Sells software and digital products as merchant of record.
Paddle is a merchant of record for software and digital products. Like Lemon Squeezy, it sells on your behalf and handles global sales tax, in exchange for a percentage fee on each sale.
Good for
Watch out for
| Build | Role | Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital products shop (downloads / courses): Stripe vs merchant of record | Payments, Path B (alt)Handles tax | $0/mo; 5% + 50¢ per Checkout transaction | No monthly fee | Bespoke pricing under $10. Whether it accepts courses is unverified |
Stripe vs Lemon Squeezy vs Paddle for selling digital products
5% + 50¢ (about £0.37, rounded) per Checkout sale
Items under $10 get custom pricing. We couldn't confirm it accepts courses or non-software downloads.
Stripe
Card payments, subscriptions and tax tools. You are the seller.
Good for: Subscriptions and one-off payments where you are happy to be the seller
Used in 4 builds, compared in 1
Lemon Squeezy
Sells digital products as merchant of record, so it handles sales tax for you.
Good for: Selling downloads, software or courses without registering for tax abroad
Used in 1 build, compared in 1
Vercel
Hosting for web apps, built around Next.js.
Good for: Next.js apps, which it runs with no setup
Used in 9 builds, compared in 1
Netlify
Hosting for websites and web apps.
Good for: Static sites and simple web apps on a tight budget
Used in 5 builds, compared in 1
Resend
Sends app emails, such as confirmations and receipts, from your own domain.
Good for: Early apps: the free plan covers 3,000 emails a month
Used in 4 builds, compared in 1
GitHub
Hosts your code; used here for secret and dependency checks.
Good for: Keeping your code safe and versioned
Used in 1 build