Vercel“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗
Paddle
Merchant of record for SaaS: checkout, subscriptions, tax and compliance.
Works with AI agents:Built into LovableAsk your AI about this, with this page as the source:ChatGPT ↗Claude ↗Perplexity ↗
Paddle is a merchant of record for SaaS, mobile app, AI and digital product companies. It sells to your customers as the legal seller, so it calculates, collects and remits sales tax, VAT and GST worldwide, screens for fraud, fights chargebacks and answers buyers' billing questions.
The current product is Paddle Billing; the older Paddle Classic is closed to new signups, and much of what you read about "Paddle" online describes Classic. You model a catalog of products and prices, open checkout in the browser with Paddle.js (as an overlay or embedded inline), and manage customers, subscriptions and transactions through a versioned JSON REST API, with webhooks reporting changes. Official server SDKs cover Node.js, Python, Go and PHP, and there is a Next.js SaaS starter kit.
The subscription engine handles proration, trials, pauses, upgrades, one-time charges, invoicing and credit notes; checkout offers localized prices and payment methods in 200+ countries; Paddle Retain adds failed-payment recovery and cancellation flows. Mobile apps can link out from iOS to a hosted checkout and return by deep link. It is a hosted service with a separate sandbox account for development.
Live selling requires an approved website domain that shows pricing, terms, refund and privacy policies. Payouts are monthly once your balance passes a threshold you set (100 minimum), so you can't withdraw on demand. Usage-based billing is not metered for you: you track usage in your app and add it to the next invoice.
Where it fits
How Paddle itself is built
1 tools, from its own code, website and Product Hunt page.
Who uses it
79 makers' products, each linked to the source that shows it, and 2 open-source projects that declare it in their code.
The maker says so 65Subprocessor list 8Seen on the website 14Declared in code 2How evidence is collected →
“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗
OpenchangelogThe Changelog for fast shipping teams“Seamlessly handles all our payment processing, making it easy to focus on building rather than billing complexities.”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗
TidyYour Mac tidies itself — and names files by what's inside“Handles payments and acts as Merchant of Record for Tidy, which means I don't have to think about VAT or sales tax across 40 countries. Set it up in an afternoon and it just worked — first real card payment went through on the first try.”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Allow me to easily reach the US market without having to worry about taxes. If I had only targeted my local market, it would have likely been a failure.”
PaymentsMaker says so +1 · source ↗
InstatusStatus page and incident management tool for monitoring services and communicating outag…“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
ClarityUXJust insights that turn clicks into customers“Super easy to use, quick sign up! Love this product :)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
ChronockScheduling and calendar sync, all in one“Paddle gives Chronock a practical way to sell subscriptions globally through its Merchant of Record model. Compared with assembling tax, invoicing, and payment compliance around a direct Stripe integration or a newer platform such as Polar, its hosted checkout, localized pricing, customer portal, and webhooks let a solo product studio keep billing reliable without building a finance operation.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
RefgrowLets SaaS founders launch affiliate and referral programs.“Paddle takes care of all taxes, compliance, and invoicing, so I can focus on growth instead of paperwork. Perfect for selling globally.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story (payments)”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
Accordio AIThe admin tools your Claude is missing.“Merchant of record was the difference between selling to freelancers in 40 countries and doing VAT by hand. Subscriptions, tax and the customer portal in one integration.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
AmplooAll-in-one tool for SMEs: Optimize processes & connect teams“Paddle stands out for its all-in-one payment and subscription management platform, which includes global payment processing, subscription billing, and fraud prevention. Its easy integration, comprehensive analytics, and support for multiple currencies and payment methods make it a convenient choice for businesses.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
Basejump AIChat with your database. Reliably.“We love Paddle! They are how we were able to roll out our free accounts. We were also part of their AI Paddle Launchpad which provided an invaluable experience and community to rely on.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
MailTockMailTock monitors transactional email sent through providers such as Mailgun, Mailchimp…“Thanks to Paddle for streamlining our billing, making it easier than ever for MailTock users to get up and running.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Listed in their tool stack on Starter Story”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
SpreadSimpleA blazing-fast way to create and manage sites using Sheets“Payment provider operating worldwide, enabling us to accept payments globally without worrying about VAT.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
ZushAI file renamer for Mac & Windows — cloud, BYOK or local“Handles global taxes, provides Merchant of Record status, and has native macOS SDK support. P.S. Lemon Squeezy support sucks, sorry guys!”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗“Very easy to setup and it auto handles world-wide taxes for us!”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
ai_liciaUltimate AI Co-Host for online communities |“Not only for providing a payment solution, they offered us through their launchpad an amazing platform to learn and develop our solution!”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗
appdesignsDesign amazing appstore screenshots for free“As merchant of record, Paddle handles sales tax and VAT for supporters around the world, so a small project can take payments without a finance team. The overlay checkout drops straight into the app.”
