FastSpring vs Lemon Squeezy (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Lemon Squeezy grades higher than FastSpring: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 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.
FastSpring
Merchant of record checkout and billing for software and digital goods
Paid
Lemon Squeezy
Merchant of record checkout for software, subscriptions and downloads
Free plan · from $10/mo
Which one is for you
Pick FastSpring if
- Fits if you sell software and want one company to handle tax, payments and billing
- Works for businesses selling to other businesses who need quotes as well as a checkout
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to see the price first, as no rates are published and fees are agreed with an account executive
- Skip it if you want to try it free, since there is no free plan or trial listed
- Watch out: the volume estimator on the pricing page does not show a rate without contacting sales
- Too light for a hobby seller, as the page is built for companies with sales volume to discuss
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
| 2.0GPAFastSpringFair | 2.8GPALemon SqueezyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published: fees are a revenue share set with an account executive, and the volume estimator does not show a rate. With nothing to measure against, it sits at the middle. | 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 | FNo free plan and no trial. The pricing page says there is no minimum transaction volume, but you cannot try it before talking to sales. | 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 with tax handling, subscription billing, interactive quotes, a localised checkout and developer tools. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core 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. Setup means a sales conversation, a product catalogue and developer work on the checkout and store, so it is not an afternoon job. | 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 only, with developer tools and an integrations page that lists Google Analytics, Mailchimp, Zapier, Drip, Constant Contact and Google Ads. | 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 | software companies that want a merchant of record | 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: FastSpring and Lemon Squeezy. How we grade
Where they differ
- FastSpring also covers invoicing.
- Lemon Squeezy also covers email campaigns.
In commonWebPublic APIAffiliate trackingOnline storeDigital downloadsMerchant of record
At a glance
| FastSpring | Lemon Squeezy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $10 per month for email marketing to 1,000 subscribers |
| Free plan | None | 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 | Bright Market, LLC dba FastSpring | Link, LLC (formerly Lemon Squeezy LLC) |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | lemonsqueezy.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
FastSpring
- No rates are published: fees are a revenue share that varies with volume and is set with an account executive.
- The pricing page states there is no minimum transaction volume and that FastSpring works on a revenue-sharing model.
- A monthly volume estimator on the pricing page does not show a rate without contacting sales.
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
FastSpring
- Merchant of record
- FastSpring processes payments, collects and remits sales taxes, monitors fraud and handles compliance for the seller.
- Subscription billing
- Recurring billing tools for managing subscriptions and renewals, with reporting on subscriptions and revenue.
- Interactive quotes
- Quotes for custom SaaS deals with analytics, e-signatures, payments and CRM integrations.
- Localized checkout
- A checkout that can be embedded or branded, supporting localized payment methods and many currencies.
- Developer tools
- APIs, webhooks, a store builder library, code samples and documentation for building a store experience.
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
FastSpring
Pricing could not be confirmed. See fastspring.com.
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
FastSpring
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, FastSpring or Lemon Squeezy?
As of Nov 12, 2026, FastSpring has no price we could confirm, and Lemon Squeezy starts at $10 per month for email marketing to 1,000 subscribers.
Which has a free plan, FastSpring or Lemon Squeezy?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Lemon Squeezy has a free plan. FastSpring does not.
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.