Paddle pricing
Summarize with:
How Paddle's pricing works
Paddle has no plan tiers. It is one pay-as-you-go rate, and everything is inside it.
5% + 50c per checkout transaction
- Card processing and localized checkout
- Subscription billing and failed-payment recovery (Retain)
- Sales tax and VAT registered, charged, filed and remitted as Merchant of Record
- Fraud and chargeback protection, and buyer billing support
- No monthly fee and no migration fee
Products priced under $10 need custom pricing; high-volume businesses can arrange a custom rate.
Lemon Squeezy publishes the same headline and then adds percentages for country, PayPal, subscriptions and affiliates. Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy sets those extras against this card, including when each payout lands.
Is it worth the money?
What works
- As Merchant of Record, Paddle takes the whole sales-tax, VAT and GST job off your plate: it registers, charges, files and remits across 100-plus jurisdictions, so a global software business does not have to stand up its own tax compliance.
- One rate covers a lot of ground. The 5% + 50¢ fee includes payments, subscription billing, fraud and chargeback protection, failed-payment recovery through Retain, and buyer billing support, with no monthly fee and no migration fee.
- Paddle says there is no lock-in period, and you can move your data to another provider. Confirm that in writing before you hand billing over.
- It is not a bet on a startup. Paddle has been operating since 2012, reports more than 10,000 customers and says it has processed over 190 million transactions, so the infrastructure is proven at scale.
What to watch
- Paddle's acceptable use policy is written for software companies. Physical products and services delivered by a person fall outside that policy, and the prohibited list blocks medical and weight-loss advice, business or investment opportunities, gambling and adult content.
- It costs more than a standard payment gateway: 5% + 50¢ compared with Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢. You pay that rate for tax and compliance handling, which is worth it when that workload is heavy. On a low-priced product the fixed 50¢ takes a large share of the sale.
- Account risk is the loudest long-term complaint. Founders describe risk reviews they cannot follow, and some end with the account suspended or closed and the payout frozen while the seller still owes refunds and has subscriptions to keep running. A June 2025 FTC settlement is why underwriting has been stricter since. Keep a cash buffer and a backup provider ready.
- Payouts are monthly. Paddle closes each seller balance at month-end and sends the payout around the 15th, which is later than a gateway on a rolling schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Paddle cost?
Paddle is pay-as-you-go at 5% + 50c per checkout transaction, with no monthly fee and no migration fee. Products priced under $10 need custom pricing, and high-volume businesses can arrange a custom rate.
Does Paddle have a free trial?
There is nothing to trial in the usual sense. Paddle has no monthly fee, so you pay 5% + 50c only when you make a sale. The commitment is passing underwriting, not a subscription.
Is the 5% + 50c all I pay?
Card processing, sales tax handling, fraud protection and billing support are all inside that rate. The costs to watch are the fixed 50c, which stings on low-ticket sales, and payouts that arrive monthly rather than on demand.
What we read
From Paddle
- https://www.paddle.com
- https://www.paddle.com/billing/checkout
- https://www.paddle.com/billing/tax-and-compliance
Other sources
5 discussions and reviews read for this page. Quotes are excerpts; open a link to read the original in context.
- [r1] Struggling to choose between Paddle and Lemon Squeezy for our SaaS
- [r2] Do not use Paddle if you're an early-stage startup
- [r3] Payments: Paddle v Stripe v LemonSqueezy v Polar
- [ftc1] Paddle Will Pay $5 Million to Settle FTC Allegations of Unfair Payment-Processing Practices and Facilitation of Deceptive Tech-Support Schemes
- [ftc2] Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, and Other Relief
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