A Detailed Comparison of Stripe and. Paddle vs.

To help you choose between Stripe or. Paddle vs. , this guide compares:

• What areas of the lifecycle of payments each one provides a solution for (e.g., payment processing collection and remitting taxes and managing subscriptions) and what additional software you'll require to integrate into your stack of tech.
• Which industries and companies each one serves.

In the next section, we present details of how to compare key options like checkout and reporting. We also provide testimonials and cases studies of each service.

In a nutshell, Stripe primarily deals with payment processing, whereas and Paddle deal with the processing of payments, managing subscriptions as well as tax collection and payment as well as fraud prevention, and much more with no the need for additional software.

 Table of Contents

•   What parts of the payment lifecycle are you able to manage and what other software will you need to complete your payment system?
•   What types of businesses and which industries can use every platform?
•   Features and functionality comparisons
•     Payment Processing
•     Calculating and remitting GST, sales tax and GST
•     Checkout
•     Subscription Management
•     Reporting and Analytics
•   Pricing
•   Review by Customer

Notice: Information in this article is accurate as of the time of writing but may change.

Which aspects of the payment lifecycle are you able to manage and what other software do you require to complete your payment system?

Stripe is a payment processing company.

Stripe is best known for its payment processing capabilities, so they can help you gather the payment information and then get it approved. Additionally, they provide a number of basic functions for subscription management and fraud detection, invoices as well as other features.

The additional options can meet the needs of a few early stage start-ups, however, most companies end up needing additional options that are more powerful. In the end, you'll require additional software that can handle complex recurring requirements for billing, to accept various payment options across the world, or design a customized checkout process. It's a good thing that most developers can easily connect Stripe with the majority of other applications (however, you have to purchase each application separately).

Most companies using Stripe require additional employees to handle sales tax (and VAT) as well as regulatory compliance. While Stripe collects sales tax and VAT on behalf of the company, it is your responsibility to pay it. If you make a mistake in remitting tax in the wrong quantity, in the wrong time, or with the incorrect method it could result in financial loss and penalties. (More on this subject later. )

Additionally, you'll be accountable for staying up to date and following local laws and regulations where the customers reside. This is a huge undertaking for any business, which is why the majority of companies allocate an entire division to this job.

The entire payment lifecycle

• Many payment processors (which enhances the rate of authorization and helps transfer money internationally).
• Flexible subscription management and recurring billing tools.
• B2B digital invoicing.
• Advanced fraud detection.
• Fully customizable check out (down to the pixel).
• Analytics and reports that are detailed.
• And much plus.

It will be possible to control all aspects of your payments lifecycle through your dashboard without having to install additional headcount or software.

Paddle: The Majority of the Life Cycle of Payments

Paddle has solutions for payment processing as well as subscription management and fraud detection, and has more features than Stripe's options. However, some of Paddle's features are less robust than  the features of. In particular, the checkout option is more flexible than Paddle's checkout options (more about this in the future).

If Paddle does not provide the features you need, you may have to install additional software or switch to a different software or.

Like , Paddle is an MoR.

Which types of companies and Which Industries Can Use the Platforms?

The Stripe App: Nearly Any Business

Stripe can be used by almost any kind of company in almost any field. However, SaaS companies will inevitably face some difficulties while using Stripe.

We've mentioned before that businesses using Stripe are entirely responsible for remitting sales tax and VAT. There was a time that SaaS companies didn't have to pay sales tax or VAT; however, a lot of states and nations are drafting (and insisting on enforcement of) legislation that require SaaS businesses to pay sales tax or VAT.

Here are two examples:

• Since January 1st, 2015 The European Union began requiring software sellers to collect and pay VAT based on the location of the purchaser rather than the address of the company's employees or of its headquarters.
• In the year 2018 in 2018, The United States Supreme Court ruled that states may charge sales tax on purchases made from out-of-state sellers (including online sellers) regardless of whether the seller is not located in an actual presence in the state in which tax is levied.

