# Paddle review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Merchant of record billing for SaaS and software Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Paddle is a billing and payments service for SaaS companies and app makers that acts as merchant of record. It collects payments and subscriptions, handles sales tax and VAT filings and fraud checks, and offers a localized checkout, invoicing, subscription analytics and failed-payment recovery. - **Category:** Selling Digital Products - **Made by:** Paddle.com Market Ltd. - **Website:** https://www.paddle.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Pricey if you sell cheap items, as 5% + 50¢ bites and products under $10 are quoted custom. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Paddle has a free plan. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** No monthly, migration or setup fee; Paddle keeps 5% + 50¢ per transaction. ProfitWell Metrics subscription analytics are free. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Paddle Billing | $0 | No monthly fee. Paddle keeps 5% + 50¢ of each transaction, covering payments, tax, subscriptions and payment-related buyer support. | Read from https://www.paddle.com/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Paddle before buying. ## Key features - **Merchant of record:** Paddle collects the correct tax rate, tracks filing deadlines and submits sales tax and VAT returns on the seller's behalf. - **Subscription billing:** Handles recurring payments and subscription management for software and digital products. - **Localized checkout:** A checkout that adapts to the buyer's location, plus invoices that can be sent internationally without local tax handling by the seller. - **Retain:** Recovers failed payments and reduces cancellations by acting on subscriptions over their lifecycle. - **ProfitWell Metrics:** Real-time subscription analytics, described on the pricing page as free. - **Developer sandbox:** A billing sandbox and developer documentation are available for testing an integration before launch. ## Good for - SaaS and app companies selling across borders - Teams that want tax filing handled by the payment provider - Software sellers who want billing, tax and analytics together ## Worth knowing - The fee is 5% + 50¢ per transaction; products under $10 in value are quoted custom pricing on request. - It is positioned for SaaS, apps and software, not as a storefront for creators. - As merchant of record Paddle appears on buyers' statements, so buyers may see its name rather than yours. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Paddle handles payments, tax, subscriptions and buyer billing support for SaaS and software, with no monthly fee and 5% + 50¢ a transaction. That is dearer per sale than the other merchants of record, it is aimed at software rather than creators, and anything under $10 needs a custom quote. - **Value for money: C.** 5% + 50¢ a transaction with no monthly fee. That is above the 3.8% + 50¢ Freemius and 2.9% + $1 Digistore24 list, though it bundles tax and billing support. - **Free plan and trial: B.** No monthly, migration or setup fee, a developer sandbox, and ProfitWell Metrics are free. You pay only when you sell, so there is nothing to trial. - **Features: C.** Merchant of record, subscription billing, a localised checkout, Retain and metrics. It is built for SaaS and apps, not as a storefront for creators, so a creator would need another tool. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. It has a sandbox and developer tools, which means setup is a developer's job. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, with an API and developer tools, plus a RevenueCat connection for app subscriptions. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Paddle's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among tools for selling digital products - Paddle's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 9 of the 28 other tools for selling digital products we grade, and level with 8. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 12 of 28) and worst on features (C, above 0). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/digital-products ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Paddle you would be making selling as the merchant of record, so sales tax and VAT are handled everywhere. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 11 of the 28 other tools for selling digital products grade higher. - You could make: Invoicing and reports: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Selling as the merchant of record, so sales tax and VAT are handled everywhere. - You could not: Checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. - You could not: It plugs into other products, RevenueCat among them, and has an API. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with RevenueCat **Tags:** Merchant of record, Online store, Invoicing, Reports, Public API ## Alternatives - [Lemon Squeezy](https://toolgpa.com/tools/lemon-squeezy): Merchant of record checkout for software, subscriptions and downloads. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lemon-squeezy-vs-paddle) - [FastSpring](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fastspring): Merchant of record checkout and billing for software and digital goods. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fastspring-vs-paddle) - [Freemius](https://toolgpa.com/tools/freemius): Merchant of record, licensing and payments for software sellers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/freemius-vs-paddle) - [Polar](https://toolgpa.com/tools/polar): Open-source billing and merchant of record for software sellers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/paddle-vs-polar) - [Gumroad](https://toolgpa.com/tools/gumroad): Sell downloads, memberships and courses for a cut of each sale. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gumroad-vs-paddle) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://www.paddle.com/pricing - https://www.paddle.com/ - https://www.paddle.com/about Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/paddle Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).