An in-depth comparison of Stripe and. Paddle vs.

To help you choose between Stripe or. Paddle vs. , this guide compares:

• What aspects of the lifecycle of payments each solution is a viable option for (e.g., payment processing collecting and remitting tax, and subscription management) and what additional software you'll require to integrate into your technology stack.
• Which industries and companies each serves.

We then provide an in-depth comparison of the most important options like checkout and the ability to report. In addition, we provide user reviews as well as case studies for each solution.

In a nutshell, Stripe primarily deals in payment processing. Paddle and Paddle handle the processing of payments, managing subscriptions, collecting and remitting tax, fraud protection, and much more with no the requirement for any additional software.

 Table of Contents

•   What areas in the process of payment are you able to control and what additional software will you need to have a comprehensive payment solution?
•   What types of businesses and which industries can use every platform?
•   Comparison of features and functionalities
•     Payment Processing
•     Calculating and remitting taxes on sales, VAT, and GST
•     Checkout
•     Subscription Management
•     Analytics and Reporting
•   Pricing
•   Customer Reviews

Note: Information in this article is true at the time of writing however, it is subject to change.

Which aspects of the lifecycle of payments will you be able to handle and which other programs will you need for a complete payment solution?

Stripe is a payment processing company.

Stripe is most famous for payment processing, meaning they assist you in collecting payment details and get payments authorized. In addition, they also provide basic services to manage your subscription and fraud detection, invoices, and more.

These extra features may meet the needs of a few early stage startups, but most companies end up needing additional options that are more powerful. Eventually, you'll need additional software to manage complex recurring payment requirements, take on various payment options across the globe, or even create your own checkout system. Luckily, most developers find it easy to incorporate Stripe with other programs (however it is necessary to pay for each software in its own way).

The majority of companies that use Stripe also need additional staff to handle taxation of sales (and VAT) and compliance with regulatory requirements. While Stripe gathers taxes on sales and VAT for your company, you are responsible to pay it. If you remit these taxes with the incorrect amount, at the wrong moment, or the wrong manner it could result in penalities and losses in money. (More about this in the future. )

Additionally, you'll be accountable for staying up to date and following local laws and regulations where the customers reside. This is a huge undertaking for any company which is why most companies dedicate an entire section to the work.

The entire payment lifecycle

• Many payment processors (which increases authorization rates and makes it easier to transfer money internationally).
• Flexible management of subscriptions and automated billing tools.
• B2B Digital Invoicing.
• Advanced fraud detection.
• A fully customizable checkout (down to the last pixel).
• Detailed reports and analytics.
• and there's more.

It will be possible to control every aspect of the payment lifecycle from your account without the need for additional software or headcount.

Paddle: The Majority of the lifecycle of a payment

Paddle provides solutions for payment processing as well as subscription management and fraud detection, and offers more advanced features than Stripe's options. But, some of the options are not as robust as  Stripe's capabilities. For instance,'s checkout is more customizable as are the checkout options on Paddle's (more about this in the future).

If Paddle isn't able to provide the capabilities you need, you may have to install additional software or switch to a different service.

As with Paddle , Paddle is an MoR.

What kinds of businesses and which industries can benefit from the Platforms?

Stripe: Nearly Any Business

Stripe can be used by virtually any business in nearly any industry. However, SaaS companies will inevitably encounter some issues with Stripe.

As we mentioned earlier, companies using Stripe are entirely responsible for the payment of VAT and sales tax. It used to be true that SaaS businesses didn't need to pay taxes on sales or VAT however, a lot of states and nations are drafting (and strongly enforcement of) new laws that require SaaS businesses to pay taxes on sales or VAT.

Here are two examples:

• On January 1, 2015 The European Union began requiring software sellers to collect and remit VAT based on the location of the buyer rather than the location of the seller's company or employees.
• In the year 2018 in 2018, The United States Supreme Court ruled that states can impose sales tax on purchases through sellers who are not in the state (including online sellers) however the seller is not located in any physical presence within the state in which tax is levied.

