What is a merchant of record?
A merchant of record sells to the customer on your behalf and usually handles payment operations, tax collection, invoices, and compliance workflows.
Provider comparison
Merchant of Record Fee Calculator
Estimate when bundled tax, billing, and compliance operations justify higher merchant-of-record transaction fees.
What to compare
Compare MoR providers against the true cost of lower payment fees plus tax tooling, accounting work, risk, and internal operations.
Merchant of record providers
Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar are common options for software sellers who want MoR-style operations instead of only raw card processing.
What this calculator estimates
It estimates transaction fees and net revenue. It does not assign a dollar value to your internal compliance workload, but that cost is often the real decision point.
What MoR fees pay for
A merchant-of-record fee can cover more than payment acceptance. Depending on provider and plan, it may include tax calculation, tax remittance, invoicing, fraud prevention, dispute handling, refunds, buyer support, local payment methods, and checkout infrastructure.
Simple MoR example
If a provider charges 5% + $0.50, a $100 order has an estimated base fee of $5.50. The question is whether the extra fee is cheaper than doing tax, compliance, billing, and payment support yourself.
When MoR usually helps
MoR is most attractive for global SaaS, digital products, small teams, first launches, and founders who would rather pay a bundled fee than assemble tax and billing operations before revenue is predictable.
When MoR may be overkill
If you sell in one country, have high average order values, already operate a finance stack, or need deep custom billing controls, direct payment processing plus separate tax tooling may be more efficient.
Run the numbers
The homepage calculator compares payment processor and merchant-of-record options from one input set.
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Merchant of Record Fee Calculator FAQ
Is merchant of record always more expensive?
Not necessarily. The transaction fee can be higher, but the bundled operational work may save money or reduce risk.
Who needs a merchant of record?
Founders selling globally, handling digital goods, or avoiding complex tax operations are the most natural fit.
Is Stripe a merchant of record?
Stripe is usually used as a payment processor, though Stripe also offers separate merchant-of-record style products in some contexts. Always compare the exact product you plan to use.
How should I value tax and compliance work?
Estimate the software, accounting, legal review, support time, engineering time, and risk you would carry without an MoR. That internal cost is the missing line item in most fee comparisons.