Keeping track of and adhering to constantly changing tax laws is a difficult challenge. It's the reason SaaS firms (and businesses that sell digital goods) are better off choosing the right solution that will take care of remitting sales tax as well as VAT on your behalf.

: B2C and B2B SaaS or Digital Goods Companies

For more than 20 years, has been serving B2B and B2C companies that sell SaaS, digital products, and software that is downloadable:

Paddle: B2C SaaS

Paddle has been providing SaaS businesses for about 10 years. Paddle's platform is better suited to B2C businesses, but they are working on adding more features that are suitable for B2B firms, for example, automatic invoicing.

If adding B2B services is in your future, these features could be in place at the point you'll need they. If you're currently offering B2B-specific products then you might want to look into a different solution that comes with B2B functions that are fully functional ('s Digital Invoicing tool for B2B has been in operation for a number of years).

Next, we compare Stripe with. vs. Paddle, according to specific attributes.

Functionality and Feature Comparisons

Payment Processing (Payment Options, Currency and more)

Stripe

To start processing payments with Stripe You must set up each location to use the appropriate currency and payment options that you would like to accept in that area. After you have set it in place, Stripe will automatically convert product prices and display the right option for payment and currency at checkout.

Stripe supports 135+ currencies.

You'll be able accept credit card payments from the major credit card networks (including MasterCard and Visa), bank transfers, vouchers as well as popular wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. But, they're not able to support PayPal.

Stripe also supports in-person transactions using the Stripe Terminal as well as mobile SDKs.

This makes it easier to SaaS and eCommerce companies to accept transactions in all types of currencies and popular payment methods around the world. Instead of setting up each payment method separately, merchants can enable localized payments and begin accepting international payments immediately.

While Stripe automatically converts the price to the local currency for you, provides more flexibility:

• You can let make your conversions, oryou can decide on a set price for each of your products in every currency.
• You can let you choose the most appropriate currency for the user based on their area of residence, or you can select the appropriate currency for each location, or you could let users choose their preferred currency. supports 23+ currencies.

 With it, customers are able to make payments through:

• Credit cards include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB and UnionPay.
• ACH.
• SEPA Direct Debit.
• Wire transfers.
• The wallets include PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon, Alipay, and other.

Payments have a higher success rate when the gateway is in the exact area as the buyer. Automatically routes online transactions through the payment gateway that has the best authorization rates for that payment method and the location.

Furthermore, the use of several payment gateways can solve the majority of problems with failed payments that arise caused by network issues. If one of the payment gateways has a problem with its technology then it automatically attempts to retry the transaction with a different payment gatewaywith your staff not having to lift a finger.

Bonus: Sift Partners as Sift

is the leader in the risk and fraud aspects (including chargesbacks). We collaborate in partnership with Sift which is a world leader in risk analysis and fraud prevention, in order to make your transaction secure. Sift employs machines learning and AI in order to:

• Accurately make fraud decision.
• Increase approval rates, which results in fewer false positives.
• Stop bad actors before a transaction is even processed.

also blocks transactions from nations and countries where companies are currently not allowed to do business.

Paddle

Paddle also utilizes multiple payment gateways and lets companies accept payments from all over the world with only a few configuration.

Paddle supports 20+ currencies, popular credit cards (including MasterCard, Union Pay and many more) as well as wire transfers as well as wallets (including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Alipay) -- although certain options are still in beta testing.

Calculating and Remitting Sales Tax as well as GST, VAT and

Stripe

Stripe acquired TaxJar to help you calculate taxes on sales, VAT and GST. They only offer instructions for enabling taxes features as well as giving tax codes. The user is responsible for all decisions and implications of using those options (e.g. being aware of what your product's classification is according to tax law, and knowing if and where you have nexus, need to collect, register, file, and submit consumption tax). If you're interested in knowing how to optimize tax rates, qualify for reduced tax rates, or have any other tax-related issue it is likely that you will be instructed to speak with your tax professional or look through the articles.

