Facts read November 6, 2026
Lemon Squeezy vs Paddle
Paddle is Cuely's default payments pick when your description doesn't favor either one: sells worldwide as merchant of record, so sales tax and VAT filing are handled for you.
Side by side
| Fact | Lemon Squeezy | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Merchant of record for digital products and subscriptions, now operated alongside Stripe. | Merchant of record for software: it sells to your customer and handles tax filing. |
| Free plan | No monthly fee: 5% + 50¢ per transaction, plus listed surcharges (international, PayPal, subscriptions). | No monthly fee: 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction. |
| Paid from | Not stated | Not stated |
| At 1,000 users | $0/month | $0/month |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Best for | Digital products and small subscriptions; Solo founders selling worldwide | Selling software internationally from day one; Founders who don't want tax registrations |
| Watch out | Its 2026 update says the team is building Stripe Managed Payments and plans a migration path for users; check before starting new. Surcharges on top of 5% + 50¢: +1.5% international, +0.5% subscriptions. | Higher fee than a plain processor (5% + 50¢). Less control over checkout and invoices than Stripe. |
Where they differ
The published scores, from −3 to +3, that decide which one Cuely picks for each need.
| Need | Lemon Squeezy | Paddle |
|---|---|---|
| sells to businesses (organizations, roles, SSO) | −1 Built for digital products more than B2B invoicing. | +1 Subscriptions and invoices for software sales. |
| sells internationally and wants tax handled | +2 Merchant of record: it files and pays tax on your behalf. | +3 As merchant of record, Paddle collects and files sales tax and VAT. |
| keep costs as low as possible | −2 Highest effective fee once surcharges apply. | −1 5% + 50¢ is higher than a plain processor. |
Sources: Lemon Squeezy pricing (read November 6, 2026), Paddle pricing (read November 6, 2026). No vendor pays for placement.