Growing an audience
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Both cover digital products & storefronts and monetization & payments. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Lemon Squeezy | Paddle | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | 5% of what you earn | Not stated |
| Runs on | Not stated | Web |
| Covers | Digital Products & Storefronts, Creator Finance, Monetization & Payments | Monetization & Payments, Digital Products & Storefronts |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Digital product sales with the tax handled
Lemon Squeezy acts as merchant of record, so sales tax and EU VAT stop being your problem. That alone justifies the fee for anyone selling internationally. Subscriptions, licence keys and affiliates are all included.
Our note
Worth the 5 percent the first time an EU VAT return would otherwise be yours to file. Against Gumroad it is half the rate and more setup, which is a good trade at any real volume.
Only on this side
Merchant of record for digital products
Paddle acts as the merchant of record, meaning it sells your product to the customer and then pays you, taking sales tax registration and remittance off your desk entirely. That is the whole difference between it and a plain card processor, and it is why software sellers outside the United States end up here. One rate covers payments, billing and tax. Products under ten dollars are quoted separately.
Our note
The extra two points over Stripe buys you out of tax registration, which is worth it the moment you sell across borders. Lemon Squeezy is the same company at the same headline rate with a lighter setup, so pick that one unless you need Paddle's billing depth.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.