Paddle vs Stripe

Paddle takes the scariest part of selling software internationally — tax compliance — and makes it someone else’s problem. They act as the merchant of record, which means they are legally the seller. They collect the payment, handle VAT/sales tax in every country, and pay you a net amount. You never file a foreign tax return.

The price for this peace of mind is real: 5% + 50c per transaction versus Stripe’s 2.9% + 30c. For many SaaS founders selling to customers in the EU, UK, and beyond, the math still works out — hiring an accountant or using a tax service would cost more. Paddle requires approval before you can start, so apply early.

Stripe lets you start accepting payments in an afternoon — no merchant account, no bank meetings, no weeks of paperwork. Copy a few lines of code (or use no-code Payment Links), and you have a working checkout. That is why almost every solo founder starts here.

The documentation is genuinely excellent — not just “good for a payments company” but one of the best developer docs on the internet. The dashboard shows you revenue, subscriptions, and customer data clearly. The catch: Stripe is a payment processor, not a merchant of record. That means you are still responsible for sales tax, VAT, and invoicing compliance. If selling internationally scares you, look at Paddle or LemonSqueezy instead.