Stripe vs Paddle: fees, taxes, and which to choose for SaaS
Choose Stripe Payments when you want your company to remain the seller and can manage the tax and payment operations. Consider Paddle when you sell eligible software and want a Merchant of Record to handle indirect tax on covered sales. The lower processing fee pays for a smaller part of the job.
What is different?
| Question | Stripe Payments | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| Legal seller | Your company | Paddle, for covered sales |
| Indirect tax registration and filing | Your responsibility; tools and services cost extra | Handled by Paddle for covered transactions |
| Subscriptions | Evaluate Stripe Billing and its additional pricing | Paddle Billing is part of the offering |
| Product scope | Broad eligible business categories | Approved software and digital products |
What would a $10,000 month cost?
These are the same fee rules used by the payment picker calculator. The example is 200 one-time orders at $50 each, paid with US domestic cards for a US business. No sales tax is collected. It excludes subscriptions, refunds, disputes, payouts, currency conversion, and optional services.
| Provider / plan | Fee rule | Month | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 | $350.00 | 3.5% |
| Paddle | 5% + $0.50 | $600.00 | 6% |
Stripe: Stripe Billing, Tax Complete, disputes, and FX conversion are not modeled.
Paddle: Checkout Recovery, payout fees, and chargebacks are not modeled.
Change your order price, monthly orders, and international-card share in the fee calculator. These figures compare transaction costs; they do not include the cost of managing your own taxes with a direct processor.
What does the fee difference buy?
The table uses US domestic one-time card sales. Stripe Payments costs less in that scenario, but it does not include Stripe Billing, your tax registrations, or filing. Adding tax calculation alone does not make Stripe the seller.
Paddle charges for a different arrangement: it becomes the seller and handles the covered payment and indirect-tax operations. Your product support, bookkeeping, and company taxes remain your work. Compare the cost of running your business under each arrangement.
When would you choose Stripe?
Stripe is worth considering when you need checkout control, sell products outside Paddle eligibility, or already have tax operations in place. Start with the Stripe pricing for your business country, then add the Billing and tax products you need.
Here, Stripe means Stripe Payments. Stripe also offers Managed Payments, a separate Merchant of Record product with additional fees and its own eligibility. Compare that service separately if you want Stripe infrastructure with an MoR arrangement.
When would you choose Paddle?
Paddle is worth considering when international software sales would leave a small team managing tax across many markets. Confirm that your product and business qualify, and test the subscription lifecycle your app needs.
If you already sell through either provider, request a migration plan before switching. Payment credentials, renewal dates, and invoices need more planning than replacing a checkout button.
Related comparisons
Read each provider guide
Official sources
Guide and pricing checked October 27, 2026. Fee totals above cover the stated scenario; use these sources to check the terms for your business and payment methods.