PaymentsMaker says so · source ↗Open source: a project that declares Paddle as a dependency in its public code — verifiable, but not necessarily a live product.
What makers say
47 makers on why they use Paddle, in their own words on Product Hunt.
Stripe doesn't support Bangladesh. Paddle does - and as a solo founder, that was the deciding factor. Beyond that, Paddle handles taxes, invoicing, and compliance as merchant of record so I don't have to. Simple per-transaction pricing with no monthly fees, easy integration, and their support team is just one email away. For indie founders in unsupported Stripe regions, Paddle is the best option.
Paddle gives Chronock a practical way to sell subscriptions globally through its Merchant of Record model. Compared with assembling tax, invoicing, and payment compliance around a direct Stripe integration or a newer platform such as Polar, its hosted checkout, localized pricing, customer portal, and webhooks let a solo product studio keep billing reliable without building a finance operation.
ChronockSep 2026 ↗Since I started selling UXWizz directly, as a full-time job, I needed a platform that allows me to distribute my digital product without having to worry about handling payments. I started with Gumroad, but ended up switching to Paddle, as they provided more pricing options (I especially wanted the option to have VAT-inclusive pricing).
UXWizzSep 2026 ↗Paddle's all-in-one commerce platform has made handling payments, subscriptions, and most importantly global tax compliance effortless. With Paddle, we can focus on crafting an outstanding product experience while they manage the complexities of modern commerce. Thanks for keeping Kotae running smoothly and our users happy!
KotaeSep 2026 ↗Paddle stands out for its all-in-one payment and subscription management platform, which includes global payment processing, subscription billing, and fraud prevention. Its easy integration, comprehensive analytics, and support for multiple currencies and payment methods make it a convenient choice for businesses.
AmplooSep 2026 ↗Loved and watch-outs
Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises, with how Product Hunt tags its reviews.
Most loved
- As merchant of record it remits VAT and sales tax everywhere and handles refunds and disputes. PHHNHN 2
- Subscriptions, overlay checkout, the customer portal and a sandbox for testing come in one integration. PHPH 2
- Lets sellers in countries like Pakistan or Argentina take subscription payments from customers worldwide. PHHN
On Product Hunt 4.8★ · 56 reviews
all-in-one payment platform 6global tax compliance 6subscription billing 5easy integration 4comprehensive analytics 2customer support 2fraud prevention 2global payment processing 2
Read the reviews on Product Hunt ↗Reliability and open issues
Incidents on its status page3 in the last 90 days, 1 major · 20 in the last year
- minor Report downloads unavailable in the Paddle Dashboard Sep 2026
- major Retain Aug 2026
- minor Seller dashboard logins are failing with timeouts Jul 2026
Who switches
Public pull requests on GitHub since Oct 2024 whose title says "X to Y" — real code changes moving a project from one tool to another, by developers in general. Open a row to see the pull requests.
