Compare Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar fees from one set of inputs. Estimate take-home revenue, see the fee breakdown, and decide when a merchant of record is worth it.
Calculating the best option...
| Provider | Model | Fees | Net revenue |
|---|
Stripe is modeled as a payment processor: card fees can be lower, but tax and compliance are separate work. Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar are modeled as merchant-of-record options with higher bundled fees.
This is a planning tool, not tax or legal advice. Always confirm current provider pricing before making a final decision.
A merchant of record can make sense when you sell globally, have many small transactions, or want tax handling, invoicing, and payment operations bundled instead of building that workflow yourself.
The first version uses public standard pricing: Stripe at 2.9% + $0.30 for US online card payments, Paddle at 5% + $0.50, Lemon Squeezy at 5% + $0.50, and Polar Starter at 5% + $0.50. International card and dispute assumptions are exposed separately because they can change the answer.
The top provider is the highest estimated take-home revenue for the current inputs. It is not a universal recommendation. A founder may still choose a higher-fee merchant of record to avoid tax, compliance, and payment operations work.
SaaS payment fees are very sensitive to order size. A fixed $0.30 or $0.50 fee is barely visible on a $200 annual plan, but it can change the answer on a $5 monthly plan. If your pricing has several tiers, run the calculator once for each common order size.
Refunds, chargebacks, and international cards do not look exciting, but they often explain why founders disagree about Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar. A realistic model should include the messy edge cases before you commit to a billing setup.
For a $9 monthly subscription, fixed per-order fees can take a large share of revenue. In that case, compare monthly billing against annual billing, because collecting $108 once per year can produce a very different fee profile than collecting $9 twelve times.
If a meaningful share of customers pay with international cards, the cheapest domestic card rate may not be the real blended rate. Merchant-of-record providers can look expensive at first, but bundled tax, disputes, support, and compliance may be worth modeling.
Last checked: June 15, 2026. Provider pricing can change, and custom plans may differ.
Not always. Stripe often has lower direct card fees, while Paddle includes merchant-of-record services. The better choice depends on order size, customer geography, and tax/compliance workload.
Because founders care about what lands in the business after transaction fees, fixed fees, refunds, and chargeback assumptions.
No. Provider pricing changes and custom plans vary. Use this calculator for directional planning, then verify pricing with each provider.
Many SaaS products sell globally. Cross-border and international card fees can erase the difference between providers, especially when order value is low.
For a first-pass comparison, use product revenue before provider fees. If you collect taxes separately, keep tax outside the revenue input so the calculator focuses on provider economics.
Because the fee includes more than card processing. The bundled work can include tax registration, tax remittance, invoices, fraud handling, disputes, and buyer support.