 If you've created it incorrectly and collect the wrong amount (or the wrong type) or tax amount, you'll be liable.

In addition, the process of submitting sales tax is usually more complex than filling out a simple sheet and writing out a cheque. More and more countries are mandating further requirements in order to be compliant. As an example:

• Countries like Colombia, Japan, Mexico, Serbia, and others need local representation, meaning you have an employee with a physical presence in that country in order to pay the tax liabilities. This can cost anywhere between $5k and $15k per year.
• Some countries like India, Indonesia, Japan, and others require the account to be "pre-funded" meaning you need to know the amount of tax that you'll be liable for and hold that money in your account until it's time to make a tax filing (up to three months in advance).
• Countries like Serbia, United Kingdom, Taiwan as well as others need electronic invoicing (it is applicable for non-resident businesses, and other companies, too). This typically costs companies $2k-$5k annually. Notice: E-invoicing mandates are growing at a rapid rate and the EU rolling out universal electronic invoicing requirements by 2028.
• Countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, and others require you to declare taxes on your income as well as to indirect tax (this could amount to $5-$10k each year).

In the end, sending tax-related payments internationally isn't simple or cost-free. Banks that receive and corresponding each charge fees, and then there's an added risk in foreign transactions.

Thus, even though Stripe has taken a major step to help to collect sales tax acquiring TaxJar, they're a long away from offering an all-in-one solution to sales tax as well as international tax.

takes care of the entire procedure of gathering and remitting the sales tax, VAT, and GST to you .

With over 20 years of experience filing 1,200+ tax returns each year Our team makes sure an accurate amount (and type) in indirect taxes is being collected when you pay your bill -- we also handle tax-exempt transactions within the U.S. and 0% reverse charge when permitted internationally.

files and collects taxes in 52 nations, 13 provinces as well as all 45 U.S. states that collect sales tax (five states don't have any sales tax).

Then, our team remits those taxes for you and makes sure that all necessary processes are in place for you to remain compliant. If a government or state approaches you about tax compliance the team from our firm will guide on the appropriate response -- even as far as providing copy-and-paste responses.

We establish and maintain connections with tax professionals around the globe, to ensure that we're aware of tax the latest laws and regulations that change.

Bonus: Custom Tax Codes

Software like TaxJar, Avalara, and other tax software provide the tax code for most products and services. However, most companies will eventually want to offer services or products which doesn't fall into the descriptions of the tax codes provided (e.g. for example, having an event in person with virtual attendees and speakers). With a tool such as TaxJar and TaxJar, you'll be on your own to calculate and collect the right amount and type of indirect tax as TaxJar doesn't provide an appropriate tax code to suit your particular situation.

It's not a problem for sellers since we have recently rolled out a function that lets us make unique tax codes for each product that are based on use cases -and in just minutes. Tell us the details of your service or product and we'll generate tax codes for you.

Paddle

Like , Paddle takes the lead in collecting and paying taxes on sales, VAT, and GST for the benefit of you. Unlike , Paddle doesn't support tax exempt instances within the U.S.

Checkout

Stripe

Stripe Checkout can be described as a built-in payment site that can be used on any device. There are a variety of possibilities for customizing (e.g., font blocks, shapes, colors etc.) but it's pretty limited. Stripe will automatically translate Checkout to the right language (35+ choices) based on the buyer's location.

allows you to customize each aspect of your checkout process, from custom fields to branded colours. There's also the option to choose whether you want to give your developer complete control over checkout or let the system manage it on your behalf (or someplace in between).

Here's an overview of 's check-out options:

• Three versions: You have the possibility of embedding checkout directly onto your website you can also utilize a popup checkout or redirect your clients to a Web Storefront managed by .

