When Paddle makes sense
Paddle can be useful when you sell globally and want tax handling, invoicing, payment operations, and merchant-of-record responsibilities bundled.
Provider comparison
Paddle Fee Calculator
Estimate transaction fees, fixed fees, refunds, and take-home revenue for a SaaS business using Paddle as a merchant of record.
What to compare
Compare Paddle against Stripe on net revenue, not just headline fees. Tax compliance, operations, and international customers can change the real answer.
Paddle fee assumptions
This page models Paddle's public pay-as-you-go pricing as 5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction. Custom pricing, low-ticket products, invoicing, and special arrangements can differ.
Best Paddle comparison
The most useful comparison is usually Paddle vs Stripe. Stripe can win on raw card processing cost, while Paddle can win when MoR operations save time and risk.
Simple Paddle fee example
On a $100 checkout, the simple public-rate estimate is $5.50 in Paddle fees before any custom pricing or edge cases. On a $10 checkout, the fixed $0.50 fee matters more because it adds five percentage points by itself.
Do not compare headline rates only
Paddle may look more expensive than a payment processor if you only compare percentage fees. The fair comparison includes tax registration, tax remittance, payment support, fraud operations, invoices, and the time saved by not maintaining those workflows internally.
Who should run this page
Use a Paddle fee calculator if you are selling SaaS subscriptions, annual licenses, downloads, or software add-ons to customers in more than one country. It is especially useful before switching from Stripe, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, or a custom billing stack.
Decision rule
If Paddle costs a few percentage points more but removes weeks of compliance and billing work, it may still be the better business decision. If you already have tax tooling and sell mostly domestically, Stripe-style processing can still win.
Run the numbers
The interactive calculator compares Paddle, Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, and Polar from one set of assumptions.
Open the calculatorUseful official sources
Paddle Fee Calculator FAQ
Does Paddle include tax handling?
Paddle is a merchant of record, so tax handling is part of the reason founders compare it against lower-fee processors.
Is Paddle good for low-priced products?
The fixed $0.50 part matters more on low-ticket products. A $5 product and a $100 product feel very different after fixed fees.
How do I estimate Paddle fees?
Multiply revenue by the percentage fee, then add the fixed checkout fee for each order. For directional planning, also include refunds and chargeback assumptions.
Should I choose Paddle just because it handles tax?
No. Tax handling is valuable, but the right answer depends on customer geography, order size, margins, support needs, and how much compliance work your team can own.