StackBest payments & billing for solo founders
Getting paid is the easy part. The hard part is sales tax in 40 countries, failed renewals, chargebacks, and subscription plumbing you did not plan to build. Your real choice is between a cheap payment processor (Stripe) where tax compliance is your problem, and a merchant of record (Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, Creem) that charges roughly 4 to 5 percent to make it their problem.
| Tool | Free tier | Paid from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
 Stripe2.9% + $0.30 per US card transaction | 2.9% + $0.30 per US card transaction | Founders selling mostly to one country who want the lowest fees and full control, and accept owning tax compliance | |
 Paddle5% + $0.50 per transaction | 5% + $0.50 per transaction | Founders selling globally who want tax and billing support fully off their plate and can absorb the 5% rate | |
 Lemon Squeezy5% + $0.50 per transaction | 5% + $0.50 per transaction | Founders who want MoR simplicity today and are comfortable landing on Stripe Managed Payments when the migration comes | |
 Polar5% + $0.50 per transaction on the free Starter plan | 5% + $0.50 per transaction on the free Starter plan | Technical founders on Next.js who want an MoR with the best API ergonomics and are doing at least ~$1.5k/mo to justify Pro | |
 RevenueCat1% of all monthly tracked revenue once you pass $2 | 1% of all monthly tracked revenue once you pass $2 | Founders shipping an iOS or Android app with subscriptions; skip it entirely for web-only products | |
 Gumroad10% + $0.50 per direct sale | 10% + $0.50 per direct sale | Founders selling digital downloads or validating a product idea, not running production SaaS billing | |
 Creem3.9% + $0.40 per transaction | 3.9% + $0.40 per transaction | Cost-sensitive indie founders who want MoR tax handling at the lowest rate and can tolerate a younger platform |
If you sell mostly to one country and can stomach owning tax filings, plain Stripe is the cheapest and most future-proof: about 3.6% + $0.30 effective for subscriptions with Billing, $0 monthly. The moment international VAT becomes real, switch to a merchant of record: Polar Pro at $20/mo (3.8% + $0.40) for the best developer experience, or Creem (3.9% + $0.40) if you want the lowest rate and accept payout fees and platform youth.
On a $9/mo product doing $2,000/mo, expect roughly $75 to $100/mo in total payment costs either way; add RevenueCat (free under $2,500 MTR) only if you ship a mobile app.
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