Dodo Payments vs Lemon Squeezy (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Lemon Squeezy grades higher than Dodo Payments: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Lemon Squeezy grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dodo Payments
Merchant-of-record payments and billing for software sellers
Lemon Squeezy
Merchant of record checkout for software, subscriptions and downloads
Which one is for you
Pick Dodo Payments if
- Fits if you sell software and want tax and compliance handled for you
- Works for developers who want billing through an API
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if your sales are small, since refunds cost $1 each and disputes $30
- Watch out: payouts under $1,000 carry a $5 fee and USD SWIFT payouts cost $25
- Watch out: the fee rises 1.5% on international payments and 3% on PayPal
- Skip it if you need an enterprise price, as the page lists no figures for that tier
Pick Lemon Squeezy if
- Fits if you sell software licenses or subscriptions to buyers worldwide
- Works for makers who want sales tax and VAT filed for them, with no monthly bill
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a platform with a clear road ahead, as Stripe plans to move users to Managed Payments
- Pricey if most buyers are abroad or pay by PayPal, as each adds 1.5%, and subscriptions add 0.5%
- Watch out: recovered carts add 5%, affiliate referrals 3%, and payouts to non-US banks 1% each
- Not for you if your products cost under $10, as Lemon Squeezy asks you to contact sales
- Tight if your email list grows: free to 500, then $10 a month at 1,000, $24 at 3,000 and $60 at 10,000
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADodo PaymentsGood | 2.8GPALemon SqueezyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo fixed fee, but 4% + 40 cents a transaction, plus 1.5% international, 3% for PayPal or buy-now-pay-later and 0.5% on subscriptions. That is ordinary for a merchant of record, not cheap. | CNo monthly fee. Each order costs 5% + 50¢, which covers card fees and sales tax, so $1,000 of sales costs $50 plus 50¢ an order. Buyers abroad add 1.5%, PayPal 1.5% and subscriptions 0.5%. That's above this category's dearer quarter, short of its dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | BNo setup or monthly fee, so you pay only when you sell. Analytics at $10 a month and usage billing are extras. | ASelling is free to start with every ecommerce feature, and you only pay as orders come in. Email marketing is free up to 500 subscribers too, then $10 a month at 1,000. |
| Features | BMerchant of record, subscriptions, storefront and delivery, local payment methods, recovery tools and SDKs with an API. The listing shows no gap in the job. | BMerchant of record, subscriptions with usage billing, license keys, signed download links, a store on your own domain, affiliates, upsells, cart recovery and email marketing. It covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is built for developers who wire up an API and SDKs, so it sits at C. | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a web dashboard where you set up products, checkouts and a store before your first sale, with nothing in the listing to say it's quicker than that. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb with SDKs, an API and four listed integrations. No desktop or phone apps. | BWeb, with Zapier, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, WordPress and Laravel, checkout overlays for any site and a public API. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | merchant-of-record billing for software sellers | selling software and subscriptions worldwide |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dodo Payments and Lemon Squeezy. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dodo Payments has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Lemon Squeezy starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Dodo Payments starts $10 a month lower. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, none scores higher than Dodo Payments for less, and 2 score higher than Lemon Squeezy for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Lemon Squeezy also covers email campaigns and online store.
At a glance
| Dodo Payments | Lemon Squeezy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $10 per month for email marketing to 1,000 subscribers |
| Free plan | No setup or monthly fee: the Standard plan charges 4% + 40 cents per domestic US card transaction, with extra fees for some payment methods and features. | Selling is free to start with every ecommerce feature included; Lemon Squeezy keeps 5% + 50¢ of each order. Email marketing is free up to 500 subscribers. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dodo Payments | Link, LLC (formerly Lemon Squeezy LLC) |
| Price read from | dodopayments.com | lemonsqueezy.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dodo Payments
- The base fee is 4% + 40 cents per US card transaction, with extra charges: 1.5% for international payments, 3% for PayPal or buy-now-pay-later and 0.5% for subscriptions.
- Refunds cost $1 each and disputes $30 each; payouts under $1,000 carry a $5 fee, and USD SWIFT payouts cost $25.
- Analytics and reporting cost $10 per month and usage-based billing $1 per million events, according to the page's comparison of what it charges.
- An Enterprise tier exists but the pricing page lists no figures for it.
Lemon Squeezy
- Stripe's 2026 update admits slower support and fewer updates while the team builds Stripe Managed Payments, and plans a migration path for users.
- Each order costs 5% + 50¢, plus 1.5% for buyers outside the US, 1.5% for PayPal and 0.5% for subscription payments.
- Recovered abandoned carts add 5% and affiliate referrals add 3% to the fee; payouts to non-US banks cost 1% each.
- Products priced under $10 and high-volume sellers are asked to contact sales for custom pricing.
Key features
Dodo Payments
- Merchant of record
- Dodo handles cross-border tax calculation, filing and reporting, which the page says covers 190+ countries.
- Subscriptions and billing models
- One-time payments, subscriptions with add-ons, usage-based billing priced per million events, and credit-based billing.
- Storefront and delivery
- A no-code storefront, automated license key generation and delivery, and secure digital product delivery after purchase.
- Local payment methods
- Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, buy-now-pay-later, ACH and SEPA direct debit, and 80+ currencies through adaptive currency.
- Recovery tools
- Abandoned cart recovery, subscription dunning and payment retries, billed at 5% only on revenue that is recovered.
- Developer SDKs and API
- SDKs, an API reference, webhooks, MCP servers and framework adapters, with an affiliate feature for distribution.
Lemon Squeezy
- Merchant of record
- Lemon Squeezy is the seller on each order: it calculates, collects, files and pays sales tax and VAT, and takes on the tax liability.
- Subscriptions and usage billing
- Weekly, monthly or yearly plans with upgrades, downgrades, free trials, PayPal subscriptions, usage-based billing and a customer portal.
- License keys and secure files
- License keys are issued after each sale and can be deactivated or reissued; download links are signed and throttled.
- Checkout anywhere
- Hosted checkout links, an overlay checkout for any website, or a store on a custom domain, taking cards, PayPal and payments in many currencies.
- Email marketing
- Broadcasts, signup forms, segments that update from purchase behavior and email reports, free up to 500 subscribers.
- Affiliates and recovery
- A built-in affiliate program, discount codes, bundles and upsells, plus abandoned cart emails and failed payment recovery.
Plans
Dodo Payments
Standard Plan$0
No fixed costs. 4% + 40 cents per transaction on US cards and wallets, plus 1.5% on international payments, 3% extra on PayPal or buy-now-pay-later and 0.5% extra on subscriptions.
Lemon Squeezy
Ecommerce$0
No monthly charge. The seller pays 5% + 50¢ of each order, covering card fees and tax, plus 1.5% abroad, 1.5% on PayPal and 0.5% on subscriptions.
Email marketing$10
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed monthly
Free up to 500 subscribers. The price rises with the list: $24 a month at 3,000 subscribers and $60 a month at 10,000.
Ways to pay less
Dodo Payments
No public discounts listed.
Lemon Squeezy
- Annual discount
Two months free on yearly email marketing
Lemon Squeezy prices yearly email marketing at ten times the monthly rate: $100 a year instead of $10 a month at 1,000 subscribers.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dodo Payments or Lemon Squeezy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dodo Payments is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $10 a month for Lemon Squeezy. Dodo Payments is free, and Lemon Squeezy starts at $10 per month for email marketing to 1,000 subscribers.
Which has a free plan, Dodo Payments or Lemon Squeezy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Dodo Payments and Lemon Squeezy have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.