Stripe → Paddle18 PRs
- feat(billing): migrate from Stripe to Paddle Billing (Merchant of Record)cploutarchou/bidmorrow · 2026-08-25
- docs: pivot ADR-0044 from Stripe to Paddle after Serbia country blockJovan42/OpsClear · 2026-08-10
- chore: remove dead code after Stripe to Paddle migrationgeirb56/sauvegarde260708 · 2026-08-01
- Completing Stripe to Paddle migration processgeirb56/sauvegarde260708 · 2026-08-01
- Implementing migration plan from Stripe to Paddlegeirb56/sauvegarde260708 · 2026-07-29
- Move web billing from Stripe to Paddle (merchant of record)Greigh/FiHaven · 2026-07-26
- fix(billing/observability): retire Stripe tooling, align render.yaml to Paddle, honest deployed_at (#1066, #1065)Binz2008-star/Rico-Your-AI-intelligent-job-hunt-partner-in-the-UAE · 2026-07-16
- feat: migrate billing from Stripe to PaddleShroud-email/shroud.email · 2026-07-10
- Switch web payments from Stripe to Paddlechxmxth/MedSpark · 2026-06-14
- Feat/stripe to paddle shiftal33mahmad1/money-manager · 2026-06-12
Lemon Squeezy → Paddle6 PRs
- Billing: migrate PDFBright from Lemon Squeezy to PaddleRouane12/pdfbright · 2026-09-16
- Migrate commerce from Lemon Squeezy to Paddle Billingisienrione/pirisibits · 2026-07-20
- feat(payments): migrate from Lemon Squeezy to Paddle BillingNavasardianMichael/regionify · 2026-04-21
- feat: migrate payments from Lemon Squeezy to Paddletornidomaroc-web/scan-and-action · 2026-04-20
- Migrate billing system from Lemon Squeezy to Paddle integrationmarrrkkk/requo · 2026-04-17
- Switch payment integration from Lemon Squeezy to Paddledcrivac/Clipso · 2026-01-15
Paddle → Lemon Squeezy3 PRs
- feat: migrate payments from Paddle to Lemon Squeezyyaronkinar/interviewPrep · 2026-08-23
- Migrate billing from Paddle to Lemon Squeezyminseongc022-create/vowpath · 2026-07-21
- Migrate subscription billing from Paddle to Lemon Squeezythefappybird/gallurio · 2026-07-10
Alternatives to Paddle
All alternatives by situation →
Dodo Payments
PayPal
PolarOn Product Hunt, people weigh it against: Polar, Stripe, Dodo Payments, Creem, Chargebee.
Questions makers ask about Paddle
What does Paddle check before I can sell?
It reviews each domain you will sell from. The site must be live on HTTPS and show pricing, what the customer gets, and terms, refund and privacy policies that name your business. Most domains are approved automatically; manual reviews take about 5 to 7 business days. source ↗
How do I test before my account is approved?
Create a separate sandbox account. It has the same API and features with its own credentials and data, needs no website approval, and accepts test cards only; you recreate your catalog in the live account when you go live. source ↗
How often do I get paid?
Once a month, when your balance is above the payout threshold you set (minimum 100 in USD, GBP or EUR). Payouts go by wire transfer or Payoneer and can take up to 3 working days to arrive. source ↗
Which languages have official SDKs?
Node.js, Python, Go and PHP on the server, plus a Paddle.js npm wrapper for the browser. There are no desktop SDKs. source ↗
Can I bill for usage, such as tokens or API calls?
Yes, but you meter it yourself (in your app or with a tool like OpenMeter) and add the amount as a line item to the customer's upcoming transaction. Pure usage plans use a zero-price subscription, and prepaid credits can be sold as one-time products. source ↗
Can I use it to sell outside the App Store?
Yes. Your iOS app opens a Paddle checkout URL, Paddle takes the payment, and the user returns to the app by deep link; you grant access through webhooks or RevenueCat. source ↗
I'm on Paddle Classic. Do I have to rebuild?
Yes. Paddle Billing is a separate product with its own API and Paddle.js version, so you reintegrate, then port subscriptions with migration screens in the dashboard, which are in early access. source ↗
Is Paddle free?
No permanent free tier; paid use starts at 5% + 50¢ per transaction. source ↗
Is Paddle open source or self-hostable?
Not open source, and hosted only.
Can AI coding agents work with Paddle?
Lovable set it up natively.
Who uses Paddle?
79 makers' products we track, each with a source, and 2 open-source projects declare it in their code. source ↗