Paddle vs Stripe
From payments infrastructure to revenue performance
As businesses scale globally, managing payments, tax, and compliance becomes increasingly complex, and harder to optimize efficiently. That's why 10,000+ digital product businesses choose Paddle to unlock true global growth, increase revenue, reduce cost and manage risk.
Move beyond stitching together Stripe products
Complete Merchant of Record
A complete Merchant of Record, built to run the system behind your revenue - across payments, billing, tax, compliance, fraud, retention and buyer support. One system. One fee. Full coverage.
Increase revenue
+2–6% higher authorization rates and up to +16% conversion improvement.
Reduce cost
Stacked solutions reach ~7–9%+ total cost. No layered tools, no hidden operational drag.
Manage risk globally
Tax and regulatory compliance handled in 270+ tax jurisdictions.
Built over 12+ years and trained on billions of transactions, Paddle continuously optimizes the system behind your revenue
| Paddle | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Full tax registration, filing and remittance | ✓ | Included in 3.5% SMP fee |
| Fraud prevention & dispute management | ✓ | Included in 3.5% SMP fee |
| Advanced churn recovery | ✓ | Add-on ($0.02 to $0.07/txn) |
| Subscription billing & payments | ✓ | Up to 0.7% |
| International card payments | ✓ | Up to 4.4% + fixed fee |
| Smart payment routing | ✓ | Limited (add-ons) |
| Chargebacks and fraud protection | ✓ | Limited (add-ons) |
| Currency localization as standard | ✓ | Conversion fees apply |
| 24/7 billing support | ✓ | Limited (add-ons) |
| Effective total (subscription business) | 5% + 50¢ | More than 7.1% + 30¢ |
Start improving revenue in 12 days or less
Dedicated migration support, from kickoff to go-live, trusted by large enterprises. Learn more
Phase 1: Set up
Scope and configure Paddle (Day 1-2)
Phase 2: Build and validate
Implement key flows and test safely using the webhook simulator (Day 3-7)
Phase 3: Go live and migrate
Run new customers on Paddle and migrate legacy subscriptions in parallel (Day 8-12)
We were consumed with what we were building. We didn’t want to figure out taxes and stitching on top of Stripe.
Ujwal RatraCOO, Astra Security
Stripe Managed Payments vs Paddle
Stripe Managed Payments introduces Merchant of Record capabilities within Stripe’s payments infrastructure. It’s a positive step that reflects how important Merchant of Record has become for global growth. The model is a hybrid approach, operating as part of a broader payments stack.
For a SaaS business taking subscription payments, the costs stack up quickly: 7–9% per transaction - calculated on the tax-inclusive amount.
Paddle is a complete Merchant of Record at 5% + 50¢ all-in, purpose-built for digital product businesses. It’s designed to increase revenue, reduce cost, and manage risk through one connected system that improves performance from day one and continues to optimise over time.
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Developers
The dev-first Merchant of Record
We've supported hundreds of businesses moving from Stripe.
Get up and running in days, not weeks.
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Thousands have outgrown Stripe
The ex-Stripe customers unlocking meaningful growth with Paddle
Let's plan your migration together
From subscription billing and global payments to simplified invoicing and worldwide compliance, Paddle’s all-in-one platform has everything you need to grow your Saas business. Book a free consultation to find out more.