Paddle Pricing (2026): 5% + 50¢, Hidden Costs and What It Costs at Each Stage
Paddle charges 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction, with no monthly fee, no setup or migration fee and no lock-in period. Paddle is the merchant of record: it sells your product to the buyer, collects and remits sales tax and VAT, and handles fraud, chargebacks and buyer support. It fits a small SaaS team that sells to customers in many countries and does not want to register for VAT or sales tax in each of them. At $10K MRR and 500 charges that costs about $750 a month, or 7.5 points of revenue, roughly 2.4 points more than running Stripe Payments and Billing yourself. It fits less well for a US-focused B2B company that only owes tax in a few states, or for products under $10, where Paddle asks you to contact it for bespoke pricing. Prices below are as of October 11, 2026; Paddle has announced a launch event for October 20, 2026, and we will recheck the page after it.
Paddle pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price (monthly / billed yearly) | For / limits |
|---|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | 5% + 50¢ per Checkout transaction | Paddle as merchant of record: payments, checkout, billing, global tax compliance, fraud protection, chargebacks and buyer support |
| Custom pricing | Custom | High-volume businesses or more complex needs, incl. high-volume low-value transactions |
| Add-on: Paddle Invoicing (paid by bank transfer) | 3.5% of SRP | Paddle MSA clause 3.2(ii), last updated 6 October 2026. Invoices paid through Paddle Checkout take the 5% + $0.50 rate. |
| Add-on: Currency conversion into payment currency | 2% (USD/EUR/GBP), 2.5% (CZK, DKK, NOK, THB), 3% (other currencies) over mid-market | MSA clause 7.1, mid-market rate from Open Exchange Rates. |
| Add-on: Chargeback or pre-chargeback alert | 20 USD/GBP/EUR or 40 CAD/AUD | Not refunded if Paddle wins the dispute (help center and seller handbook). |
| Add-on: International (SWIFT) payout | $/€/£15 per transfer | Local payouts (ACH, SEPA) typically free. Payout in a currency other than balance currency: conversion margin up to 1.5%. Minimum payout $100. |
| Add-on: Checkout Recovery | 10% of each checkout successfully recovered | MSA clause 3.3(i). |
Prices verified on paddle.com/pricing on October 11, 2026.
Paddle bills nothing upfront: the fee is deducted from each sale and the balance is paid out monthly. The rates are on Paddle's pricing page and in clause 3.2 of its Master Services Agreement (last updated October 6, 2026, with no fee change listed in the change log).
What it costs at pre-seed, seed and Series A
| All-in billing cost | Pre-seed $10,000 MRR, 500 charges | Seed $50,000 MRR, 2,000 charges | Series A $250,000 MRR, 8,000 charges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paddle (merchant of record) | $750/mo 7.50 pts | $3,500/mo 7.00 pts | $16,500/mo 6.60 pts |
| Polar (merchant of record) | $600/mo 6.00 pts | $2,600/mo 5.20 pts | $11,300/mo 4.52 pts |
| Stripe Billing | $510/mo 5.10 pts | $2,400/mo 4.80 pts | $11,150/mo 4.46 pts |
| Stripe Managed Payments (merchant of record) | $860/mo 8.60 pts | $4,150/mo 8.30 pts | $20,150/mo 8.06 pts |
Platform fee plus card processing at Stripe's US rate (2.9% + 30¢) wherever the tool's own fee does not include it. A merchant of record also collects and files sales tax and VAT. "pts" = share of revenue, which comes straight off gross margin. Cheapest plan per tool at each volume. Fees verified on the vendors' pricing pages, latest on October 11, 2026. Run your own numbers.
In gross-margin points, Paddle takes 7.50 at pre-seed, 7.00 at seed and 6.60 at Series A. The share falls as the average charge grows, because the 50¢ fixed fee is 2.5 points on a $20 charge. Self-managed Stripe Payments plus Billing is 2.1 to 2.4 points cheaper, but that gap is the price of tax registration, filing, remittance and liability, which you would then do yourself. Stripe's own merchant of record, Managed Payments, costs more than Paddle at all three stages once Billing is added (8.60, 8.30 and 8.06 points), because its 3.5% sits on top of card processing. Polar, another merchant of record, is cheaper here because its paid plans trade a monthly fee for a lower rate. To test your own volume and price per charge, run your own numbers.
