PSP & Infrastructure 9 min read
Paddle vs Polar vs FastSpring vs Lemon Squeezy: MoR Comparison
Compare four merchants of record by fees, seller eligibility, billing and payouts.
Paddle, Polar and Lemon Squeezy publish starting transaction fees; FastSpring uses a quote. All four offer merchant-of-record services for digital sales, but seller eligibility, payment methods, payout timing and billing requirements need a product-specific check.
Paddle, Polar, FastSpring and Lemon Squeezy each offer a merchant-of-record route for eligible digital sellers. Paddle and Lemon Squeezy publish a 5% plus $0.50 base transaction price; Polar publishes several plan rates, including a 5% plus $0.50 Starter tier; FastSpring asks for a sales quote. Those headlines are not comparable net-payout quotes. Check additional fees, seller eligibility, buyer payment methods, billing needs, settlement currency and payout timing for your exact product and markets.
A merchant-of-record (MoR) provider sells eligible digital products to the customer as the seller of record and handles the tax and payment obligations in its agreement with you. The four providers here all advertise that model, but their public prices and payout arrangements answer different questions. First confirm your product and legal entity are eligible; then compare what arrives in your account after a representative sale.
This comparison is for software and digital-product sellers. It does not replace the MoR versus direct-PSP decision or the migration playbook.
Four providers, four published starting points
| Provider | Public price position, checked 2 October 2026 | Operational question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Paddle | Standard checkout terms list 5% + $0.50 per transaction, with separate terms for some routes and conversion. | Does the contract cover the subscription, invoicing and payout arrangement you need? |
| Polar | Starter lists 5% + $0.50; paid plans list lower transaction rates plus a monthly fee. Additional conditions apply. | Do your seller country, product and expected volume justify a paid plan? |
| FastSpring | A quote-based revenue share; no comparable numeric standard rate on the public pricing page. | What is included in the written quote for your actual order and country mix? |
| Lemon Squeezy | Base ecommerce price 5% + $0.50, with some payments subject to additional fees. | How do payout timing, conversion and any additional charges affect net receipts? |
The same headline rate at two providers does not mean the same net amount. A USD checkout, a converted order and a disputed subscription can be billed differently. Use a written sample order, refund and payout calculation. Do not compare a quote that includes one provider's conversion or dispute terms with a headline rate that omits them.
Seller eligibility is different from buyer coverage
A provider may accept a cardholder in a market while declining to onboard a seller entity there. The check has three parts: your selling entity and product, the payment methods visible to buyers in the target market, and the country/currency through which you receive payouts. A global checkout claim answers none of those completely.
Paddle and FastSpring describe software and digital-goods MoR use cases. Polar positions its service around software and internet businesses, while Lemon Squeezy describes digital products and recurring billing. Their published pages are starting points, not approval of a particular legal entity or product category. Check each provider's onboarding and prohibited-product terms before building the checkout.
For a market where a local method matters, test a real checkout in that market. The presence of Pix, iDEAL or another method on a marketing page is not proof that it appears for your product, currency and buyer configuration.
Billing: compare one difficult subscription, not a feature count
All four advertise recurring-billing capabilities. The useful test is your hardest renewal case: a seat change mid-cycle, failed payment, partial refund or tax-status change. Ask each provider to show the order, customer invoice, subscription event and merchant-facing adjustment that follows. Keep the separate MoR invoice and customer-facing receipt roles straight.
Paddle offers a subscription and revenue-management suite. Lemon Squeezy documents fixed and recurring models, including usage billing in arrears. Polar lists subscriptions alongside its MoR service. FastSpring describes subscriptions within its quoted platform. These descriptions do not establish that one engine is categorically deeper for every contract. Run the specific event that your product needs.
Payouts: follow the cash, not just the sale
A successful customer charge is not the same record as a merchant payout. Lemon Squeezy's payout guide describes payout creation twice a month, a hold period, a threshold and bank/PayPal options subject to country support. Polar's finance page describes order, refund, fee and payout records and manual withdrawals. Paddle's terms describe scheduled payouts subject to balance and account requirements. FastSpring's payout terms should be taken from the actual proposal.
For each finalist, obtain one sample export and match customer payment → MoR fee/tax/FX adjustments → seller balance → payout → bank credit. Confirm the payout currency and how refunds and disputes affect a later payout. The processing-statement guide gives the broader reconciliation method, though a MoR statement has its own seller relationship.
The selection decision
Choose only after the provider can demonstrate your seller eligibility, target-market checkout, hard subscription case, net-payout example and data-exit path. If a proposal is incomplete, mark the field unknown; do not fill it from the provider's branding. Recheck the public rates on the day of contracting because prices and eligibility can change.
Ownership can matter for concentration: Stripe said it acquired Lemon Squeezy in 2024. It does not establish a supported account migration path. For a move between MoRs, use the migration playbook to test customer data, subscriptions and tax records before committing.
Sources & methodology (5)
Paddle describes its merchant-of-record role and publishes transaction and payout terms.
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Polar publishes Starter and paid-plan transaction rates and describes payout records.
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FastSpring describes quote-based revenue-share pricing for its MoR platform.
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Lemon Squeezy publishes a base transaction rate and warns that some payments incur additional fees.
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Lemon Squeezy documents payout creation dates, a hold, a threshold and payout methods.
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Source types explained in our Methodology.
By Shaun Toh · Director, Digital Payments · Razer