Keeping track of and observing constantly shifting tax law isn't easy. It's the reason SaaS companies (and businesses that sell digital products) prefer a solution like that will take care of remitting sales tax as well as VAT on your behalf.

: B2C and B2B SaaS or Digital Goods Companies

Since its inception it has served B2B and B2C companies that sell SaaS and digital products and downloadable software:

Paddle: B2C SaaS

Paddle has been providing SaaS businesses for about 10 years. Paddle's platform works better for B2C businesses, but they're currently working on adding new features for B2B firms, for example, automatized billing.

If adding B2B services are in the future, these features could be in place when you require they. If you're currently selling B2B products, you may want to consider another option with fully operational B2B capabilities ('s Digital Invoicing tool for B2B has been in operation for a number of years).

Then, we will look at Stripe with. Paddle vs. Paddle, according to particular features.

Functionality and Feature Comparisons

Process Payments (Payment methods, currencies, and More)

Stripe

In order to begin processing transactions with Stripe, you have to create each account with the appropriate currency and payment options you wish to provide at that particular location. Once you've set this in place, Stripe will automatically convert price of products and show the correct currencies and payment options during the time of checkout.

Stripe supports 135+ currencies.

You'll be able to accept credit card payments from the major credit card networks (including MasterCard and Visa) as well as bank transfers, vouchers, and popular wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. However, they don't offer support for PayPal.

Stripe also supports in-person transactions via the Stripe Terminal and mobile SDKs.

makes it simple makes it easy for SaaS and eCommerce companies to accept payments in most different currencies and payment options around the globe. Instead of configuring every one separately, merchants can switch on localized payment and accept global payment as soon as they are ready.

In contrast, Stripe automatically converts costs into local currency for you, provides more flexibility:

• You can let make the conversions for you, oryou can set a fixed price per product in each country.
• You can let you choose the most appropriate currency based on the user's place of residence. You can also select one specific currency per area, or you allow the user to select the currency they prefer. supports 23+ currencies.

 Customers can pay using:

• Credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and UnionPay.
• ACH.
• SEPA Direct Debit.
• Wire transfers.
• Paysafecards, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon, Alipay, and more.

Payouts are more successful rate when the payment gateway is located in the same location as the buyer. Automatically routes online transactions through the payment gateway that offers the highest approval rates applicable to that particular payment method and location.

Furthermore, the use of different payment options can resolve the majority of failures in payment that occur caused by network issues. When a gateway for payment encounters a technical issue, automatically retries the payment with a different payment gateway- without your team having move a finger.

Bonus: Partners with Sift

takes the lead on the risk and fraud aspects (including chargebacks). We collaborate together with Sift, a global pioneer in risk analysis and fraud prevention, to keep your transactions safe. Sift uses machine learning and AI to:

• Improve the accuracy of fraud-related decisions.
• Enhance approval rate and result in less false positives.
• Beware of bad actors before transactions are processed.

Also, it blocks transactions coming from countries and jurisdictions where companies are not permitted to conduct business.

Paddle

Paddle additionally uses multiple payment options and allows companies to accept global payments with minimal configuration.

Paddle is compatible with 20 different currencies, most popular credit cards (including MasterCard, Union Pay, and more), wire transfers, and money-saving wallets (including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Alipay) -- although certain options are still in beta testing.

Calculating and Remitting Sales Tax, VAT, and GST

Stripe

Stripe purchased TaxJar to help you calculate taxes on sales, VAT and GST. However, they only provide directions for activating tax-related features and assigning tax codes. You are responsible for the decision-making and the implications when using the options (e.g. being aware of how your product is classified according to tax law, and knowing if and where you have nexus, need to register, collect, file, and submit consumption tax). If you're unsure about how to optimize tax rates and qualify for tax reductions, rates, or related tax issue, you'll likely be told to consult your tax advisor or go through the assistance documents.

