| Hosted checkout / overlay | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| License keys / entitlement delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Localized pricing & currencies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Chargeback & fraud handling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compliant invoices per jurisdiction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | ? | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Affiliate / referral program | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| No monthly fee (pay per sale) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |

## Sources

Sources for Paddle. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Usage-based — <https://www.paddle.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “5% + 50¢ per Checkout transaction”
- **Starts at**: 5% + $0.50 per transaction — <https://www.paddle.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “5% + 50¢ per Checkout transaction”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://www.paddle.com/legal/terms> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “We grant you a non-exclusive and non-transferable right and licence during the term of this Agreement to access and use the Supplier Dashboard and Supplier Account”
- **Status**: active — <https://www.paddle.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “© 2012— 2026”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS — <https://developer.paddle.com/get-started/how-paddle-works/mobile> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Paddle is a merchant of record platform for mobile app developers. As a merchant of record, you can integrate with Paddle and we take care of payments, tax, fraud, and compliance for you.”
- **Acts as reseller / seller of record**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/tax-and-compliance> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “As your Merchant of Record, Paddle's automated tax compliance solution handles tax on every payment, so you don't have to.”
- **Global sales tax & VAT remitted**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/tax-and-compliance> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “We register, charge, and remit sales tax in over 100 jurisdictions so you don't have to.”
- **Subscriptions & recurring billing**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/subscriptions> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “SaaS Subscription Management Software Turn subscription operations into a revenue engine”
- **One-time / digital product sales**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/solutions/sell-digital-products> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Sell SaaS subscription products or one-time software downloads with ease.”
- **Usage-based billing**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/metered-billing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “An API-first usage based billing software Easily capture your metered revenue”
- **Hosted checkout / overlay**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/checkout> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Integrate an overlay checkout in no time without waiting for developer resource.”
- **License keys / entitlement delivery**: Yes — <https://developer.paddle.com/build/subscriptions/provision-access-webhooks> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Provisioning is how you grant customers access to your app, as well as determining which features they should have access to... It's sometimes called fulfillment.”
- **Localized pricing & currencies**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/checkout> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “17+ languages 30+ local currencies”
- **Chargeback & fraud handling**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/fraud-protection> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Billing actively combats card attacks, chargebacks and fraud, so you can keep more revenue from each sale.”
- **Compliant invoices per jurisdiction**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/billing/invoicing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Send invoices internationally with confidence that you are compliant with local tax and banking regulations.”
- **No monthly fee (pay per sale)**: Yes — <https://www.paddle.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “No migration fees, monthly fees, or hidden extras”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/