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PolskiStripe, Paddle or Lemon Squeezy: What Remains from a Small SaaS Subscription?
Management Summary
Stripe, Paddle and Lemon Squeezy support sales of online software, but their products take on different responsibilities. Some process payments; others act as the seller and handle agreed tax and payment tasks. The article explains these differences for small subscriptions. Fixed fees take a larger share of low-priced sales. Choosing a service therefore means considering what remains after all charges and the business’s own support work, rather than comparing advertised percentages alone.
Contents
A software subscription delivered online, or SaaS, does not leave the full payment with the product company. Payment services deduct fees and perform different tasks. Stripe Payments mainly processes payments. A Merchant of Record, or MoR, acts as the seller for the transaction and takes on agreed tasks such as sales tax and payment questions. Development, hosting and technical product support remain with the SaaS business.
Four products, not three brands
Stripe also offers a MoR product called Managed Payments. The table therefore compares four offers: Stripe Payments, Stripe Managed Payments, Paddle and Lemon Squeezy. A public pricing page does not mean every business or product qualifies. For Managed Payments, Stripe reviews factors including business location, business model and product type. [2]
| Product | Public base on 25 October 2026 | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe Payments, Germany | 1.5% + €0.25 for standard EEA cards | Not a universal card rate; additional products separate |
| Stripe Managed Payments | Additional 3.5% of the transaction amount, on top of payment processing fees | Other products may cost separately |
| Paddle | 5% + US$0.50 per checkout | Agreement and custom terms apply |
| Lemon Squeezy | Base 5% + US$0.50 | Subscription, international and PayPal extras may apply |
The table lists published base rates, not the complete cost of the same purchase. Stripe Billing, which manages recurring invoices and subscriptions, adds 0.7% of Billing volume on its usage-based plan. Lemon Squeezy lists additions of 0.5 percentage points for subscriptions, 1.5 for international transactions outside the US and 1.5 for PayPal. Payout or marketing fees may also apply. Euro and dollar amounts need the same exchange-rate basis for direct comparison. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Fixed fees affect small sales
A simplified US$20 purchase at 5% plus US$0.50 incurs a US$1.50 fee. That is 7.5% of the payment, leaving US$18.50 before other deductions. At US$100, the fee is US$5.50, or 5.5%, initially leaving US$94.50. The fixed US$0.50 takes a larger share of a small payment. This example excludes tax, extras, conversion and refunds; it is not a complete subscription quote.
The complete comparison
A useful comparison uses the same example purchases: the same buyer country, payment method, currency and subscription type. The amount used to calculate percentage fees also matters. Lemon Squeezy calculates its platform fee on the total order value, including collected tax. The payout can therefore be smaller than “product price minus base fee”. Payout dates, temporarily withheld funds, disputed payments and fees retained after refunds also belong in the calculation.
Working time has a cost too. It includes invoice questions, matching payouts to sales and answering customer messages. A MoR may handle a payment question; a software defect still needs fixing by the SaaS company. A lower percentage alone therefore does not establish the cheaper service overall.
Before switching
Before a switch, a test integration covers purchase, renewal, cancellation, failed payment and refund. Webhooks are automatic messages from the payment service to the application. The application verifies their authenticity and the relevant payment or subscription status before granting or ending paid access. A duplicate message must not add a second month. A delayed message must not overwrite a newer state. A later move also needs a data export and a plan for existing subscriptions. Stored payment details can move only through supported transfer procedures.
The suitable choice therefore depends on actual purchases and the tasks being outsourced. Hosting, development and support still need funding from the amount left after fees and sales taxes. Ranking providers only by the smallest percentage does not answer the question of remaining profit.
Related tools
Questions and answers
Is Stripe categorically not a Merchant of Record?
No. Stripe Payments and Stripe Managed Payments are different products. The MoR model applies to the relevant Managed Payments transactions.
Is 5% plus US$0.50 the full subscription fee?
Not automatically. Lemon Squeezy adds a subscription fee, for example. Tax may also form part of the fee base, and other costs can apply. Published base rates therefore do not replace a calculation for a particular purchase.
Sources
- Stripe Germany: Pricing
- Stripe Managed Payments
- Paddle: Pricing
- Lemon Squeezy: Pricing
- Lemon Squeezy: Fees
- Stripe: Webhooks
- Stripe: Managed Payments eligibility
- Stripe: Payment data migration
Sources checked again: 25 October 2026.
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