 If you made a mistake in setting it up and pay the wrong amount (or the wrong type) of tax, you'll be held liable.

Additionally, paying sales tax can be more complicated than just filling out a spreadsheet and then writing a check. More and more countries are mandating additional obligations in order to be compliant. Examples:

• Countries such as Colombia, Japan, Mexico, Serbia, and others need representatives from local governments, meaning you have employ someone who has a physical presence in that country in order to pay the tax liabilities. This can cost anywhere between $5k and $15k each year.
• Countries such as India, Indonesia, Japan as well as others need your accounts to be "pre-funded" meaning you have to predict how much tax that you'll be liable for and hold that money in your account until you are ready to make a tax filing (up to three months prior to filing).
• Countries such as Serbia, United Kingdom, Taiwan and many others have electronic invoicing (it applies to companies that are not resident too). This typically costs companies $2k-$5k per year. Notice: E-invoicing mandates are increasing at an alarming rate and the EU rolling out the universal requirement for electronic invoices by 2028..
• Countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, and others are requiring you to file income tax along with to indirect taxes (this can be as high as $5-$10k each year).

Additionally, wiring international tax payments isn't effortless or inexpensive. The banks that process the tax payments and those who receive them both charge fees and there's an additional risk associated when dealing with transactions that are foreign.

Thus, even though Stripe is taking a significant step towards helping customers collect sales tax through acquiring TaxJar however, they're still a long away from offering an all-in-one solution for tax collection and international tax.

manages the entire process for collecting and processing taxes on sales, VAT, and GST for you. .

Over 20 years of experience filing 1,200+ tax returns every year Our team makes sure the correct amount (and kind) of indirect tax collection during checkout. We also handle tax-exempt transactions within the U.S. and 0% reverse charges when allowed internationally.

files and collects taxes across 52 countries, 13 provinces and all the 45 U.S. states that collect sales tax (five states don't collect any taxes on sales).

Our team then pays these taxes for you, and will ensure that the proper processes are in place in order to ensure compliance. If a country or state approaches you about tax compliance Our team can advise you on how to respond to them, even going as far as providing copy-and-paste responses.

We establish and maintain connections with tax professionals around the world to make sure we are aware of rules and laws as they change.

Bonus: Custom Tax Codes

Software like TaxJar, Avalara, and other tax software supply the tax code for most products and services. In reality, many companies eventually want to offer a product or service that isn't in the definition of one of the tax codes provided (e.g., an in-person conference with some online attendees and speakers). With a tool such as TaxJar, you'll be on your own to figure out and pay the correct amount as well as the type of indirect tax because TaxJar doesn't provide the appropriate tax code for your unique situation.

It's not a problem for sellers as we've recently introduced a new option that lets us make unique tax codes for each product tailored to the specific use casein just a few moments. Tell us the details of your product or service and we'll create tax codes for you.

Paddle

As with other companies , Paddle takes the lead in collecting and paying taxes on sales, VAT and GST on behalf of the benefit of you. In contrast , Paddle doesn't support tax exemption cases within the U.S.

Check out

Stripe

Stripe Checkout offers a prebuilt payment webpage that is designed to be used on any device. You have a few choices for personalization (e.g. the font forms, block patterns colours, shapes, etc.) however, it's very restricted. Stripe automatically translates Checkout to the right the language (35+ options) depending on the customer's place of residence.

You can customize all aspects of your checkout experience, including custom fields and colours. It also gives you the ability to choose whether you want to grant your developer total control of checkout, or allow them to the system manage it on your behalf (or someplace in between).

This is a brief overview of the check-out choices:

• Three variations: You have the option to embed checkout directly onto your website you can also make use of a pop-up checkout or direct your clients to a Web Storefront managed by .

