Paddle: Payment Platform for SaaS
Paddle is a Merchant of Record (MoR) and payment platform built specifically for SaaS businesses. Unlike Stripe, Paddle takes on legal responsibility for sales: it issues invoices, pays taxes, and handles refunds. This frees developers from having to register a company in every country where they have customers.
Official website: paddle.com
What Is a Merchant of Record
A MoR is a legal entity that becomes the seller to the end customer. When a customer pays through Paddle, they’re buying from Paddle, not from you. This means Paddle:
- Issues invoices under its own name
- Collects and remits taxes (VAT, GST, sales tax) in every country
- Handles refunds and chargebacks
- Complies with local consumer protection laws
Features
Billing:
- Subscriptions of any cycle (monthly, quarterly, annual, custom)
- Trial periods and discount coupons
- Upsells, cross-sells, downgrades
- One-time payments and lifetime access
Taxes and compliance:
- Automatic VAT/GST collection in 60+ countries
- Tax reporting: filing and remittance
- GDPR, CCPA compliance
Analytics:
- MRR, ARR, churn rate — real-time dashboards
- Cohort analysis
- Revenue attribution by channel
Integrations:
- API and webhooks
- Ready-made SDKs for React, Vue, Svelte
- Paddle.js — embeddable payment form
- Integration with Zapier, Slack, Discord
Pricing
Paddle charges no monthly fee — only a percentage of transactions:
| Revenue | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $50,000 | 5% + $0.50 |
| $50,000 – $100,000 | 5% + $0.50 |
| $100,000 – $500,000 | 4% + $0.50 |
| $500,000+ | custom |
Pros
- MoR removes legal burden — no need to deal with taxes in every country
- Excellent checkout — above-market conversion rates
- Built for SaaS: trials, upsells, subscription management
- License key sales support (Paddle License)
- Active ecosystem and documentation
Cons
- High fees for small businesses (5% + $0.50)
- No support for physical goods
- Limited local payment method support in some regions
- Dependency on Paddle as a single point of failure
Paddle Affiliate Program
- Commission: up to 10% of referred customer revenue (first year)
- Cookie window: 90 days
- Payouts: via PartnerStack
- Materials: banners, email templates, landing pages
Paddle’s affiliate program is especially attractive for SaaS-niche content. Developers and startup founders are a high-ARPU audience.
Tip: Articles like “MoR vs Payment Gateway” and “Paddle vs Stripe for SaaS” are high-intent search queries. People who know what an MoR is are already ready to make a payment decision.
Who It’s For
Paddle is ideal for SaaS companies, especially B2B, selling subscriptions internationally. If you’re an indie developer or SaaS startup and don’t want to spend time on tax administration across dozens of countries — Paddle is your choice.