Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy
side by side.
How Paddle and Lemon Squeezy compare on model, pricing, tax coverage and who each one is really for.
Two Merchants of Record for software at the same headline fee. Paddle is built for B2B and subscription-heavy products; Lemon Squeezy is built for solo founders and small digital catalogs. Neither will take a coaching or consulting offer.
Pick Paddle if
- ✓You sell B2B SaaS and need VAT ID collection, proper invoices and seat-based plans
- ✓Your subscription volume is growing and you want a MoR that scales toward enterprise billing
- ✓You want affiliate tracking on a software product
Pick Lemon Squeezy if
- ✓You're a solo founder or small team shipping software or digital downloads
- ✓You want the fastest setup with the least billing configuration
- ✓You also sell an online course next to your software
How they actually differ
Grounded in each provider's documented model, pricing and tax coverage. Verify the details for your exact offer before signing.
The real difference
On paper these two are twins. Same 5% plus 50¢, both become the legal seller, both charge and remit VAT and US sales tax, both eat the chargebacks. Price won't break the tie.
What decides it is who each one was built for. Paddle assumes a B2B software company: VAT IDs, invoices, subscription changes, larger volumes. Lemon Squeezy assumes a founder who wants to sell a license or a subscription and never think about tax again. If you're one person shipping a product, Lemon Squeezy gets out of your way faster. If you're selling into businesses at scale, Paddle's billing has more room to grow.
Where the hard line is
Services. If a human delivers the value — coaching, consulting, done-for-you work — both refuse it, and Lemon Squeezy says so plainly in its terms. The checkout will happily take the money; that's not the question. The question is whether your offer is allowed, and for human services the answer here is no. Look at Digistore24, CopeCart or Ablefy instead.
One small edge for Lemon Squeezy: it lists online courses as accepted, while Paddle's catalog stays centered on software. If your course is pre-recorded and self-serve, that can matter.
Paddle
Merchant of Record built for software, SaaS, and AI tools. Handles global tax, billing and chargebacks under Paddle's name.
- Best for
- SaaS, Downloadable software, AI tools, B2B subscriptions
- Avoid if
- 1:1 coaching, Consulting, Services with human delivery
- Pricing
- 5% + 50¢ on most transactions
Lemon Squeezy
Merchant of Record for indie SaaS, digital downloads and software. Notably refuses services and human-delivered offers.
- Best for
- Indie SaaS, Digital downloads, Templates, Ebooks
- Avoid if
- Any human-delivered service, Coaching, Consulting
- Pricing
- 5% + 50¢ per transaction
Product eligibility
| Product | Paddle | Lemon Squeezy |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS | Accepted | Accepted |
| Downloadable software | Accepted | Accepted |
| Online courses | Unclear | Likely accepted |
| 1:1 coaching | Likely refused | Refused |
| Consulting | Refused | Refused |
| Communities | Unclear | Unclear |
| Digital downloads | Likely accepted | Accepted |
| Templates | Likely accepted | Accepted |
| AI tools | Accepted | Accepted |
Tax coverage
Paddle
- EU VAT
- Yes
- UK VAT
- Yes
- US sales tax
- Yes
- Canada GST/HST
- Yes
- Australia GST
- Yes
Lemon Squeezy
- EU VAT
- Yes
- UK VAT
- Yes
- US sales tax
- Yes
- Canada GST/HST
- Yes
- Australia GST
- Yes