• Store Builder Library (SBL):  It's SBL provides you with full control over the design and feel of your checkout all the way down to the pixelregardless of the payment method you pick.
• Localized Checkout:Let customers choose their preferred language or let choose the appropriate language based on the buyer's place of residence. Supports 19and more languages.
• Built-in tracking and testing devices: With 's built-in tracking tools, you can easily identify ways to improve the conversion rate. The majority of companies using this tool are able to improve their conversion rates by 30% or more.
• Personalized customer service:Although we give you complete control of your shopping cart Our team will be available to help you build an optimal checkout experience possible for your business. Many companies offer individual support to their most important customers, and hardly ever provide support to smaller companies. We aren't one of them. the game of a few. Our team is ready to assist in any ways they can.

Paddle

Paddle provides two versions of the checkout process:

• It is embedded on your site
• Popup overlay

Within these two formats, they offer 50+ options to personalize. Paddle is compatible with 16 languages and can automatically translate your payment.

Subscription Management

Stripe

Stripe Billing includes a few different subscription options:

• Flat-rate billing (for either a monthly or annual fee)
• Multi-price billing (where the same item is offered at different rates in various locations)
• Per-seat billing (based on the number of active users at the time of billing)
• Usage-based bill (single unit, or tied)
• Flat-rate and overage (a combination of usage-based billing and flat-rate)

The options are suitable for companies that only have some basic subscription-based offerings, however, companies with more complex recurring billing needs (e.g., SaaS) often need an additional tool. For this reason, Stripe has developed a strong partnership with Chargebee so that it's easier for customers to access the tools for subscription billing they require. It's not difficult to integrate these two tools, you will have be able to manage and purchase both of them separately.

Additionally, Stripe offers a customer portal where customers can manage their accounts (both as well as Paddle offer this as well).

provides a wide variety of subscription management options built specifically for SaaS companies.

Additionally, the majority of these solutions are able to be setup without writing any code. For example, you can set up:

• Automatic weekly, monthly, or yearly recurring billing.
• The prorated bill allows for upgrade -- or downgrade -- at mid-cycle.
• Trials for free or paid that are of any length.
• Trials that don't require the payment information (by by not collecting the payment information, you're reducing friction at the checkout point, leading to higher percentages of sales).
• Manual or automatic renewal.
• Cross-sells, upsells, once-off add-ons, and discounts.
• Plus many and more...

Access to our API and webhooks library , which will allow you more possibilities to customize your site.

 A major aspect that frequently overlooks is whether or not your periodic billing plan is compliant with local laws and regulations for transactions.

In particular For instance, it is the case that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has specific rules regarding recurring payments. At the time of writing this article, the RBI limit automatic recurring payment to Rs15,000 (approximately 170 dollars). If a payment is over that amount, the customer must approve each transaction manually. Additionally, you need to file an official mandate with the RBI to outline the steps that you must follow to make sure you are in the compliance. If you fail to make a formal mandate application or let customers approve the large transactions, you could face severe penalties or even be banned from selling products to consumers in India.

While some subscription management tools will release community updates whenever they discover new regulations, you're the one held responsible for keeping track of the applicable laws and regulations. If you do not conform, you could be subject to fines or be banned from operating in the area. The majority of companies will require more staff for this.

 customers don't have to worry about it because we will accept the transaction responsibility on behalf of the benefit of.

Our team of legal experts is up-to-date on the latest legal developments, makes sure that the appropriate procedures are in place. They also take the initiative in audits and provides individual advice on how to stay compliant -- all without additional charge.

Bonus: Invoicing via digital

The Digital Invoicing (DI) can help you handle B2B orders alongside B2C purchases. With DI, you can:

• Create and manage custom quotes that are updated in real-time (including custom tags, coupons, discounts, and many more).
• Set quote expiration dates.
• Accept and request payment.
• Add custom notes for your prospective customer or prospect.
• Offer a quote that is self-service (this is very useful in situations where the customers require approval prior to buying).
• and there's and more.

Paddle

Using a series of webhooks and their API, Paddle supports the following subscription model:

• Fixed
• Tiered
• Per-seat
• Metered

Furthermore, certain options are able to be mixed. You could, for instance, have a tiered product with each level allowing the use of a amount of seats.