• Store Builder Library (SBL): 's SBL provides you with complete control over the look and experience of your checkout right down to the pixel -- regardless of which payment method you pick.
• localized checkout:Let customers choose their preferred language or select the right language based on the buyer's location. Supports 19+ languages.
• built-in tracking and test devices: With 's built-in tracking tools, you can easily identify ways to improve the rate of conversion. Most companies that use this software are able to increase their conversion rates up to 30.
• Personalized customer service:Although we offer you total control over your checkout Our team will be there to provide you with the most efficient checkout experience for your business. Many companies offer personal support for their biggest customers, and hardly ever provide support to smaller companies. We aren't one of them. favorites. Our team is ready to help in any ways they are able to.

Paddle

Paddle has two options for checkout:

• It is embedded on your site
• Popup overlay

With these two formats they provide 50+ choices for customization. Paddle supports 16 languages and will automatically translate your shopping cart.

Subscription Management

Stripe

Stripe Billing includes a few various subscription options:

• Flat-rate bill (for an annual or monthly price) annual cost)
• Multi-price billing (where one item is offered at different price in different places)
• Per-seat bill (based on the number of active customers during the billing cycle)
• Usage-based bill (single unit, or tied)
• Flat-rate and overage (a mixture of usage-based and flat-rate billing)

These options work for some businesses that have only a few simple subscription-based products, however, companies with greater complexity in their recurring billing requirements (e.g., SaaS) generally require an additional tool. For this reason, Stripe has developed a closely-knit relationship with Chargebee to make it easier for customers to access the subscription billing software they require. It's not difficult to connect these two services however, you'll need be able to manage and purchase both separately.

In addition, Stripe offers a customer website where users can control their accounts (both as well as Paddle also offer this).

provides a wide variety of subscription management options built specifically for SaaS companies.

Plus, most of these choices can be created without the need to write codes. You can, for instance, set up:

• Monthly, weekly, or yearly recurring billing.
• Prorated billing to accommodate upgrades -- and downgrades during the mid-cycle.
• Free or paid trials that are of any length.
• Trials with or without collecting information about your payment (by not collecting details about payment You're less likely to experience friction at the checkout point, leading to better percentages of sales).
• Automatic or manual renewal.
• One-time additions and discounts.
• and much More...

Additionally, you will have access to our API and webhooks library , which will allow you additional possibilities to customize your site.

 A major aspect that frequently goes unnoticed is whether or not the periodic billing plan is compliant with local laws and regulations for transactions.

In particular For instance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has very specific regulations concerning recurring payment. In the moment of writing this article, the RBI limits automatic recurring payments to 15,000 rupees (approximately $180). If a purchase exceeds the limit, the recipient has to approve the transaction in person. Also, you must make an official request to the RBI which outlines the procedure that you must follow for ensuring that you are in compliance. If you do not submit a mandate, or you have customers manually approve large transactions, you'll be liable to heavy fines or be prevented from selling products to consumers in India.

While some subscription management tools will release community updates whenever they discover new regulations You're the person responsible for keeping track and adhering to all rules and laws. If you don't conform, you could be subject to penalties or even be barred from conducting business within that area. The majority of companies will require more staff to manage this.

 Our customers do not have to worry about this since we'll take on transaction liability for our customers.

Our legal team is up-to-date on the latest legal developments, makes sure all the procedures required are in place, takes the reins on audits and offers individual guidance on how to stay compliant -- all without additional charge.

Bonus: Digital Invoicing

The Digital Invoicing (DI) can help you handle B2B orders along with B2C purchases. Through DI, you are able to:

• Create and manage custom quotes in real time (including customized tags, coupons, discounts, and many more).
• Set quote expiration dates.
• Pay and ask for the payment.
• Create custom notes to your prospect or customer.
• Create a widget for self-service quotes (this is particularly useful when the customers require approval prior to buying).
• and much and more.

Paddle

Through a variety of webhooks, and APIs, Paddle supports the following subscription models:

• Fixed
• Tiered
• Per-seat
• Metered

Plus, some of these choices can be combined. As an example, you can have a tiered product that allows each tier an individual number of seats.

