Stripe gives you maximum control and the richest ecosystem, but you're responsible for global sales tax and compliance. Paddle and Lemon Squeezy act as a merchant of record (MoR) — they sell to your customers and handle worldwide VAT/sales tax for you — in exchange for less control and higher fees. Choose an MoR to offload tax complexity; choose Stripe for flexibility and lower fees at scale.
The key difference: merchant of record
A merchant of record is the legal seller of your product. That means Paddle or Lemon Squeezy — not you — collects and remits sales tax and VAT in every jurisdiction, and handles the compliance paperwork. With Stripe, you are the merchant, so global tax is your responsibility (Stripe Tax helps, but the obligation is yours).
Quick comparison
- Stripe: most control, lowest fees at scale, best ecosystem — but you own tax and compliance.
- Paddle: merchant of record, strong for global B2B/B2C SaaS, handles VAT/tax — higher fees, less flexibility.
- Lemon Squeezy: merchant of record with a simple, fast setup — great for smaller/indie SaaS and digital products.
Which to choose
- Selling globally and want tax handled for you: Paddle or Lemon Squeezy.
- Want maximum flexibility, custom billing, and lower fees at volume: Stripe.
- Small team or indie product that values simplicity: Lemon Squeezy.
Our approach
We build most SaaS on Stripe for its control and ecosystem, wiring subscription state to the tenant lifecycle. When a client's global tax burden outweighs the fee difference, a merchant of record like Paddle or Lemon Squeezy is the right trade. We help you pick based on where you sell, not habit.