Facts read November 6, 2026
Paddle vs RevenueCat
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. Pick RevenueCat if you care most about native mobile apps.
Side by side
| Fact | Paddle | RevenueCat |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Merchant of record for software: it sells to your customer and handles tax filing. | Manages in-app subscriptions across the App Store and Google Play: entitlements, receipts and paywalls. |
| Free plan | No monthly fee: 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction. | Free up to $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue. |
| Paid from | Not stated | 1% of monthly tracked revenue once you pass $2,500. |
| At 1,000 users | $0/month | $0/month |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No |
| Best for | Selling software internationally from day one; Founders who don't want tax registrations | Subscriptions in iOS and Android apps; Syncing entitlements between stores and your backend |
| Watch out | Higher fee than a plain processor (5% + 50¢). Less control over checkout and invoices than Stripe. | It sits on top of the store's in-app purchase, so the store's commission still applies. Above $2,500 in monthly tracked revenue it charges 1% of what you track; the page doesn't say whether that's all revenue or only the excess. |
Where they differ
The published scores, from −3 to +3, that decide which one Cuely picks for each need.
| Need | Paddle | RevenueCat |
|---|---|---|
| native iOS or Android app | −3 Digital subscriptions inside iOS apps must use in-app purchase (Apple Guideline 3.1.1). | +3 Apple requires in-app purchase for digital subscriptions in iOS apps; RevenueCat wraps both stores' purchases. |
| sells internationally and wants tax handled | +3 As merchant of record, Paddle collects and files sales tax and VAT. | 0 No particular strength here. |
| sells to businesses (organizations, roles, SSO) | +1 Subscriptions and invoices for software sales. | −2 For consumer in-app subscriptions, not invoices or seats. |
| keep costs as low as possible | −1 5% + 50¢ is higher than a plain processor. | 0 No particular strength here. |
Sources: Paddle pricing (read November 6, 2026), RevenueCat pricing (read November 7, 2026). No vendor pays for placement.