1
Merchant of record for SaaS, apps and digital products: 5% + 50c per transaction, global tax handled.
#12k web rank · ▲ 5 this week
8.0/10
What you get Paddle acts as your merchant of record: it sells to your customers on your behalf, so it collects the right sales tax or VAT, tracks filing deadlines, files returns and pays the tax. You also get checkout, subscription billing and payment handling across what Paddle calls 300+ markets. Pay-as-you-go pricing is 5% plus 50 cents per checkout… Read more →
Pros
- Global sales tax and VAT handled as merchant of record
- No monthly fee
- Built for SaaS subscriptions
Cons
- 5% + 50c is more than plain card processing
- Digital products only
Pricing: Free plan, pay as you go · merchant-of-record saas vat sales-tax subscriptions
2
Accept PayPal, Venmo, cards and Pay Later with a free business account and per-transaction fees.
#168 web rank · ▲ 2 this week
7.0/10
What you get A PayPal Business account lets you accept PayPal, Venmo, cards, Pay Later and invoices, with no monthly account fee listed. US fees: PayPal Checkout and Venmo 3.49% plus $0.49; standard card payments 2.99% plus $0.49; Pay Later 4.99% plus $0.49; QR code payments 2.29% plus $0.09; invoices paid by ACH 1% capped at $10. International commercial transactions… Read more →
Pros
- Free account, widely trusted checkout button
- Venmo and Pay Later options
Cons
- Higher fees than base card processing
- Not a merchant of record
Pricing: Free plan, pay as you go · payments paypal venmo checkout invoicing
3
Subscription billing on top of your payment gateway, free for partner-backed startups up to $1M billed.
#15k web rank · ▲ 70 this week
7.0/10
What you get Chargebee runs subscription billing, invoicing, usage-based pricing, prepaid credits, revenue reporting and CPQ on top of 40+ payment gateways (including its own). It is billing software, not a merchant of record, so you keep your gateway and tax set-up. The Flow plan is usage-priced: either $0 a month plus 0.80% of billing volume, or $99 a month… Read more →
Pros
- Free until $1M billed for partner-backed startups
- Works with 40+ gateways
- Strong usage and plan management
Cons
- Startup offer needs a partner accelerator or VC
- Not a merchant of record; tax stays with you
Pricing: Free plan, pay as you go · subscription-billing saas usage-billing invoicing startup-program
🔥 Deal: Startup Program: Billing free until $1M cumulative revenue billed (partner-backed, under $5M raised)
4
Merchant of record and usage billing for AI and software companies, free plan at 5% + 50c.
#115k web rank · ▲ 587 this week
7.0/10
What you get Polar is a billing platform for AI and software companies. It meters usage, runs subscriptions and invoicing, and acts as merchant of record, handling payments, sales tax, fraud, refunds and chargebacks. Plans: Starter is free with 5.00% plus 50 cents per transaction; Pro is $20 a month at 3.80% plus 40 cents; Growth is $100 a month… Read more →
Pros
- Free plan with merchant of record
- Usage-based billing built in
- Startup Program: Scale plan free for 12 months
Cons
- Younger platform than Paddle or Stripe
- Startup eligibility not published
Pricing: Free plan, paid from $20/mo · merchant-of-record usage-billing ai saas subscriptions
🔥 Deal: Startup Program: Scale plan free for 12 months for early-stage AI startups (application)
5
Merchant of record for digital products and SaaS, owned by Stripe: 5% + 50c per transaction.
#23k web rank · ▲ 20 this week
6.0/10
What you get Lemon Squeezy is a merchant of record: it calculates, collects, files and pays sales tax and VAT for you, and handles checkout, subscriptions, licence keys, digital downloads and a built-in affiliate system for your own products. Pricing is 5% plus 50 cents per transaction with no monthly fee; email marketing is free up to 500 subscribers. Merchants… Read more →
Pros
- Merchant of record with no monthly fee
- Built-in licence keys, downloads and affiliates
Cons
- Team focus has moved to Stripe Managed Payments; slower support
- Likely future migration
Pricing: Free plan, pay as you go · merchant-of-record digital-products saas stripe vat