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Merchant of Record

Paddle

Paddle is a Merchant of Record for eligible software businesses, combining checkout, recurring billing, tax operations, fraud controls, and buyer support.

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Editorial verdict

Choose Paddle when its eligibility, seller role, checkout, payout, tax, and contract model fit and reduced merchant operations outweigh lower platform control.123

Best for

  • Eligible software products
  • Teams outsourcing covered seller operations
  • Recurring software commerce
123

Not ideal for

  • Businesses that must remain seller of record
  • Products outside Paddle policy
  • Teams requiring processor portability
123
Main trade-off

Merchant-of-record coverage reduces operational load while increasing checkout, payout, policy, data, and migration dependence.123

Product boundary

Whether Paddle should become seller of record for covered software transactions.

Paddle acts as Merchant of Record for approved products and transactions; it is not merely a payment gateway or a substitute for merchant legal review.123

For: Software businesses deliberately choosing a Merchant of Record operating model

  • Product eligibility changes
  • Payout or reserve terms do not fit
  • The business must remain merchant of record

Why teams consider Paddle

  • Seller-of-record modelPaddle documents acting as seller for covered transactions.123
  • Bundled software commerceCheckout, recurring billing, tax handling, fraud controls, and buyer support are within the documented model.123
  • Public headline pricingThe public plan lists a transaction percentage and fixed fee.123

Pricing

Public transaction pricing, with custom terms for scale and special handling for low-price products or invoicing.2

Current public commercial route

Pay as you go

Verified 2026-07-25: Paddle lists 5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction, with custom pricing for scale and separate handling for products below $10 or invoicing.2

Seller role
Paddle is Merchant of Record for approved transactions2
Contract boundary
Eligibility and terms apply2
Pricing checked View official pricing

Paddle vs alternatives

Lemon Squeezy

Choose when
Choose this route when its eligibility, seller role, checkout, payout, and contract model fit the product.
Avoid when
Avoid it when the business must remain merchant of record or the provider's policies do not fit.
Compared with Paddle
Operational coverage increases while checkout, payout, policy, data, and migration control decrease.45

Creem

Choose when
Choose this route when its eligibility, seller role, checkout, payout, and contract model fit the product.
Avoid when
Avoid it when the business must remain merchant of record or the provider's policies do not fit.
Compared with Paddle
Operational coverage increases while checkout, payout, policy, data, and migration control decrease.67

FastSpring

Choose when
Choose this route when its eligibility, seller role, checkout, payout, and contract model fit the product.
Avoid when
Avoid it when the business must remain merchant of record or the provider's policies do not fit.
Compared with Paddle
Operational coverage increases while checkout, payout, policy, data, and migration control decrease.89

Resources and sources

Official product, pricing, ownership, and policy sources

  • How Paddle works
    Open
  • Paddle pricing
    Open
  • Paddle terms
    Open
  • Lemon Squeezy payments
    Open
  • Lemon Squeezy pricing
    Open
  • Creem Merchant of Record
    Open
  • Creem pricing
    Open
  • FastSpring store activation
    Open
  • FastSpring pricing
    Open
  1. 1
    How Paddle works

    Paddle · Accessed Official

  2. 2
    Paddle pricing

    Paddle · Accessed Official

  3. 3
    Paddle terms

    Paddle · Accessed Official

  4. 4
    Lemon Squeezy payments

    Lemon Squeezy · Accessed Official

  5. 5
    Lemon Squeezy pricing

    Lemon Squeezy · Accessed Official

  6. 6
    Creem Merchant of Record

    Creem · Accessed Official

  7. 7
    Creem pricing

    Creem · Accessed Official

  8. 8
    FastSpring store activation

    FastSpring · Accessed Official

  9. 9
    FastSpring pricing

    FastSpring · Accessed Official