Do Lemon Squeezy and Paddle charge the same fee?

Their headline rate is the same, 5% + 50¢, as of October 2026. Lemon Squeezy adds surcharges for international, PayPal, and subscription payments; Paddle's pay-as-you-go page lists no such extras and offers custom pricing at volume.

Which pays out faster?

Lemon Squeezy creates payouts twice a month after a 13-day hold, with a $50 minimum. Paddle pays monthly with a $100 default minimum.

Are both merchants of record?

Yes. Both resell your product to the customer and take on sales tax handling. You remain responsible for your own income taxes.

Is Lemon Squeezy shutting down?

It has not announced a shutdown on the pages reviewed. Its 2026 update says Stripe acquired it in 2024 and that its goal is to give users an easy way to migrate to Stripe Managed Payments.

Can I sell ebooks and templates on Paddle?

Paddle positions itself for software companies, including SaaS, consumer software, and games. Lemon Squeezy explicitly lists ebooks, PDFs, and design assets as allowed. Check Paddle's current policy before listing non-software goods.

Can RevenueBug verify Paddle revenue?

No. RevenueBug supports Lemon Squeezy, Stripe, Polar, RevenueCat, Dodo Payments, Whop, and Blink, but not Paddle.

Lemon Squeezy vs Paddle

The short answer

Lemon Squeezy vs Paddle is a comparison between two merchants of record that both list 5% + 50¢ per transaction as of October 2026. The difference is in the details: Lemon Squeezy adds surcharges for international transactions, PayPal, and subscriptions, while Paddle's pay-as-you-go rate bundles payments, subscriptions, tax compliance, fraud, and chargebacks and offers custom pricing at volume. Lemon Squeezy pays out twice a month and leans toward digital products with license keys, downloads, and affiliates; Paddle pays monthly and is built for software, SaaS, apps, and games. Lemon Squeezy is owned by Stripe and says it is moving users toward Stripe Managed Payments, which is worth weighing for a long-term choice.

How they compare

CriteriaLemon SqueezyPaddle

Headline fee (as of October 2026)5% + 50¢ per transaction5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction; custom pricing for high volume

Surcharges+1.5% international, +1.5% PayPal, +0.5% subscription payments, +5% on abandoned-cart recoveriesPricing page lists no monthly, migration, or extra fees on pay-as-you-go; bespoke pricing for products under $10

Merchant of record and taxLemon Squeezy is the merchant of record and handles sales taxPaddle is the merchant of record and files sales tax and VAT, covering more than 100 jurisdictions by its count

PayoutsTwice monthly after a 13-day hold; $50 minimum; bank or PayPalMonthly; $100 default minimum; wire transfer or Payoneer

SubscriptionsWeekly, monthly, or yearly plans, trials, and discountsMulti-product subscriptions, proration, seats, customer portal, and dunning

CheckoutHosted checkout and checkout overlaysOverlay or inline checkout

What you can sellDigital goods including software, SaaS, ebooks, and design assets; no physical goods or servicesSoftware, including SaaS, consumer software, and games; no physical goods or standalone human services

OwnershipAcquired by Stripe in 2024Independent

Fees and features change. Confirm current pricing on each provider's site, and estimate your own costs with the payment processor fee calculator.

When Lemon Squeezy fits

Lemon Squeezy fits creators and small software sellers who want an approachable merchant of record with built-in license keys, signed digital downloads, affiliate tools, and twice-monthly payouts. Read its 2026 update first: the company says its goal is to migrate users to Stripe Managed Payments and acknowledges slower support and fewer updates during the transition.

When Paddle fits

Paddle fits SaaS and app businesses that want a merchant of record focused on subscription software, with proration, seat billing, dunning, and inline checkout, and that may want to negotiate custom pricing as volume grows. Its monthly payout cycle is slower than Lemon Squeezy's, and it does not accept non-software digital goods in the same way.

Publishing revenue from either platform

RevenueBug supports Lemon Squeezy but not Paddle. A Lemon Squeezy connection uses a full-access API key that RevenueBug uses only for read requests; you choose a store, RevenueBug matches its domain where possible, and imports orders and qualifying subscription invoices, including proportional refunds. That adapter cannot classify disputes. Paddle revenue cannot currently be verified on RevenueBug. RevenueBug's headline figure is trailing 30-day revenue calculated before provider fees, so a provider's fee level changes what you keep, not the revenue shown on your profile.