What the price includes
- One plan for everyone. Pay-as-you-go covers payments, checkout, subscription billing, global tax compliance, fraud protection, chargebacks and buyer support. Paddle states there is no extra cost for additional payment methods, migrating subscriptions or payment-related buyer support.
- Custom pricing is offered for high-volume businesses and for high-volume, low-value transactions. Paddle publishes no revenue threshold for it; figures you may see elsewhere are not from Paddle.
- Invoicing sits behind "Book a demo" on the pricing page. The MSA prices Paddle Invoicing paid by bank transfer at 3.5%; invoices paid through Paddle Checkout take the standard 5% + 50¢.
Add-ons and hidden costs
- Currency conversion: when a buyer pays in another currency, Paddle uses the mid-market rate plus a margin of 2% for USD, EUR and GBP, 2.5% for CZK, DKK, NOK and THB, and 3% for all other currencies (MSA clause 7.1). If 30% of volume needs a 2% conversion, the pre-seed cost rises from 7.50 to 8.10 points.
- Chargebacks: 20 USD, GBP or EUR (40 CAD or AUD) per chargeback or pre-chargeback alert, not refunded if the dispute is won, per Paddle's help center and seller handbook. An older Paddle support page quoted $15, refunded on a win; that page now returns 404, so we use the current $20. Paddle's acceptable chargeback rate also differs by page: "below 0.65%" in the help center, "above 0.75% is unacceptable" in the seller handbook.
- Payouts: paid on or before the 15th of the following month once your balance is above $100. ACH and SEPA payouts carry no fee; an international SWIFT transfer costs $15, and a payout in a different currency carries a conversion margin of up to 1.5%.
- Checkout Recovery: 10% of each abandoned checkout Paddle recovers.
- Fee base: the MSA charges the fee on the "SRP", defined as the price paid by the buyer. It does not say whether that includes sales tax or VAT, so we cannot tell you whether 5% is taken on the tax-inclusive amount.
Because Paddle is the seller, what reaches your bank is a net payout, not gross card receipts. Your books still need to recognize subscription revenue over the service period; see SaaS revenue recognition and deferred revenue.
Not hands-on tested yet: we have not run a live account on Paddle. Prices and terms come from Paddle's published pricing page and help docs, read on October 11, 2026.
Alternatives at a glance
- Stripe Billing, 0.7% of Billing volume on top of 2.9% + 30¢ card fees; you stay the seller and handle tax. See Stripe Billing pricing.
- Stripe Managed Payments, Stripe as merchant of record since April 29, 2026: 3.5% on top of Payments fees, Billing extra, digital products only. See Paddle vs Stripe.
- Polar, merchant of record with a free Starter plan at 5% + 50¢ and Pro at $20 a month plus 3.8% + 40¢, with +1.5% on non-US cards. Lemon Squeezy lists the same 5% + 50¢ headline but was acquired by Stripe, and since January 28, 2026 its team builds Managed Payments. Both are covered in Chargebee alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Does Paddle charge a monthly fee?
No. The standard plan is pay-as-you-go at 5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction, with no monthly, setup or migration fees.
What is Paddle's currency conversion fee?
A margin over the mid-market rate: 2% for USD, EUR and GBP, 2.5% for CZK, DKK, NOK and THB, 3% for other currencies. Payouts in a different currency add up to 1.5%.
Does Paddle charge a different fee for low-priced products?
For products under $10, Paddle asks you to contact it for bespoke pricing. On the standard rate, the 50¢ fixed fee alone is 5 points of a $10 sale.
Does Paddle remit sales tax and VAT for me?
Yes. As merchant of record, Paddle calculates, collects and remits sales tax and VAT on the sales it makes, and that is included in the 5% + 50¢.
Am I locked in to Paddle?
Paddle states it does not use lock-in periods. Moving customers off a merchant of record later is still a project, covered in Paddle vs Stripe.
Related: billing software costs by stage · Stripe Billing pricing · SaaS gross margin.