Stripe vs Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy Fees Calculator
What Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments would take from your revenue, for your price, volume and customer mix. Merchants of record include tax handling; Stripe does not.
| Provider | Per payment | Effective rate | Fees / month | You keep / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
StripeYou handle tax
| $2.604.7% + $0.30 | 5.31% | $520.60 | $9,279.40 |
Dodo PaymentsMerchant of record
| $2.905.1% + $0.40 | 5.92% | $579.80 | $9,220.20 |
PaddleMerchant of record
| $2.955% + $0.50 | 6.02% | $590.00 | $9,210.00 |
Polar (Starter)Merchant of record
| $3.245.6% + $0.50 | 6.62% | $648.80 | $9,151.20 |
Lemon SqueezyMerchant of record
| $3.496.1% + $0.50 | 7.12% | $697.80 | $9,102.20 |
Published pay-as-you-go rates for US accounts. Volume and negotiated pricing, refunds, disputes and payout fees are not included. The cheapest option is highlighted.
Published fees side by side
| Provider | Base fee | Surcharges | Sales tax / VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| StripePayment processor | 2.9% + $0.30 | +1.5% international cards, +1% currency conversion, +0.7% Stripe Billing for subscriptions, +0.5% Stripe Tax | You register and file; Stripe Tax calculates and collects |
| PaddleMerchant of record | 5% + $0.50 | No separate surcharges published | Included: Paddle files and pays |
| Lemon SqueezyMerchant of record | 5% + $0.50 | +1.5% international, +1.5% PayPal, +0.5% subscription payments | Included: Lemon Squeezy files and pays |
| PolarMerchant of record | Starter 5% + $0.50 · Pro 3.8% + $0.40 ($20/mo) · Growth 3.6% + $0.35 ($100/mo) · Scale 3.4% + $0.30 ($400/mo) | +1.5% international cards | Included: Polar files and pays |
| Dodo PaymentsMerchant of record | 4% + $0.40 | +1.5% international, +0.5% subscriptions | Included: Dodo files and pays |
Pay-as-you-go pricing for US accounts, from each provider’s pricing page, checked 2026-10-13. Providers change prices; their pages are authoritative.
Choosing between a processor and a merchant of record
Stripe is a payment processor: it is usually the cheapest per payment, and you stay the seller. That means registering for VAT, GST and US sales tax wherever you cross a threshold, charging the right rate, and filing returns. Stripe Tax automates the calculation and collection, not the registrations and filings.
Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments are merchants of record. They resell your product, so tax collection and filing, fraud and chargebacks are theirs. The higher rate is the price of that. For a small team selling worldwide, the difference is often smaller than the cost of an accountant handling tax in a dozen countries.
The fixed fee matters more than it looks. On a $9 plan, 50 cents is over 5% on its own, which is why a low-price product can pay double the headline rate. Raise the price in the calculator above and watch the effective rate fall.
Frequently asked questions
What are Paddle's fees?
Paddle charges 5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction on pay-as-you-go pricing. As merchant of record it includes sales tax and VAT collection and filing, fraud protection and chargeback handling. Paddle offers bespoke pricing for products under $10 and for high-volume businesses.
What are Lemon Squeezy's fees?
Lemon Squeezy charges 5% + $0.50 per transaction, plus 1.5% on transactions outside the US, 1.5% on PayPal payments and 0.5% on subscription payments. Payments recovered by abandoned-cart emails cost an extra 5%, and sales through its own affiliate program 3%.
Is Stripe cheaper than Paddle?
On the headline rate, yes: 2.9% + $0.30 against 5% + $0.50. The gap narrows once you add Stripe Billing (0.7%) for subscriptions, Stripe Tax (0.5%) and international cards (+1.5%), and Stripe leaves tax registration and filing in every country with you. Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo are merchants of record and take that on.
What does merchant of record mean?
A merchant of record sells your product to the customer in its own name. It charges the right sales tax or VAT, files and pays it in each country, and handles chargebacks and refunds as the seller. With a payment processor like Stripe you are the seller, so those obligations stay with your company.
What does Polar charge?
Polar's Starter plan is 5% + $0.50 with no monthly fee. Paid plans lower the rate for a fixed monthly fee: Pro 3.8% + $0.40 for $20/month, Growth 3.6% + $0.35 for $100/month, and Scale 3.4% + $0.30 for $400/month. International cards add 1.5%.
Only on Stripe? Use the Stripe fee calculator for a single payment, reverse fees and monthly totals.
Whichever you choose, add an affiliate program on top.
Refgrow connects to Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments, tracks referred payments and subscriptions, and pays commissions. Switch providers later and your affiliates keep their links.
- Native integrations with all five providers
- Recurring commissions on subscription renewals
- Refunds reverse the commission automatically
- Payouts via PayPal and Wise