Payment Processors Comparison
Select up to 3 payment processors to compare across key dimensions. Data is approximate and for informational purposes only.
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This month's picks
How we pickThe real fork for cross-border founders is Merchant of Record vs raw processor. An MoR (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy) collects and remits global VAT and sales tax for you; a processor (Stripe) is cheaper and more flexible but leaves tax compliance on you. Pick on who carries the tax burden, not headline transaction fees.
Stripe
Best for: Card-first global revenue, widest acceptance, developer tooling — you handle sales tax and VAT yourself
Visit StripePaddle
Best for: SaaS selling worldwide that wants VAT and sales tax handled as Merchant of Record
Visit PaddleLemon Squeezy
Best for: Digital products and courses, lower volume, fastest MoR setup with tax handled
Visit Lemon SqueezyMost flexible payment infrastructure. Lower base rate but fees add up with international cards + tax + billing add-ons. Full control over customer relationship and data.
Higher base rate but includes everything: tax calculation, filing, chargebacks, international fees. You never register for VAT/GST. Trade-off: Paddle owns the customer relationship and monthly payouts. Dormancy is the term our ICP is most likely to trip, and it appeared nowhere on our own surface before 2026-09-04 (grep of every dataset and blog article; competitors not checked) — MSA clause 15 (read 2026-09-04, https://www.paddle.com/legal): after six consecutive months with no sales and an outstanding Supplier Fee owed to you, "Paddle reserves the right to charge you an account dormancy charge and/or deactivate your Supplier Account", and "Following a Dormancy Period, Paddle may revoke access to the Supplier Account without notice to you." A negative balance plus no sales in the preceding 15 days is deactivated immediately. Lumpy or seasonal revenue is the normal case for a solo founder, so this is a live risk rather than an edge case.
Ubiquitous brand trust but highest total cost. High FX markup, account freeze risk, limited data portability. Best as secondary payment option alongside Stripe. The "180 days" widely quoted for PayPal holds is a floor, not a ceiling — User Agreement (read 2026-09-04, https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/useragreement-full): PayPal may hold a balance "for up to 180 days if reasonably needed to protect against the risk of liability or if you have violated our Acceptable Use Policy", and separately "When we implement a hold, reserve or limitation as a result of a court order, applicable law, regulatory requirement or other legal process, the hold, reserve or limitation may remain in place longer than 180 days."
All data is approximate and intended for informational comparison only. Pricing, features, and availability change frequently. Verify all figures directly with each provider before making payment decisions.
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How We Compared
We compared transaction fees, supported payment methods, international coverage, merchant of record status, and tax handling across payment processors used by cross-border founders.
Head-to-Head Comparisons
Read the Full Comparisons
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