Paddle supports free or paid trials. However, clients will have to submit payment details for the trial. Paddle also automatically applies the prorated amount when users change their plan mid-cycle (e.g., add new users or make an upgrade).

Analytics and Reporting

Stripe

Stripe offers a suite of revenue recognition tools to simplify your accounting processes, including:

• Accounting reports that are standard, such as balance sheets and income statements.
• Flexible revenue rules for example that allow for the exclusion of passing through fees or auto-adjusting the recognition schedules.
• Overview of revenue reports.
• and more...

The reports are all accessible in the Stripe dashboard, and certain reports are available to download to CSV files. CSV file. It is also possible to integrate the most popular accounting tools, including QuickBooks Desktop and Xero. However, the ability to transfer data from other revenue recognition providers to Stripe is currently in beta.

The Reporting and Analytics suite is a robust software that will help you to understand:

• How each product contributes to the bottom line of your business.
• When customers are most likely to abandon.
• What promotions or coupons work.
• Which subscription models generate the most revenue.
• The location of your clients.
• What payment and currency options do clients prefer.
• Plus many More...

A majority of this data can be found in either of the dashboards either The Revenue overview dashboard or the subscription overview dashboard.

The revenue overview dashboard includes more general data such as total transactions by country, or net sales for each product.

The dashboard for subscriptions lets you drill down further into specific data including active customers and monthly recurring revenues (MRR) over time.

If you aren't able to find the report you require in these dashboards, you could create and save custom reports. You can also contact us and we'll help you find (or make) the report that you want. The report you want to view can be displayed through your dashboard or downloaded in a CSV PNG, XLSX or XLSX files.

Paddle

Paddle has recently purchased ProfitWell to offer reporting and analytics features. But, the integration isn't fully completed, and there will be some discrepancies between platforms. As an example, they will show different MRR.

Once fully integrated, Paddle will be able to:

• Automatically keep track of and publish key performance indicators, such as MRR.
• Track user engagement and reduce churn.
• Offer benchmarking tools and segmentation techniques.
• Plus...

Pricing

Stripe

Being a platform for DIY the pricing of Stripe works different than Paddle's. When using Stripe you'll have to pay for additional software and headcount to manage other aspects of the billing process, such as authentication and subscription management, as well as remitting sales tax and VAT, and much more.

Stripe is also pricing the wallets and cards differently as compared to other payment methods, including ACH and SEPA.

For all these payment methods will allow you access to many of their services but not all. As an example, Stripe charges additional fees for secure 3D transactions, invoicing, tax features, and more.

To find out more about Stripe, visit their website.

You'll be able to access to the all of the platform (and the entire range of services) at a flat rate. We take care of the responsibility for transactions on your behalf and also take charge of sales tax and VAT You won't require any additional software or additional staff.

Our team will work with you to find the most affordable cost dependent on the amount of transactions that you conduct . In addition, you'll only be charged for transactions that take place.

Paddle

Paddle promises a flat rate for their basic product that includes most of the services you'll needfor example, payment processing and checkout, subscriptions, global tax and compliance, fraud prevention and reporting, and much more -- but it doesn't include everything.

For example, Paddle collects a 10% profit to help recover empty carts.

For more information about Paddle, visit their site.

Customer Reviews

Stripe

Stripe currently has 4.4 rating on G2 (a well-known software review website) with 82+ reviews.

The company currently has 4.5 rating on G2 and 184+ reviews.

Below is what some of our customers have to say about us:

Paddle

Paddle is currently rated 4.5 rating on G2 with 145+ reviews.

Final. Paddle vs. Stripe

When you're offering physical items or services, and Paddle is not the best option, then Stripe the ideal choice of three choices discussed here. If you're selling digital products, Stripe may not be the best choice because you'll have to figure out how to create a comprehensive payment system (which costs a lot of time and money).

is serving SaaS businesses longer than Paddle and offers greater capabilities and features. It is also more prepared to support B2B companies.