Paddle offers free and paid trial, but users will need to supply payment information prior to starting the trial. Paddle will also apply an amount prorated when customers upgrade their plan during the course of their trial (e.g. adding new users or make an upgrade).

Analytics and Reporting

Stripe

Stripe offers a suite of revenue recognition tools that simplify your accounting processes and accounting, such as:

• Standard accounting reports, including balance sheets or income statement.
• Revenue rules that can be configured that allow for the exclusion of passthrough fees and auto-adjusting timings for recognition.
• Overview of revenue reports.
• Plus...

Reports can be reviewed in the Stripe dashboard and some reports are available for download to a CSV file. You can also integrate the most popular accounting tools, including QuickBooks Desktop and Xero. But, the capability to import data from other revenue recognition providers to Stripe is currently in beta.

The Reporting and Analytics suite is an extensive software that will help you to understand:

• The impact each product has on your bottom line.
• When customers are most likely to leave.
• What coupons or promotions have been successful.
• Which subscription models earn the most income.
• The location of your clients.
• What currencies and payment methods consumers prefer.
• Plus much and more...

A majority of this data is available in one of two dashboards: both the revenue overview dashboard or the subscription overview dashboard.

The revenue overview dashboard contains more general information including total transactions by country, as well as net sales per product.

The subscription overview dashboard lets you drill into more specific details such as active customers, or monthly recurring revenue (MRR) in the course of time.

If you can't find exactly the report you're looking for within these dashboards, you can make and save your own custom reports. You can also reach out to our team to help you locate (or create) the report that you want. All reports can be seen on your dashboard, or downloaded in a CSV, PNG or XLSX.

Paddle

Paddle recently bought ProfitWell to offer reporting and analytics features. The integration, however, isn't yet complete, which means there will be some discrepancies between the two platforms. In particular, they will show various MRR.

Once fully integrated, Paddle will be able to:

• Automatically monitor and provide reports on important performance indicators, like MRR.
• Check user engagement, churn and.
• Offer benchmarking tools and segmentation techniques.
• And more...

Pricing

Stripe

A DIY-oriented platform the pricing of Stripe works different than Paddle's. With Stripe it is necessary to pay for additional tools and staff to handle different aspects of your billing process, such as fraud detection and subscription management, as well as remitting VAT and sales tax, and more.

Stripe has a price structure that currently rates cards and wallets differently than other payment methods such as ACH as well as SEPA.

For all these payment options, you'll have access to many of their services but they're not all available. As an example, Stripe charges additional fees for 3D-secure transactions as well as invoicing, tax features and many more.

To learn more regarding Stripe, visit their site.

You'll be able to accessibility to entire platform (and every service) at a flat rate. Because we assume transaction liability for you and also take charge of sales tax and VAT so you don't need additional software or additional staff.

Our staff works together with you to come up with an affordable rate based on the volume of transactions you move through . In addition, you'll only be charged for transactions that occur.

Paddle

Paddle advertises a flat-rate fee for their core product which covers the bulk of the features you will need -payment processing and checkout, subscriptions, international taxes and tax compliance fraud prevention and reporting, and more However, it does not contain everything.

As an example, Paddle collects a 10% fee to reclaim abandoning carts.

For more information on Paddle, visit their site.

Customer Review

Stripe

Stripe currently has 4.4 rating on G2 (a popular software review site) with more than 82 reviews.

The company currently has 4.5 stars on G2 with reviews of 184+.

This is what a few of our customers had to say:

Paddle

Paddle is currently rated 4.5 rating on G2 with over 145 reviews.

Conclusion: vs. Paddle vs. Stripe

When you're offering physical goods or services and Paddle isn't an option, making Stripe the ideal choice of the three options discussed here. If you are offering digital products, Stripe may not be your best option since it's your responsibility in constructing a full payment solution (which costs a lot of time and money).

has been serving SaaS businesses for twice as long as Paddle and offers more features and capabilities. It is also more prepared to support B2B companies.